Thu, Mar 04, 2004
The Real Deal Or NATCA Politics At Play?
As the campaigning for
the White house intensifies, so does the mix of political and
industry issues. On Wednesday, the National Air Traffic Controllers
Association (NATCA) gave its full support to Sen. John Kerry's
presidential campaign, declaring Senator Kerry as the candidate
"who will ensure that the safety of the flying public never takes a
back seat to political ideology or special interests."
Mind you, NATCA seems to be basing their endorsement, in part,
on a largely unsuccessful fight they waged last year over a
situation that (technically) didn't exist -- namely FAA's so-called
attempt to privatize ATC based on the decision
to designate a small number of control towers to be operated
under private contract. NATCA tried to make this a safety
issue and despite being corrected by organizations such as AOPA and
the FAA itself, they
maintained that their opposition was NOT self-serving, but solely
in the interests of safety. Few industry pundits accepted this
characterization at face value.
"Air traffic controllers are both Republicans and Democrats, but
when it comes to aviation safety, we support any elected official
who is truly committed to making sure the flying public comes
first," NATCA President John Carr said. "We represent more than
15,000 dedicated FAA employees who work each and every day to guide
America home safely. As public servants, we would be proud to
have Senator Kerry as our commander-in-chief and we will do all we
can to support his campaign."
In a letter to NATCA
President John Carr, Senator Kerry stated, "I have been
disappointed with the Bush Administration's systematic plans to
diminish our air traffic control system. They have sought to
privatize air traffic control services. They are currently seeking
to slash the budget for modernization of air traffic control
technologies. And they have taken a position of malign neglect
toward the looming retirement crisis that will devastate staffing
of air traffic control facilities throughout the country in the
next few years."
Senator Kerry also pledged that "we will restore the partnership
between the FAA and the air traffic controllers that is essential
to true progress in the important task of keeping our skies safe."
Senator Kerry asserted that the Bush Administration has "squandered
the good will that existed between the FAA and air traffic
controllers in the previous administration, a period of
unprecedented progress in the modernization of air traffic
control."
Kerry has yet to describe his intentions on the much-debated
user fees issue or other concerns affecting the general aviation
community.
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