Lawmakers Protest CA, NY Job Transfers
Thirty-five members of Congress
recently urged the Federal Aviation Administration to avoid
consolidating engineering jobs at nine locations across the
country.
New York Senator Charles Schumer (right) said Sunday the FAA was
considering transferring nearly 100 engineering jobs from the
agency's Jamaica, NY regional office to Atlanta within months,
reports Newsday.
The Jamaica office serves New York’s busiest airports:
Newark Liberty International, La Guardia and Kennedy. Last year was
one of the worst on record for flight delays and safety at those
three airports, Schumer said.
The Senator criticized any planned transfer, saying such jobs
are crucial to installing new technology to improve safety and
reduce delays.
"While I share the FAA’s commitment to ensure the safety
and efficiency of air travel throughout the United States,
I’m concerned that the FAA’s consolidation plans could
compromise air travel safety and reduce the efficiency of the
services performed by regional offices," Schumer said.
In a similar move, a reported 130 jobs may also be transferred
from the FAA’s Hawthorne, CA regional office which serves the
busy Los Angeles airspace, including LAX.
In a letter to the FAA, Representatives Maxine Waters (D-Los
Angeles) and Jane Harman (D-El Segundo) wrote, “Safe and
efficient air travel requires engineering and support services that
are accessible and convenient for the airports and air travelers
that rely on them.”
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says the FAA has not yet reviewed the
letter, reports the Daily Breeze. "We will consider the contents of
the letter carefully and respond to the senators and
representatives as quickly as we can," Gregor said.
The House of Representatives in September approved the FAA
Reauthorization Act, which would prohibit the agency from
consolidating operations without prior approval of Congress. The
Senate is expected to review the matter sometime this year.
"In the meantime, the FAA should not move forward with plans to
consolidate the regional offices without congressional consultation
and oversight," wrote the members of Congress. "Therefore, we
recommend that you suspend all plans to consolidate the FAA’s
engineering services and consult with members of Congress regarding
the future of the FAA’s regional offices and the services
provided by these individuals."
Under the agency's consolidation plan, engineering jobs may also
be lost at FAA offices in Chicago; Anchorage, AK, Burlington, MA;
and Kansas City, MO. You can bet local lawmakers in those areas
won't be wild about the idea, either.
SpaceX to Launch Inversion RAY Reentry Vehicle in Fall
See All