| | | | |  | | By Alex Daugherty | | | With help from Tanya Snyder
| | — The United Auto Workers said a strike expansion could happen at any time without warning. — House Democrats urge U.S. airlines to resume Israel service as the State Department begins running charter flights from Israel to Europe. — Charter airlines urge the FAA to scrap a proposed rulemaking, saying that big airlines and unions are pushing for rule changes to hurt their business. IT’S MONDAY: You’re reading Morning Transportation, your Washington policy guide to everything that moves. You can reach Alex, Oriana, Tanya and Hannah at adaugherty@politico.com, opawlyk@politico.com, tsnyder@politico.com and hpinski@politico.com, respectively. Find us all on the platform formerly known as Twitter @alextdaugherty, @TSnyderDC, @oriana0214 and @HannahPinski. “There ain't enough/Bourbon in Kentucky for me to forget you/Naw, there ain't enough/Matches I can strike to set afire the memory of you.”
| | | | A message from Delta Air Lines: At Delta Air Lines, our 90,000 people are our greatest asset – and our customers agree. For the second year in a row, Delta was named the No. 1 airline with the best staff in North America according to Skytrax survey. We take great pride in our products, our global network, and our world-class service, but it’s our people that set us apart. Learn more. | | | | | ANYPLACE, ANYTIME: UAW President Shawn Fain used his Friday Facebook Live address to announce a tactical change in the union’s ongoing strike against the Big Three automakers — expansions can happen anytime and won’t necessarily be communicated on Fridays, as they had been during the strike’s early weeks. The idea is to make walkouts less predictable and more economically damaging, like the union’s decision to walk out of Ford’s Kentucky truck facility last week. "We're not messing around. A negotiation requires both sides making movement. If they're not ready to move, then we're going to give them a push in a language they understand: dollars and cents," Fain said, while announcing that the strike would not expand on Friday. The Friday messages allowed the companies to make offers at the last minute, Fain said, and the move underscores the likely increasing economic effects of the strike in the days and weeks to come. Olivia Olander has more, as the White House (which has not directly addressed the strike’s recent expansion) keeps tabs — and a prolonged strike that drags the economy would be a blow to President Joe Biden’s message of economic resurgence. There’s still a lot more expanding the UAW can do, since only about 20 percent of the union’s workforce employed by Ford, Stellantis and General Motors is on strike. But Ford executives did not sound optimistic on an earnings and media call last week, saying they didn’t have much room to make improved offers. The strike’s impacts are mounting. The Vehicle Suppliers Association, known as MEMA, on Friday published the results of its latest member survey, with data collected Oct. 9-11. It showed that layoffs had increased by nearly 10 percent since the previous week, with 39 percent of vehicle suppliers saying they have laid off some employees. Of those that had not begun layoffs, half said they will start the week of Oct. 30. According to MEMA, vehicle suppliers employ more than 900,000 workers — “over six times more than the 146,000 UAW Detroit Three autoworkers” — and contribute 2.5 percent of the U.S. GDP.
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| | BRING BACK FLIGHTS: A group of House Democrats wrote to the CEOs of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, urging the U.S. carriers to resume flights “as soon as possible” to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. The lawmakers said that the U.S. government-run charter flights that began Friday to ferry Americans wishing to leave Israel “are not a long-term solution.” The letter was led by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), whose South Florida district has one of the country’s largest Jewish populations. In a statement, Airlines for America said its carriers have been "voluntarily adding capacity in the region throughout the week and continue to support the federal government’s plan to assist in the movement of U.S. citizens.” Delta added three new direct flights from Athens to New York to support the government charters to Europe, though service to Tel Aviv is canceled until at least Oct. 31. United also added five round-trip flights to Athens and is using larger aircraft when possible. Oriana has more. But after Wasserman Schultz’s letter was released, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA said the best solution is for the government to implement the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), a program that triggers contractual provisions at unionized airlines, such as voluntary assignment and higher pay. “This is not a call for the airlines to make,” AFA-CWA spokesperson Taylor Garland said in a statement. “This program is well defined and simply requires government activation.” SCRAP THE RULE CHANGE: The charter airline JSX hit back at proposed changes to charter flight rules under consideration at the FAA, saying in comments filed Friday that the rulemaking “is the product of a full-bore lobbying campaign of misinformation and innuendo by some of the most powerful, entrenched airline industry interests.” They called out American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and the Air Line Pilots Association, which have publicly urged the FAA to impose new rules on charter airlines they say are blurring the line between scheduled service (which is subject to more stringent safety and pilot training rules). Three unions — AFA-CWA, the American Federation of Government Employees, and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants — also weighed in on the changes (comments were due to the FAA on Friday), arguing that “government agencies should ensure air carriers may not operate under Part 135 in an effort to bypass the well-established safety and security rules of Part 121.”
