• FAA Reauthorization
• Contract Negotiations
• Staffing
• Modernization
• Foreign Repair Stations
• Certificated Repair Facilities
• Pilot Programs

STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT IN FAA MODERNIZATION

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS) represents approximately 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees throughout the United States and in several foreign locations. The largest PASS bargaining unit is the Air Traffic Organization Technical Operations unit, consisting of technical employees (systems specialists, electronics technicians and computer specialists) who install, maintain, repair and certify the radar, navigation and communication systems making up the air traffic control system.

The FAA has introduced a plan to modernize the National Airspace System (NAS) through development and deployment of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Although the FAA estimates a target date of 2025 to realize the full benefits of NextGen, it is starting to execute ideas and plans related to the new system. As the FAA continues on this path, it is critical that the men and women responsible for maintaining, certifying and protecting this country’s aviation system be meaningfully involved at every point in the process.

Under previous administrators, PASS worked closely with the FAA in its efforts to modernize the NAS. Involving the employees who use and operate the systems in the development of those systems greatly improves the final product and inevitably saves the agency money. Yet, in approximately 2003, the FAA began to systematically eliminate PASS’s participation. 

At a 2007 hearing before the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) emphasized the important role stakeholders, such as FAA technicians, should play in “planning for and deploying the new technology” that will be “important to the success of NextGen.”<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[1]<!--[endif]--> The GAO continued by stating that input from current technicians “who will maintain NextGen equipment is important when considering human factors and safety issues. Our work on past air traffic control modernization projects has shown that a lack of stakeholder or expert involvement early and throughout a project can lead to costly increases and delays.”<!--[if !supportFootnotes]-->[2]<!--[endif]--> Yet, the FAA chooses to ignore these recommendations, preferring to develop these systems in a vacuum in which no critical views are permitted. Along with the incredible technical expertise that PASS members offer the FAA, they also provide an independent view of the FAA’s program management. 

FAA technicians and controllers have the expertise and field experience needed to identify problems before the systems are deployed, and the FAA needs this expertise in order to field systems that are cost effective and safely meet the operational requirements of the NAS. 

Congressional Action Requested

The House FAA reauthorization bill (H.R. 2881) includes language that would require the FAA to collaborate with FAA unions in planning, development and deployment of air traffic control modernization projects, including the Next Generation Air Transportation System. PASS supports this language and would like to see similar language included in the Senate version of the bill (S. 1300).