One Of 38 To Be Shut Down Under Privatization

When the FAA closes 38 of the 58 Flight Service Stations across America, Mike Micoletti and some 60 of his co-workers will pack up and move on.

"I guess everyone's offered a job, but as far as the time period we don't know how long it will be," Micoletti told the Green Bay News-Chronicle. "It'll take six months during which we're still going to be government employees, then we'll be Lockheed Martin employees. But that's only guaranteed while they stay in Green Bay."

Some FSS workers don't want to leave Green Bay. Who can blame them? Not only do the controllers at Green Bay's facility perform their routine tasks -- weather briefings and en route communications -- but they also help out with the biggest air show on Earth: AirVenture at Oshkosh.

Even though Wisconsin hosts the EAA event each year, the transfer of FSS operations to Lockheed-Martin will leave the state without an office. The closest will be in Princeton, MN.

As ANN reported earlier this week, the FAA awarded Lockheed a $1.9 billion, ten-year contract to operate the flight service system, saying it would save more than $2.2 billion in the process.

Although controllers like Micoletti, who's the local representative for the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists, has been promised a job with Lockheed, many of his colleagues are nowhere near thrilled about the move.

"As a direct result of his management agenda, President Bush is sanctioning government employees losing a large portion of their pensions," said Kate Breen, president of the NAATS, in a statement quoted by the News-Chronicle.

FMI: www.lmco.com, www.faa.gov/ats/atp/atp300/FSSHome.htm