Target: John Thune, U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Goal: Restore TSA operations and ensure full funding of airport safety measures.
Airports have once again become a flashpoint for consumer safety. The well-documented payment lapses for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers who screen passengers at airports have resulted in long, tangled lines, worker shortages and departures, and widening gaps in the security protocols these workers traditionally provide. Both chambers of Congress have engaged in finger-pointing sessions, and proposals to fund TSA workers who are currently working without pay have reportedly been rejected by the White House.
Even on airport runways, the consequences of relentless slashes in funding and workforces are being felt. A deadly incident occurred when a plane landed at LaGuardia Airport and crashed into a fire truck that was on-scene for a separate reason. While the investigation is ongoing, early reports have indicated that two air traffic controllers (an occupation facing nationwide staffing shortages) were working multiple jobs during the late-night shift. In addition, a safety tracking system apparently did not send out an alert, possibly because the fire truck was not required to have a transponder (which is a mandate at some airports for on-site vehicles). Two individuals died as a result of the accident. And in a twist of bitter irony, an investigator hired to evaluate the incident was delayed because of long airport lines due to the TSA worker crisis.
Sign the petition below to demand Congress stop fighting and start funding personnel and resources that can help prevent tragedy.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Senator Thune,
The LaGuardia Airport crash and the TSA pay stoppage may seem on the surface to be unrelated issues. But both of these events reflect the same core problem: a lack of investment in airline safety. Security snarls caused by the TSA chaos can and likely will ultimately impact passenger safety. At the same time, the ongoing air traffic controller shortages – and the absence of clear protocols and funding for life-saving resources and updated technology like transponders – will result in more preventable tragedies.
Please take a hard look at the state of air travel, forego the planned recess, and work together across the aisle on a comprehensive funding plan for workers whose livelihoods are at stake and for passengers and pilots whose very lives could be at stake without urgent action.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Terrence Bowen
