FederalDaily - August 11, 2006

Labor Group Blames Delays on Contractor

The union that represents Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) systems specialists blamed delays recently experienced by California air travelers on the agency’s reliance on outside contractors. The Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) said that more than 40 flights were delayed an average of more than 30 minutes when a contractor working with the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure failed to properly coordinate maintenance activity with FAA employees. PASS said that although the contractor discovered and corrected a data line problem, it failed to tell employees responsible for maintenance at the San Diego air traffic control tower, causing the delays. For more, go to: www.passnational.org/PASS.shtml

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Trade Groups Slam Advisory Panel’s Recommendations

A group of trade associations representing a broad range of federal contractors charged that a government panel's recommendations on the purchasing of commercial services “run contrary to 10 years of procurement reform.” The coalition, which includes the Information Technology Association of America and a number of other leading industry groups, spoke out against recent recommendations adopted by the Acquisition Advisory Panel, which was created by the Services Acquisition Reform Act of 2003 to review and recommend changes to federal acquisition law. The groups made the statement in connection with joint comments they submitted to the panel on Aug. 9. According to a joint release from the groups, the advisory panel’s recommendations “would add time and expense to government agencies’ efforts to buy private sector solutions and support and would make the procurement process less flexible.” For more information, go to: www.itaa.org/upload/es/docs/CPWG_Response.pdf.

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USPS to Reinstate Local Retirement Counseling

The American Postal Workers Union and the U.S. Postal Service signed an agreement Aug. 4 requiring the agency to restore local individual and group retirement counseling, according to the union. The Postal Service had discontinued the local counseling sessions in April 2005, when it applied the Human Resources Shared Services program to retirement and separation activities. Under the plan, the activities were transferred from local facilities to a central site in Greensboro, N.C. Under the new agreement, the Postal Service will reinstate the local counseling. To read the agreement, go to: www.apwu.org/news/webart/2006/webart-0645-retirementcounselingmou-060804.pdf.

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