| | | | A message from Delta Air Lines:   | | | | | PLUG-IN SHIPS: A group of California Democrats is urging the EPA to authorize the California Air Resources Board’s year-old request that would require large ships to plug into shore power when at port instead of running their engines. In a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), along with 14 other California Democrats, urged the EPA to grant the request by the end of the month. “Emission reduction attributable to the 2020 At-Berth Regulation is estimated to prevent 237 premature deaths, 75 hospitalizations and 122 emergency room visits from 2021 to 2032,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.
| | FIRST IN MT: A large coalition of community groups is asking Senate Democrats to include $25 million for the infrastructure law’s Thriving Communities Program after the Senate’s THUD appropriations bill, S. 2437 (118), zeroed out funding. The $25 million figure is the same amount of funding that the program received last fiscal year. “Every day, we see first-hand the urgent need for this program, yet the T-HUD bill reported by the Appropriations Committee does not fund it,” the groups wrote to THUD Subcommittee Chair Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. SPEAKER UPDATE: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said he wants to go to the floor on Tuesday, Jordain Carney and Nicholas Wu report, an uphill climb after more than 50 GOP lawmakers signaled in a secret ballot on Friday they support someone else for speaker. On Sunday afternoon, House Republicans announced intentions for a floor vote scheduled for noon Tuesday.
| | DIGITAL DOLLARS: The FTA on Friday announced that it will award $5.1 million in grants to improve the management of transit construction projects. The aim is to fund digital platforms that help deliver transit projects faster and cheaper. FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said in a statement the platforms “are all about efficiency and provide comprehensive tools that will allow transit agencies to complete projects more seamlessly.” Applications are due by February.
| | | | A message from Delta Air Lines: Millions of airline customers representing more than 100 nationalities participated in this year’s Skytrax survey. Delta not only earned the top honor for best airline staff, but was also named the Best Airline in North America at the Skytrax World Airline Awards for the third year in a row. Delta’s double recognition is a testament to our team’s hard work and focus on delivering outstanding customer service during unprecedented demand. Thanks to the dedication, passion and professionalism of our 90,000 people, Delta remains America's most awarded airline. Learn more. | | | | | — “Canada’s top court rules against Trudeau’s sweeping environmental law.” POLITICO. — “Sweden sends a message to Stockholm drivers: Go electric or go home.” The New York Times. — “Why being an auto worker isn’t as lucrative as it used to be, in charts.” The Wall Street Journal. — “How China’s EV boom caught Western car companies asleep at the wheel.” Wired. — “Ford considers cutting shift at F-150 Lightning pickup plant, UAW memo says.” The Wall Street Journal. | | | | JOIN 10/24 FOR AN UPDATE ON CHIPS: America is rapidly restructuring its semiconductor supply chain and manufacturing base, thanks in part to billion-dollar initiatives like the CHIPS and Science Act. But who is winning the reward? Join POLITICO Oct. 24 to get an update on CHIPS what other challenges have emerged now that the new era is underway? REGISTER NOW. | | | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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