Bay Area members of Congress are calling on Republican lawmakers to support a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that was passed by the House and is now being considered by the Senate. 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-Marin, 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.
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 to 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.