Chief of Staff to the International President Richard Johnsen, along with a coalition of aviation labor leaders, recently participated in an Aviation Labor Recovery Roundtable call with Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Steve Dickson and U.S. Transportation Department Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg.
The main topics discussed were airline workforce shortages that result in flight cancelations, delays, and passenger frustrations.
“There needs to be a sense of urgency from the airlines to staff their workforce at every position properly,” said Johnsen. “The airlines were granted billions of dollars in federal relief from this administration to address these problems, and they must act now.”
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) wrote a letter to each airline demanding answers to the workforce shortages.
“I thank Sen. Cantwell for demanding answers from the airlines and this administration for setting up and participating in this call to address this serious issue,” added Johnsen. “Too many airline employees are overworked and fatigued and there have also been too many instances where they have been the victims of violent behavior from unruly passengers. The IAM will continue to lead the fight for the safety and well-being of all airline employees.”