Houston Teamsters Push For FAA Reauthorization

Teamsters Local Union 988 president Robert Mele participated in a press conference about the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) shutdown yesterday at Houston’s international airport that featured Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX). Mele was joined by Teamster members in the Houston area, including employees of CAL-UAL.

“I urged lawmakers to go back to Washington and vote to fund the FAA bill,” Mele said. “We need elected officials who believe in the rights of union members and work for the greater good of working families. Representative Lee has the Teamsters support because she works hard to support the labor movement. I wish there were more politicians like her in Washington.”

The partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration had left 74,000 federal employees and construction workers in limbo, according to the Associated Press.

Airport construction project across the country had been placed on hold due to the shutdown. Specific to the Houston airport, a $1 million radio upgrade and a $43 million construction project for a traffic control facility which were on hold should now get back on track.