FAA Unions Reject Privatization Suggestion

0

The heads of all seven unions representing FAA employees have jointly condemned Congress’s exploration of privatization of the air traffic operation, saying what’s needed is reliable funding for the agency. “On behalf of the thousands of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees represented by our organisations, we are writing to express our viewpoint regarding recent discussions related to reform of the FAA, specifically the opinions brought forth at the March 24, 2015, House Aviation Subcommittee hearing titled ‘Options for FAA Air Traffic Control Reform,'” said a jointly-issued letter quoted by Air Traffic Management News. “As representatives of FAA employees, we firmly believe that the most significant issue currently facing the agency is the lack of a stable and secure funding stream.” A common theme at that hearing was the suggestion the ATO be separated from the rest of the FAA as some form of non-profit standalone government-owned corporation but the unions said it’s important to keep the FAA as a “cohesive unit” to maintain interdepartmental communication.

Although there seems to be general agreement that the FAA needs fixing, the priorities and processes involved are subject to widespread disagreement. For instance, Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said it was his belief that the “vast bureaucracy” that the FAA has become is ill-equipped to implement complex programs like NextGen. “As a government agency, the FAA is simply not set up to determine risks, pursue the most cost-efficient investments, manage people to produce results, reward excellence, or punish incompetence like a normal business,”he said. The unions suggested the incompetence lies elsewhere. “There is no debate that sequestration (automatic budget cuts), operating under multiple continuing resolutions and the recent government shutdown resulted in negative impacts that resonated nationwide,” they said. In case you missed it, there’s a 142-minute video of the whole hearing below.

LEAVE A REPLY