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.

FMI: www.faa.gov