A coalition of aviation manufacturing companies called on Congress to pass two bills that would save jobs in the aviation manufacturing industry, its supply chains, and the aviation maintenance repair companies with which they work.
Made up of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the coalition announced Tuesday it supported the bipartisan Preserve Jobs in the Aviation Manufacturing Industry Act introduced by U.S. Reps. Ron Estes (R-KS) and Rick Larsen (D-WA), and its companion bill the Public-Private Partnership to Preserve Jobs in the Aviation Manufacturing Industry Act of 2020 introduced by U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Mark Warner (D-VA).
The bills would allow aviation manufacturers to have the federal government cover 50 percent of their total compensation if 25 percent of their workforce at risk of furlough due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Kansans have built general aviation and commercial airplanes for a century, helping us become the Air Capital of the World. However, recent groundings and the negative effects of COVID-19 have slowed production rates to record lows, putting thousands of Kansans out of work and jeopardizing our local companies’ stability,” Estes said in a statement. “The Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Act will help keep workers on the payroll and connected with their aviation jobs, which solves the short-term unemployment issue and keeps our skilled workforce here in the Sunflower State for the long term. As aviation manufacturing ramps back up, these employees will benefit from maintaining a connection with their employer and be able to rejoin the workforce easily.”
The bipartisan legislation would have the Secretary of the Treasury oversee the program, with oversight by the Department of Transportation. The bills also include safeguards, including preventing stock buybacks, restrictions on employers circumventing any collective bargaining agreements, and prohibiting the companies from moving jobs assisted by the program out of the U.S. If passed, the program would run through April 2022.
“The aviation manufacturing and maintenance industry continues to face stiff headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic. We applaud and are deeply grateful to Representatives Estes and Larsen for their work to support the industry’s highly skilled workforce as well as Senators Moran and Warner for introducing similar legislation in the Senate. Given that general and commercial aviation are significant contributors to the U.S. economy, it is essential that both industry and government partner together to protect aviation manufacturing and maintenance jobs in this vital sector. I am very pleased to join with my fellow industry association leaders, and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, in supporting these legislative initiative to sustain our incredible aviation manufacturing workforce and companies during these uncertain times,” said GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce.
According to the coalition, four jobs are created for every million dollars in direct sales revenue generated by the aviation manufacturing industry.