Trio of Unionists Confirmed for Obama Administration Posts
Three former union members and leaders—with the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) and Seafarers (SIU)—won U.S. Senate conformation last week for top posts in the Obama administration. All three were approved by voice vote.
Capt. Randy Babbitt, a 25-year veteran of commercial airline and a former two-term ALPA president, will steer the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
ALPA President Capt. John Prater says:
Babbitt’s experience as an airline pilot, union president, aviation consultant and member of numerous government and industry advisory committees will serve him well as he leads our industry.
Aviation Unions Outline FAA Fixes
The nation’s aviation unions told Congress yesterday that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must improve its labor management relations after a contentious eight years under the Bush administration; address flight crew fatigue; improve aviation maintenance safety; and modernize the air traffic control system.
At the Senate aviation subcommittee hearing on the FAA reauthorization bill, Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), told the panel:
A restoration of what was once a great collaborative relationship is only possible with the existence of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and a fair process for negotiating future CBAs and other labor agreements. Air traffic controllers have been working under FAA-imposed work and pay rules for nearly 1,000 days.
Obama Puts Air Safety Back in the Passenger Seat
For the first time in more than three years, the nation’s National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has been cleared to land a fair contract with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Yesterday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the Obama administration was appointing mediators to settle the dispute.
In 2006, the Bush administration’s FAA rejected NATCA’s call for mediation to settle a contract and walked away from the bargaining table. The agency then imposed a set of work rules and wage cuts that have driven controllers out of the towers. Because of the deplorable work environment, more than 2,600 controllers have left the FAA, creating a shortage of experienced controllers and threatening aviation safety.
Heroic Controllers Talk Passenger Through Landing Troubled Plane
In what some are calling an Easter miracle, several members of the Air Traffic Controllers (NATCA) in Southern Florida guided a plane to a successful landing after its pilot fell unconscious and a passenger had to fly the aircraft in heavy traffic.
Around 1:30 p.m. yesterday, passengers aboard a Super King Air two-engine turboprop aircraft carrying four passengers from Marco Island, Fla., to Jackson, Miss., radioed controllers at the Miami traffic control center that the pilot was unconscious and they needed help immediately.
Two controllers, one with extensive experience as a pilot, helped one of the passengers bring the plane in. The passenger is a private pilot but is certified only in single-engine aircraft and had never flown a King Air.
Former Pilots President Nominated to Head Federal Aviation Administration
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Capt. Randy Babbitt, who spent 25 years in the cockpit beginning with Eastern Airlines and served two terms as president of the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), was nominated last week by President Obama to take over the controls of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Current ALPA President Capt. John Prater says he is confident that as FAA administrator, Babbitt will develop a flight plan to
guide the FAA into the future….Capt. Babbitt’s decisive leadership will position the FAA to take aggressive action to modernize our country’s antiquated airspace in the face of air traffic demand that is sure to escalate as the economy improves.
The White House announcement of his appointment said Babbitt is a
nationally recognized leader in the field of aviation safety and policy, and labor relations with almost 40 years of experience in the industry.
Pilots, Controllers Must Be Part of New Air Safety System Development
The nation’s crowded skies—with about 50,000 flights a day—will become even more jam-packed with as many as 150,000 flights every 24 hours by 2025, making it critical for a whole new air traffic control system to be put into place.
But the controllers who staff the towers and tracking facilities and the pilots in the cockpits must play a major role in developing and implementing the new space-based air traffic control system—known as NextGen—that will replace today’s out-of-date technology, leaders from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) and Air Line Pilots (ALPA) told congressional committees.
Air Traffic Controllers Honored for Action Above and Beyond
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Sixteen air traffic controllers credited with 11 “saves” in 2008—meaning they assisted pilots in landing safely, avoiding collisions or overcoming instrument failures—were honored last week with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) Archie League Medal of Safety awards.
Air traffic controllers juggle a variety of variables and complex scenarios. Their ability to adapt to ever-changing situations while keeping their composure is a skill they have mastered. Says NATCA President Patrick Forrey:
Though the men and women these controllers saved call them heroes, for these controllers it was simply a matter of relying on their training and experience—allowing them to react with precision and skill, without hesitation. Heroic yet humble, these controllers represent our profession well, and their commitment to safety inspires everything we do at NATCA.
Union Heroes Save Passengers on US Airways Flight
The quick thinking, bravery, experience and extensive training of US Airways Flight 1549 pilot, Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles, the crew of flight attendants, the air traffic controllers guiding the flight low over Manhattan and the rescuers were the key factors in yesterday’s “Miracle on the Hudson,” where 155 people survived an emergency landing in the river.
The mainstream media is chronicling the miracle, but as Marcy Wheeler on Emptywheel points out:
What they are not telling you is just about every single one of these heroes is a union member.
FAA Fails to Reach Performance Goals for 2008
With a record number of air traffic controllers retiring early or simply leaving the towers and radar facilities after the Federal Aviation Administration unilaterally imposed new work rules and pay cuts in 2006, trainees make up more than one-quarter of the controller workforce.
That, says the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), is at the heart of critical safety shortcomings in the FAA.
Burdened by an increasingly inexperienced workforce and a continuation of failed staffing and labor relations policies, the FAA has admitted that not only did it fail in fiscal year 2008 to meet its own performance goals for one of its most critical safety issues—incidents involving planes getting too close—but the agency is off to a poor start to the new fiscal year as well.
