Support Aviation Workers; Extend Payroll Support Program
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- Published: July 17, 2020
Earlier this week, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), joined 12 other aviation labor unions in asking members of Congress to sign a letter urging extension of the Payroll Support Program (PSP) for airline employees. The bi-partisan letter is asking House and Senate leadership to include the extension in the next COVID-19 response legislation.
By providing millions of dollars to airlines under the CARES Act earlier this year, the PSP has kept hundreds of thousands of airlines workers employed by preventing the airlines from any layoffs or furloughs through September 30.
“Aviation workers account for five percent of the nation’s GDP. Should October 1 arrive without extending the PSP, mass layoffs are inevitable,” the unions wrote. “Airline industry employment cannot simply be put back together overnight, and mass layoffs will do great damage to the sector and our economy, with potentially irrevocable consequences.” The unions are asking congressional leadership to pass an extension of the PSP through March 31, 2021.
“Aviation unions stood by PASS during the government shutdown last year,” said National President Mike Perrone. “They even stood next to PASS members on airport picket lines across the country. We owe it to them to support their efforts to keep their jobs as together, we prepare to bring the nation’s aviation system back up to pre-pandemic levels.”