Hollywood, Fla.
The White House’s quiet move earlier this month to designate air traffic control as a commercial activity defies common sense and clearly contradicts current law. It is yet another step in the Bush Administration’s ideologically-driven campaign to privatize air traffic services in America. The Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act of 1998, which sets guidelines for the federal government to declare an activity either commercial or inherently governmental, defines the latter as a function “so intimately related to the public interest as to mandate performance by federal employees.” It would be an understatement to say that air traffic control’s intrinsic link with public safety meets this criterion.
The Bush Administration, flanked by anti-government think tanks, is placing ideology ahead of safety in wanting to privatize or commercialize this inherently governmental safety function. The men and women who operate, install, maintain and inspect our air traffic system have proven themselves as more than worthy to carry out their important roles. Their work – and the flying public’s safety – should not be put on the auction block. A scan of the globe shows nothing but failure wherever privatization has been tried. Whether it’s the insolvency of the British system or the steep increases in fees passed onto passengers in Canada or the chronic fatigue caused by short-staffing in the Australian system, the lesson is crystal clear: we should not privatize our air traffic system.
Furthermore, the labor movement is outraged at recent remarks by the Department of Transportation Inspector General (IG) Kenneth Mead. It seems the department’s IG wants to focus on everything but real solutions to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) operational problems. In recent testimony before the House and Senate, the IG demonized the hard working men and women who daily safely guide hundreds of thousands of airplanes across our nation. The IG disingenuously pointed to controller salaries, compensation and agreements with the FAA as problems within the Agency. What Mead failed to report was the staggering staffing shortage across the system which results in astronomical overtime costs, overworked employees and too few inspections of the system. And he failed to even mention the looming crisis with controller retirements in the next decade. The labor movement calls on Congress to review how the IG is performing his FAA oversight duties and functions.
We are pleased that many in Congress have seen the error of the Administration’s ways. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) has recently introduced legislation (S. 338) to designate nearly all FAA air traffic services jobs as “inherently governmental.” The designation would apply to air traffic controllers, flight service specialists and air traffic technicians. It is also significant that dozens of House members on both sides of the aisle have written the Administration to challenge its privatization agenda. The labor movement applauds lawmakers for their efforts to protect aviation safety.
We live in a world that grows more dangerous and complicated every day. Privatizing air traffic services will expose air travelers to unnecessary and untold safety risks while not addressing any of the real challenges facing our aviation system.
Therefore, be it resolved that the AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions will:
- Continue to oppose the efforts of the Administration to privatize our air traffic system and push our government to reverse its ill-advised decision to designate air traffic services as a commercial activity;
- Urge Congress to review the Department of Transportation IG’s conduct in his oversight of the FAA; and
- Support passage of S. 338, and any similar legislation introduced in the 108th Congress.