Sat, Jul 02, 2005
Blocks Lockheed Deal
On Capitol Hill Thursday, the US
House blocked efforts by the FAA to outsource Flight Service
Stations around the country, a move that would have closed a number
of them and threatened the pensions of more than 1,000
specialists.
The National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS)
applauded the 238 members of Congress that passed an amendment to
prevent the closure of 58 Flight Service Stations across the
nation.
Kate Breen, president of the National Association of Air Traffic
Specialists is thrilled this tri-partisan effort had such a good
turn out. "These elected officials should be commended for seeing
the other side of this contracting out issue. This is about safety
and keeping the pilots and their passengers safe, it should not be
about a major corporation making a profit." Lockheed Martin won the
contract on February 1, 2005 and with a contract this size Congress
should have a voice. The contract award was for $1.9 Billion over
10 years and this amendment would give Congress a chance to examine
the issue fully through a hearing or a Government Accountability
Office (GAO) study.
Breen also said "It's about the employees as well, over 1,000
employees will lose their pensions if Lockheed Martin takes over on
October 4, 2005. The promise of jobs by Lockheed Martin for most
employees is for a short period of time to close one of the 38
facilities. The FAA is also very proud of the personnel policies
they have set up for employees, what they don't tell you is that
these policies to allow people to bid on jobs have been used for
less than 10 percent of the affected employees."
President Bush has threatened to veto the measure, saying House
members are standing in the way of government reform. But Breen
wasn't sure the administration would carry through on that
threat.
"Is [Bush] really going to hold up a
bill that size for us?" she asked. She said she remains "cautiously
optimistic" about the provision's chance of survival.
The Senate will take up the appropriations bill after the 4th of
July recess, NAATS hopes the Senators will vote to keep these jobs
within the Government for safety and personnel issues as the
distinguished members of the House did.
More News
Airbus Racer Demonstrator Makes Inaugural Flight Airbus Helicopters' ambitious Racer demonstrator has achieved its inaugural flight as part of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, a corners>[...]
A little Bit Quieter, Said Testers, But in the End it's Still a DA40 Diamond Aircraft recently completed a little pilot project with Lufthansa Aviation Training, putting a pair of >[...]
Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance >[...]
Contributing To The Accident Was The Pilot’s Use Of Methamphetamine... Analysis: The pilot departed on a local flight to perform low-altitude maneuvers in a nearby desert val>[...]
From 2015 (YouTube Version): Overcoming Obstacles To Achieve Their Dreams… At EAA AirVenture 2015, FedEx arrived with one of their Airbus freight-hauling aircraft and placed>[...]
Airbus Racer Helicopter Demonstrator First Flight Part of Clean Sky 2 Initiative
See All