Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.
A coalition of labor unions representing workers across the aviation and aerospace industries signed on to a letter on Wednesday urging Congress to support efforts to modernize the United States air traffic control system in the wake of recent accidents.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), Transport Workers Union (TWU) and Transportation Trades Department (TTD) all endorsed the message to lawmakers. They stressed the importance of emergency funding for air traffic control technology and staffing, directing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to modernize its airspace technology, excepting the FAA from government shutdowns and other critical priorities to ensure the safety of everyone.
“The FAA’s primary mission has been, and should continue to be, ensuring the operational safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS),” the joint letter said. “Everything the FAA does must be directly tied to, and in support of, that mission. Our organizations are ready to work with you to ensure the FAA is more capable and prepared to deliver economic growth, foster American innovation, adapt to challenges, and continue to be the safest, largest, and most complex air traffic control system in the world.”