The leaders of 33 transportation unions recently met with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to discuss worker-first solutions to supply chain and other challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meeting also was attended by Liz Shuler, the president of the AFL-CIO.
The gathering was the fall meeting of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD). Topics discussed included infrastructure legislation stalled in the U.S. Congress, reforming unfair and perverse policies that have undermined the U.S. Postal Service and its employees, and boosting the maritime industry.
“Transportation workers have kept our economy and communities afloat during a once-a-century pandemic – they kept our hospitals and other essential services stocked and staffed, they risked their own health and life to get essential workers to their jobs, they operated, built, and maintained our infrastructure backbone, and they provided frontline support to COVID-19 vaccine delivery across the country,” TTD President Greg Regan said. “It is time for our elected leaders to step up for them now with bold policies that prioritize and center workers’ needs and keep them safe and secure on the job during a critical time of economic recovery.”
The leaders also met with U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE), Committee on Environment and Public Works chairman.