IFPTE Shares COVID Relief Priorities with House and Senate Leadership Ahead of Negotiations
This week, as House and Senate leaders met to negotiate a COVID relief package, IFPTE sent a letter outlining our membership’s to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
The letter emphasized the urgent need for Congress to pass a relief bill that includes federal aid for state and local governments. Further, IFPTE made clear that the union is “opposed to attempts to hold state and local government aid hostage in exchange for a blanket business liability shield.” Earlier in week, the AFL-CIO urged Senators to drop the corporate liability shield which, if enacted, would undermine meaningful health and labor enforcement.
Other key priorities listed in the letter include federal payroll support for aircraft manufacturing and the associated supply chain along the lines of the bipartisan-supported Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Act of 2020 (H.R.8002) and the Aviation Manufacturing Industry Act of 2020 (S.3705), extending the Paycheck Protection Program to include unions, ensuring a continuation of the pandemic emergency unemployment compensation and pandemic unemployment assistance, extending student loan forbearance, and support for public transit and infrastructure.
While there are a number of key IFPTE priorities not included in discussions regarding this COVID relief bill, IFPTE is committed to continuing advocacy for measures that provide economic relief to IFPTE members and working families.
Read IFPTE’s letter to House and Senate Leadership on our priorities for COVID relief legislation.