PASS ASKS ARBITRATOR TO ORDER RESCISSION OF LOCKHEED MARTIN CONTRACT

Details: Published: July 18, 2013

Complaint Alleges FAA Breached Labor Agreement with Technicians Union

WASHINGTON, DC—Professional Airways Systems Specialists(PASS), AFL-CIO, the labor organization representing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees who maintain, certify, repair and install equipment in the air traffic control system, is seeking an order from a federal arbitrator requiring the FAA to rescind a service contract awarded in February 2005 to Lockheed Martin for the operation of the FAA’s automated flight service stations. Flight service stations provide weather and aeronautical information to our nation’s pilots around the country.

Yesterday, a hearing was held before Arbitrator Shyam Das to address the union’s 2003 complaint that the FAA’s A-76 process was fatally flawed because it violated a contractual agreement that requires the FAA to involve the union in the process to transfer work performed by federal employees to outside contractors. By refusing to allow PASS to participate

in the A-76 process, the FAA was able to award the contract to Lockheed Martin without the technical expertise of the employees who maintain flight service station systems.

“Throughout the A-76 process, the FAA completely ignored the fact that PASS technical employees maintain and certify critical equipment and facilities, such as emergency power systems, used by personnel in all flight service stations,” stated PASS National President Tom Brantley. “Although PASS is completely opposed to the politically popular policy of contracting out safety-related work, which should be off limits to corporations whose overriding motivation is maximizing profits, the arbitration is about the FAA’s refusal once again to adhere to its agreements with PASS.”

Brantley also stated that if PASS had been allowed to participate in the A-76 process, as required under the labor agreement, the potential negative impact to the NAS could have been minimized. “This is a blatant violation of our agreement with the agency,” said Brantley. “We believe that the safety of the National Airspace System (NAS) should not be contracted out to the lowest bidder.”

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PASS represents more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information, visit the PASS website at www.passnational.org.