33 Lawmakers Appeal To FAA For More Technicians
On Friday, 33 members of the US
Senate sent a letter to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell questioning the inadequate
staffing levels of the FAA technical workforce. The
letter comes after numerous and repeated concerns about
technical staffing raised by the Professional Aviation Safety
Specialists (PASS), AFL-CIO, the union that represents 11,000
employees at the FAA including technicians who install, maintain
and certify systems and equipment in the National Airspace System
(NAS).
The number of FAA technicians has fallen below 6,100, which was
the figure previously agreed upon by PASS and the FAA as being the
minimum number of technicians needed to maintain the system safely.
Some facilities are staffed at less than half of what the
facility’s workload generates, making daily operations
difficult and resulting in more unplanned outages and longer
restoration times. According to the Government Accountability
Office (GAO), there has been an increase in unscheduled outages
from an average of 21 hours in 2001 to about 40 hours in 2006.
Despite falling below the minimum number of technicians, the FAA
has not requested additional staffing in its proposed budget for FY
2009.
"Inadequate staffing is resulting in more outages, longer
recovery times, mounting delays for air travelers and a decreased
safety margin," said PASS President Tom Brantley. "PASS has
repeatedly warned the FAA about technical staffing levels, but the
FAA has failed to address PASS’s concerns."
Senate lawmakers requested that the FAA immediately take steps
to increase technician staffing to 6,100, at a minimum, and provide
a specific plan for ensuring that there is an adequate level of
technician staffing throughout the year to ensure a safe and
reliable aviation system. The Senate letter states that
"maintaining an adequate level of trained FAA technicians is
critical to protecting the safety of this country’s aviation
system. Every day that the FAA operates with an inadequate number
of technicians, the flying American public faces greater risk. Yet
insufficient staffing continues to be a major problem at numerous
facilities throughout the country."
"Technician staffing is in critical need of attention, but as we
have seen in recent weeks the FAA only takes action when backed
into a corner," said Brantley. "PASS is hopeful that the
recognition and requested action by Senate lawmakers will force the
FAA to immediately rectify this situation."
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) took the lead on the effort to call
attention to this important issue. PASS would like to thank Senator
Kerry and the 32 other senators who signed the letter: Sens. Daniel
Akaka (D-HI), Evan Bayh (D-IN), Joseph Biden (D-DE), Jeff Bingaman
(D-NM), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Benjamin
Cardin (D-MD), Robert Casey (D-PA), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Kent
Conrad (D-ND), Christopher Dodd (D-CT.), Russ Feingold (D-WI),
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar
(D-MN), Herbert Kohl (D-WI), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Frank Lautenberg
(D-NJ), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joseph Lieberman
(I-CT), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Barack Obama (D-IL), Mark Pryor
(D-AR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Bernard Sanders
(I-VT), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), James Webb
(D-VA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).