Sen. Mazie Hirono, along with other Senators and Representatives, has sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen demanding that airlines receiving "federal aid refrain from outsourcing jobs while offering executive incentives."
Hirono and her colleagues wrote to Yellen after learning that United Airlines had issued an RFP to outsource over 2,500 catering jobs despite the fact that United Airlines has already received $7.7 billion from the U.S. government to keep its workers employed.
According to the letter, this outsourcing would jeopardize the jobs of thousands of workers in Cleveland, Denver, Honolulu, Houston and Newark.
"$7.7 billion: That's how much United Airlines received in federal aid to keep workers employed. And yet, they propose to outsource more than 2,500 jobs and give their executives millions in bonuses. Their employees deserve the same level of job security," Hirono wrote in a Facebook post. "I'm writing to Secretary Yellen alongside my colleagues to request that Treasury requires airlines receiving federal assistance to refrain from outsourcing jobs while promising executive bonuses. Thank you to Eric Gill and Unite Here! Local 5 for bringing this to my attention."
The letter also discussed how Congress has already passed the Payroll Support Program (PSP) in order to protect aviation jobs that were threatened by the pandemic by offering wage assistance in exchange for airlines keeping employees on the payroll.
According to the Senators' letter to Yellen, employees needed this job protection as the airline industry suffers from the downturn in travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.