More than 150 U.S. House members a signed a letter led by the Congressional Labor Caucus and the Transport Workers Union urging JetBlue to stay neutral and not interfere with ongoing worker unionization efforts at the airline.
A total of 160 lawmakers representing Democrats and Republicans along with lawmakers in major JetBlue hubs signed the letter which asks the airline to officially adopt a neutrality agreement, or a pledge not to engage in activities that would influence workers’ freedom to join a union. Read the full letter here.
“We believe a neutrality agreement would demonstrate JetBlue’s respect for workers’ rights and would comply with the Railway Labor Act’s directive to not impact its employees in their choice of a workplace representative,” the lawmakers wrote.
The Transport Workers Union, which currently represents InFlight Crewmembers (Flight Attendants) and Flight Instructors at JetBlue, is actively organizing approximately 1,100 Aviation Maintenance Technicians and Air Dispatchers at the airline, as these workers eye joining the ranks of JetBlue’s two other TWU workgroups within the airline.
TWU International President John Samuelsen praised lawmakers who signed the letter and urged JetBlue to stop anti-union activities.
“The strong, bipartisan embrace of this letter shows that lawmakers from all over the country and with differing political opinions can agree – JetBlue needs to stop interfering with workers’ lawful and democratic right to self-determination in their workplace. JetBlue must commit to giving workers peace of mind that unionizing won’t negatively impact their jobs,” Samuelsen said. “I look forward to JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty’s commitment to staying neutral and refraining from delay tactics as JetBlue workers decide whether or not to unionize.”
The letter states that “there have been instances of anti-organizing interference at JetBlue from management.” JetBlue also continues to spend significant amounts of money on anti-union advertising and consultants. The Railway Labor Act, which covers workers at airlines, states that it is “unlawful for any carrier to interfere in any way with the organization of its employees.”
The letter was a joint effort between the Congressional Labor Caucus and the Transport Workers Union. The 160 signers are a testament to Congress’ belief that JetBlue must commit to neutrality – with more than half of its workforce based in New York, Massachusetts and other states with pro-trade union laws and high union density.
The letter was co-led by Reps. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) with support from Congressional Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.).
To coordinate a potential interview or on-camera opportunity to discuss the JetBlue letter, please contact Alex Daugherty at adaugherty@twu.org.
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The TWU represents more than 155,000 workers across the airline, railroad, transit, universities, utilities and service sectors. The TWU is the largest airline workers union in the United States.