Fight for 10

Flight Attendant Union President Sara Nelson Testifies on Implementation of 2018 FAA Reauthorization Bills

September 26, 2019 - WASHINGTON – On Thursday, September 26th, The House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation will hold a hearing on “A Work in Progress: Implementation of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.”

Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA), will testify at the hearing. She will urge speedy implementation of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization bill signed into law almost a year ago. She will focus her testimony on implementing Flight Attendant 10 hours minimum rest, along with other key safety provisions.

Read AFA's Written Testimony

Watch AFA's Oral Testimony

WHAT: House T & I Subcommittee on Aviation Hearing on: “A Work in Progress: Implementation of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018”

WHO: Sara Nelson, International President, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
Mr. Daniel K. Elwell, Deputy Administrator, FAA
The Hon. Joel Szabat, Acting Undersecretary for Policy, DOT
Capt. Bob Fox, First Vice President, Air Line Pilots Association, International
Mr. Greg Walden, Aviation Counsel, Small UAV Coalition
Mr. Mark Baker, President, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Mr. John Breyault, Vice President, Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud, National Consumers League
Mr. David Zurfluh, National President, Paralyzed Veterans of America

WHERE: Rayburn House Office Building
Room 2167

WHEN: Thursday, September 26, 2019
10:00am ET

WATCH LIVESTREAM HERE

An Update on 10 Hours From Congress

July 19, 2019 - Representative Peter DeFazio, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, talked about the FAA implementation of our 10 hours rest.

He said: “Now the FAA is slow walking [10 Hours Minimum Rest] saying, ‘we can’t do that until 2020.’ I understand one of the airlines is pushing really, really hard to not allow flight attendants to get proper rest.”

Sign the Petition Now!

May 3, 2019 - Six months ago, we achieved 10 hours minimum rest for Flight Attendants in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. But now the Department of Transportation and the FAA are dragging their feet. Worse, we hear that Delta Air Lines is leading the charge to delay implementation.

There's no reason airlines need to wait to implement the law themselves, but the industry has united in their message that they're waiting for instruction from the FAA. The Government Shutdown, the 737 Max catastrophes, and the Administration's ideological opposition to new regulation has held up implementation of hundreds of safety initiatives detailed in the bill. But our rest is the most straightforward directive in the bill. It just needs to happen with a directive to airlines to comply by date certain.

We won this fight before by standing together and demanding that 10 hours rest be included in the bill. We will get it implemented as intended if we stand together now.

Sign the petition to demand 10 hours minimum rest implementation now.

We fought for dozens of safety issues included in the bill, and we'll keep fighting until all of them are fully implemented and enforced. Take action now to ensure that 10 hours rest is implemented immediately.

Update on Our Fight for 10

April 12, 2019 — In the midst of persistent attacks on working people and our unions from the White House, Congress, Statehouses, and in the courts, AFA-CWA members were widely recognized for our success as the only aviation stakeholder to achieve our priorities in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. It took tremendous effort to achieve commonsense rest improvements, fatigue mitigation, no knives or voice calls on planes, cabin air quality study, evacuation standards with new cabin environment and staffing issues, and so much more.

Before the vote on the bill, the Administration opposed our 10 hours rest and the Administration has resisted officially updating the rule. We are learning that Delta Air Lines is the primary voice in opposition to implementation of our new rest minimum, arguing every means to delay implementation. There’s no reason our airlines need to wait to follow the law, but they are united in their message of waiting for instruction from the FAA.

The Government Shutdown halted all work on implementation of the FAA bill, and any ability to hold the DOT or FAA accountable. It is not only our issues that haven't been implemented. None of the hundreds of safety issues detailed in the bill have been fully implemented. With the shutdown over, the FAA is assessing resources, attempting to catch up on lost time of safety oversight, and dealing with fallout from the 737 MAX. Our allies in Congress are attempting to cut a path of accountability.

New Year Message with Fight for 10 Update

January 1, 2019

Congress Passes 10 Hours Rest, FAA Reauthorization Bill

October 3, 2018 — WE DID IT! Today, the Senate voted bipartisan and overwhelmingly to pass the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. The bill is now approved by both chambers of Congress and will go to the President's desk for signing before the October 7, 2018 deadline.

Tens of thousands of Flight Attendants from across the industry including Frontier, Miami Air, Alaska, Spirit, Hawaiian, Envoy, Endeavor, United, American, Southwest – Flight Attendants from 35 airlines in all – have called your members of Congress, signed petitions, sent postcards, rallied at the Capitol, and told your stories to achieve minimum rest equal with the flight deck and a Fatigue Risk Management Plan (FRMP). Before that, many of you took part in fatigue studies that provided the science to back up our demand for more rest. This was a fight for safety, health, and equality.

We achieved overwhelming bipartisan support for our Rest and we especially thank our Congressional champions on 10 hours minimum rest:

House - Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA), Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA), Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Rep. Michael Bost (R-IL), Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI), Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Rep. David McKinley (R-WV), and Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL).

Senate - Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) originally introduced the language when she was in the House and continued advocacy in the Senate. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) have all since worked hard to ensure the rest language would be included in a final FAA bill. We thank Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) for weighing in when it especially counted to help us get our rest.

Summary of AFA safety priorities included in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018: