Aviation Safety: New Rules for Airplane Manufacturer Boards
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is the next group that must review this bill. It has not moved since April 2025. Most bills like this do not receive a committee vote and often stop moving at this stage.
While there is a lot of public concern about airplane safety, forcing companies to put specific people on their boards is a major change that usually faces strong opposition in Congress.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Large aircraft manufacturers with at least $15 billion in annual revenue, such as Boeing, would be required to seat two labor union representatives on their board of directors, including one from each union representing workers who design and build the planes. This gives factory floor and engineering unions a direct voice in top-level corporate decisions that affect safety and working conditions, something they currently do not have.
“two representatives from labor organizations, including 1 representative from each labor organization that represents the employees of such entity that are directly involved in the design and manufacturing of aircraft”
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Rep. Adam Smith introduced the Safety Starts at the Top Act of 2026, a House companion to Sen. Edward Markey's bill. The legislation mandates that large aerospace firms include worker representatives and safety experts on their boards to ensure a permanent voice for safety in corporate decisions.
Boeing's largest union is leveraging the company's safety crisis to push for cultural changes. This environment has led to legislative proposals like the Safety Starts at the Top Act, which aims to mandate labor and safety seats on the company's board of directors to restore public trust.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Safety Starts at the Top Act of 2025
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