“We applaud the Virginia General Assembly for holding firm and rejecting Gov. Spanberger’s proposed amendment to House Bill 5. By sending the original, inclusive legislation back to the governor’s desk, Virginia lawmakers stood up to the governor’s blindsided approach and reaffirmed what they recognized from the start: that airline pilots and flight attendants are Virginia workers, and they deserve the same protections as every other Virginian. The Virginia General Assembly heard from its constituents and did the right thing. Airline crew members get sick just like everyone else. Now, the governor has the choice to heed the call of the General Assembly so that pilots and flight attendants will have the same basic protections their colleagues in every other industry already hold. We thank the legislators who stood firm against airline industry pressure and kept faith with the workers they represent. Airline crew members are Virginia workers. They deserve nothing less.” Source: Capt. Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) issued a statement after Virginia’s General Assembly rejected Governor Abigail Spanberger’s proposed amendments to HB5, which attempted to strip airline pilots and flight attendants of the paid sick-leave protections that the legislature deliberately extended to them.
