FederalDaily - November 20, 2007

NATCA Says Controller Shortage Hurting Economy

As Thanksgiving air travelers kick off the holiday travel season, the head of National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) took the opportunity to warn attendees at an industry luncheon that the nation’s controllers are handling higher volumes of traffic in an overworked, understaffed environment—and that the shortage of controllers is damaging the economy. In a Nov. 16 speech at a Transportation Table luncheon at the national Press Club, NATCA President Patrick Forrey warned said that controllers are still working without a Federal Aviation Administration contract, and that the lack of a contract has contributed to the record number of controllers who have retired in the past year. Nearly 1,000 veteran controllers have left via early retirement since September 2006, Forrey said, noting that he expects another 1,500 to leave by next September. “Our labor situation is having a very negative impact, even if the media isn’t paying that close attention,” Forrey said. “Our labor situation is damaging the U.S. economy and hurting travelers in the form of delayed flights and decreased safety.”  To see more, go to: www.natca.org.

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NTEU Urges Whistleblower Rights for TSA Workers

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) on Nov. 16 urged Transportation Security Administration (TSA) chief Kip Hawley to make good on his promise to extend full whistleblower rights to TSA employees. NTEU President Colleen Kelley noted that Hawley told a congressional hearing last week that he believes it is “a good idea” for screeners to have expanded whistleblower rights. TSA airport screeners now have limited whistleblower protections. TSA’s leadership has not been willing to use its discretion to expand TSA employee rights to match those available to other federal workers, Kelley said. “Clearly, this would be a step forward for TSA employees,” Kelley said, “but it is just one step in a process TSA needs to undertake to cut the dangerously high turnover rate within the ranks of airport passenger screeners and make TSA a workplace where people want to be.” Absent action by Hawley, Kelley said the union will support a House-passed bill, H.R. 985, which would provide such rights by statute. To see more, go to: www.nteu.org/PressKits/PressRelease/PressRelease.aspx?ID=1183.

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Union Applauds Bill to Limit USPS Subcontracting

The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) applauded a measure that would require the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to bargain with postal unions before making a commitment to significant subcontracting. The bill, H.R. 4236, introduced Nov. 15 by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., would require USPS to submit to arbitration if management and affected unions were unable to reach agreement. The bill would apply to any 12-month or longer private contract involving mail processing, mail handling or surface transportation of mail which is worth more $5 million or involves 50 work-years, said APWU President William Burrus. Under the terms of the current APWU collective bargaining agreement, USPS is able to avoid bargaining over subcontracting, Burrus said. “We have been successful in negotiating a requirement that the Postal Service ‘notify and consult’ with the unions when it contemplates subcontracting,” Burrus said, “but we have been unable to achieve real bargaining over whether or not specific activities will be subcontracted.” To see more, go to: http://apwu.org/news/webart/2007/webart07107-lynch_legislation-071116.htm.

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