PASS PRESIDENT'S RESPONSE TO SENATE APPROVAL OF FAA REAUTHORIZATION BILL

Details: Published: July 18, 2013

PASS President Tom Brantley today released the following statement regarding FAA Administrator Marion Blakey’s commitment to the Senate to not contract out the systems specialist workforce during the 2004 fiscal year:

“The administration’s plan to privatize the critical safety functions performed by systems specialists has been put on hold for now while the Congress studies the issue during the next year.

“The 6,100 systems specialists represented by PASS are indebted to the members of the Senate from both sides of the aisle that fought to protect the systems specialist workforce from privatization. After Congress has had an opportunity to study privatization of the air traffic control system thoroughly, PASS is confident that everyone will agree that the maintenance and certification functions performed by systems specialists are inherently governmental. We hope to see legislation enacted as a result of Congress’s investigation that will protect the safety-critical functions of the air traffic control system from privatization.

“Finally, the members of PASS extend their deepest gratitude to Senators Lautenberg, Rockefeller, Hollings, Reid and Daschle who worked tirelessly to ensure that our nation’s air traffic control system remains the safest in the world.”

###

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.