Greetings,

Support the Moratorium on Foreign Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing

The creation and preservation of U.S. jobs is key to the proposed $800 billion Economic Stimulus Act of 2009 currently being debated in Congress, and vital to reversing the country’s economic downturn.
 
Consistent with these objectives, this economic stimulus package must also include saving American jobs from being sent overseas, including those of aircraft mechanics. Aircraft mechanics are highly skilled and, from both a safety and security perspective, are vital to the safe operation of an airline.  Foreign aircraft maintenance outsourcing doesn’t affect only mechanics; it also has a negative impact on the economy and raises serious concerns regarding passenger safety and national security.

Subject: Please Support the Moratorium on Foreign Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

As President Obama and Congressional leaders craft the 2009 economic stimulus package to resuscitate the U.S. economy, I am calling on you to emphasize an issue vital to both the economy and national security: a moratorium on foreign aircraft maintenance outsourcing.

According to a study conducted by the Department of Transportation's Inspector General of nine major US carriers, more than a quarter of U.S. outsourced heavy airframe maintenance was sent to foreign repair stations in 2007, up from 21% in 2003. Yet, foreign repair stations are not subject to the same high FAA regulations that air carriers are. While mechanics employed by U.S. carriers are required to hold an FAA license to fix an aircraft, foreign workers are not. There are no regulations that make background checks, or drug and alcohol screenings, mandatory for workers at foreign repair stations.

This situation represents a clear risk to both passenger safety and national security. Until the FAA can negotiate and enforce a single high regulatory standard that governs all repair facilities working on U.S. aircraft worldwide, Congress should impose a moratorium on further foreign outsourcing.

The continued unchecked outsourcing of skilled maintenance work to foreign repair stations will also further decimate an already shrinking pool of skilled U.S. aircraft mechanics. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress provided direct financial assistance to the airline industry. But, over the last several years, the airline industry has increasingly outsourced aircraft maintenance to low-cost foreign repair stations. This has caused a significant loss of highly skilled, middle-class American jobs, and this result simply is not fair. At a time when all Americans are being asked to do their part to restore and rebuild our economy, we need to make sure that the airline industry does its part too.

This stimulus package is geared toward rebuilding our economy through job preservation and job creation. The proposed Teamster language has the immediate impact of protecting skilled middle class jobs in the United States; it costs nothing, yet potentially saves thousands of jobs, keeps families afloat, and maintains tax revenues generated by domestic aircraft maintenance work.

This is a time to stand up for working people, and prevent the further erosion of skilled middle class jobs. I ask you to include and support the Teamster amendment.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]