POWER BLACKOUT REINFORCES POINT: DON'T PRIVATIZE SYSTEMS SPECIALISTS
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- Published: July 18, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC – When the massive electrical power outage hit eight states in two of the country’s busiest air traffic regions last Thursday, the system put into place to land those flights safely
worked flawlessly thanks to the hard work and dedication of the FAA systems specialist workforce, the union representing systems specialists said today.
“Tens of thousands of air travelers’ lives were at stake,” said Michael D. Fanfalone, president of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS), “and just like on September 11, 2001, our technicians provided a vital service that ensured their safe arrival.” On Friday, he noted, the Federal Aviation Administration “acknowledged that our systems specialists ‘once again performed like champions’ in coping with a chaotic situation, but next year, unless the Congress decides otherwise, the FAA will be auctioning their critical functions off to the lowest bidder.”
FAA systems specialists certify and maintain the essential equipment used by air traffic controllers to guide over 200,000 commercial flights safely everyday. During the blackout, systems specialists ensured that the air traffic control system was functioning at all times by coordinating backup generators, prioritizing equipment and facilities, monitoring outages and notifying air traffic control of what systems were available to use, as well as keeping an eye on the potential impact on the entire air traffic control system.
“There is no single company in existence today with the systems specialist workforce’s capability to keep our air traffic control system safe,” Fanfalone said. “Systems specialists understand the intricacies of the entire air traffic control system. If it is privatized, the FAA would have to break up the work among many bidders in many states, assuring that a crisis like last week’s power failure would endanger the public’s safety.”
Fanfalone further explained that when problems occur with air traffic control equipment, contractors have to be called to the site, extending the length of any equipment outage. “Instead, systems specialists were already onsite last week and they kept the air traffic control system functioning smoothly and, most importantly, safely.”
At issue is a congressional conference committee report on the FAA reauthorization bill, filed just prior to Congress’ August recess. PASS officials note that the report disregards language in the Senate version of the bill that included bipartisan efforts to protect the systems specialist workforce. Instead, the conference committee yielded to White House pressure and opened the door to privatizing the important functions performed by systems specialists.
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PASS represents more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information, visit the PASS website at www.passnational.org.