As SFO's United Workers Face Furloughs, Lawmakers Say COVID-19 Relief Bill Could Help Save Bay Area Jobs

Bay Area members of Congress are calling on Republican lawmakers to support a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that the U.S. Senate is expected to take up this week. The push comes as thousands of local workers in battered industries – including most recently United Airlines workers at SFO – face a fresh round of furloughs and layoffs.

In a press event Tuesday, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said the pandemic has devastated his district’s economy, which is driven by tourism, travel and recreation.

“We still got a really long, difficult road ahead of us and without decisive, comprehensive help, families and employers in my district, also throughout California and around this country, just can't keep the lights on for much longer,” said Huffman, whose district spans from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.

Huffman and 218 other House Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan Act last weekend without a single Republican vote.

The bill includes a one-time stimulus check of up to $1,400 per person, and emergency measures to protect jobs, such as $15 billion to extend the Payroll Support Program, which has stopped furloughs and layoffs for workers in the aviation industry but is set to expire on March 31.

On Jan. 29, United Airlines notified more than 3,100 workers based at San Francisco International Airport of potential involuntary furloughs starting in April, according to official filings the company submitted with the California Employment Development Department.

About two-thirds of the United workers at SFO who are facing furloughs are flight attendants, said Taylor Garland, a spokesperson for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union, which represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants at 17 airlines.

Flight attendants around the country are calling their representatives and senators to encourage them to vote "yes" on the American Rescue Plan Act, she said.

“The last year has been devastating for the airline industry and especially the people on the front lines, including flight attendants,” said Garland. “We fully expect that bill to pass and for the Payroll Support Program to be extended before these furloughs would take effect.”

Republican lawmakers have so far opposed the bill, saying it is too expensive and contains provisions that are not directly related to fixing the health crisis. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, vowed to fight the proposal, which he called a "bonanza of partisan spending."

The relief package that was approved by the Democratic-controlled House and sent to the Senate would also provide more than $71 billion to expand COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution, $27 billion to address health disparities and protect vulnerable populations, and nearly $130 billion to reopen K-12 schools safely, among other measures.

Nationwide, United Airlines notified 14,000 employees of potential temporary layoffs on April 1, said Annabelle Cottee, a spokeswoman with the company.

Last year, United also put 36,000 employees on furlough notices, including nearly 7,000 at SFO. Those temporary layoffs were set to go into effect in October 2020, but the company was able to keep many of the workers employed, she said.

Cottee stressed the current round of furloughs may also impact fewer employees than the number that received notices.

"We are working on lowering that number just like we did last year," Cottee said.