JERSEY CITY, NJ – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) yesterday called on the U.S. Treasury and United Airlines to stop United’s plan to outsource thousands of inflight catering jobs currently performed by workers based in Newark, Honolulu, Cleveland, Denver, and Houston.
 
In the letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the lawmakers note that the Payroll Support Program (PSP) for the airline industry was extended under the American Rescue Plan and was created to keep people employed during the pandemic, and that outsourcing jobs while paying top executives bonuses is inconsistent with congressional intent and unfair for the workers who have kept the airline industry afloat during this economic crisis. 
 
“We believe it is inconsistent with Congress’ intent in creating the PSP program for airlines to outsource jobs while committing to bonuses for top executives once the PSP program restrictions on executive compensation have expired. We respectfully ask you to require any new PSP agreement with United Airlines or any applicant require the airline to refrain from outsourcing jobs and to rescind or refrain from making any commitments to provide executive bonuses while airlines are receiving payments under the PSP,” the lawmakers wrote to Secretary Yellen.
 
In their letter to United Airlines, the lawmakers call for United not to outsource the over 2,500 catering jobs, explaining that Congress helped the airline industry financially survive the pandemic, and airline workers should have job security while the economy recovers and the demand for travel increases. The letter notes that United Airlines has announced millions in dollars of bonuses for top executives due after the expiration of the limits imposed by the Payroll Support Program. 
“Many of the United Airlines catering workers, who are overwhelmingly people of color, have served the airline for decades. We are also concerned that United’s plans to outsource the catering jobs will jeopardize workers’ continued union representation. We are aware that United Airlines opposed the workers’ effort to join UNITE HERE in 2018, and that in spite of this opposition 72 percent of the catering workers voted in their election in favor of joining the union. Instead of working towards outsourcing jobs, United should use the time afforded by the Payroll Support Program to engage in good faith negotiations with these employees and their union, who have been working without a contract for over two years and whose work has helped United survive during this challenging period,” the lawmakers wrote to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby.
 
In addition to Sens. Menendez and Booker, the letter was signed by Sens. Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
 
The full letter to Secretary Yellen can be found here and the full letter to United Airlines can be found here
 
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