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This hit the news today. I would like to hear some feedback from pilots about the possible selection of Duane Woerth.
I like the selection... a former union leader running the FAA, and a pilot. I think this is a really good thing... what do you guys think ?
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[ Dow Jones & Company, Inc. · 2008-11-21 ]
By Andy Pasztor and Christopher Conkey, Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
A one-time union leader is a top contender to head the Federal Aviation Administration, people close to President-elect Barack Obama's transition team said, at a time when smooth labor-management relations will be critical to the agency's modernization plans.
Airline consultant Duane Woerth, who was president of the Air Line Pilots Association from 1999 to 2006, has met with House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D., Minn.) and has his tentative support, according to people familiar with their discussions. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W. Va.), who heads an aviation subcommittee, is slated to meet with Mr. Woerth in the next few days.
(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)
Stephanie Cutter, spokeswoman for the Obama transition team, declined to comment. Mr. Woerth and the lawmakers couldn't be reached for comment.
People familiar with the matter said the situation remains fluid, no final decision has been made and other candidates still could gain strength. The dynamics also could change if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) pushes aide Robert Herbert for the FAA post.
Separately, Debbie Hersman, a current Democratic member of the National Transportation Safety Board, is likely to be nominated to be its next chairwoman, according to people familiar with the matter. Labor groups are also enthused that former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, a senior member of Mr. Obama's transition team overseeing aviation issues, remains a leading candidate to head the Transportation Department.
Mr. Woerth, who was a Northwest Airlines pilot and then went to work advising company officials in the carrier's Washington D.C. office, has the strong backing of various labor groups, including more than two dozen transportation- trade unions, seeking to cash in political chits for aggressively supporting Mr. Obama during the campaign. But Mr. Woerth, who frequently prodded the agency to step up air-safety efforts, also has garnered bipartisan endorsements on Capitol Hill and enjoys the backing of some aircraft makers and airline-industry officials.
The FAA job traditionally goes to an industry executive, high-ranking military officer or government official. No union leader has had the top job since at least the 1960s. But the agency is embroiled in protracted negotiations with the union representing air-traffic controllers, and labor peace is widely seen as a prerequisite to upgrading the nation's air-traffic system.
The union that represents the FAA's 15,000 controllers scored a big contract win when Ms. Garvey led the agency in 1998. Five years later, relations between the union and the Bush administration started to deteriorate when it came time to negotiate a new contract.
Amid a rancorous impasse in 2006, then-Sen. Barack Obama sponsored legislation that would strip away the FAA's ability to impose labor rules and force the two sides into arbitration. The measure failed to pass, and the FAA imposed new work rules and pay requirements on the air traffic controllers union.
Frustrated by what they characterize as authoritarian work environments and less-generous pay scales - the typical new hire makes 30% less under the FAA's imposed terms - many veteran controllers have opted to retire in recent years. This has exacerbated a turnover problem that the FAA long anticipated. The agency is now in a major campaign to hire and train new controllers.
Earlier this year, the House passed legislation that would require the two sides to enter arbitration to settle their dispute. But the Senate version, which only addressed labor spats in the future, failed to pass.
However, the election of Mr. Obama has boosted morale and halted attrition for time being, NATCA says. "We are seeing a lot of controllers saying, 'You know what, I'm going to wait this out and see what happens next year,'" said Doug Church, a NATCA spokesman. "This was a candidate that had been friendly to them."
Other action items on the incoming FAA chief's plate include initiatives to reduce pilot fatigue in the cockpit and to enhance oversight of aircraft maintenance - particularly work outsourced to foreign shops. Rep. Oberstar, who has close ties to some labor groups and whose influence in these areas is bound to increase in the next administration, also is supporting a top aide, Clay Foushee, for a possible senior FAA slot, according to people familiar with the matter.
By far the biggest issue confronting the agency, however, is the slow-moving transition to new air-traffic control technology, a process dubbed "NextGen" by the agency. The goal is to replace the aging, radar-based infrastructure relied on by air traffic controllers today with a satellite-based network that give a much more precise read on the location of planes in the sky. That will allow planes to fly closer together, the thinking goes, reducing delays, saving fuel and enabling more flights at into and out of busy airports.
"At an age when teenage drivers use GPS systems in their cars, air traffic controllers still use World War II-era radar to guide modern jumbo jets," said President George W. Bush on Wednesday. "That doesn't seem to make any sense to me."
Mr. Bush signed an executive order on Wednesday directing the many federal agencies involved in the NextGen transition to make it a high priority, but current government forecasts suggest the new system won't be up and running nationwide before 2020. Mr. Obama and his picks to head the FAA and Transportation Department may try to speed up the process, but many obstacles exist. Already, airlines are opposing the first major NextGen rulemaking by the FAA, obligating airlines to equip their jets with advance transmission technology.
Legislation that would set up a reliable, multi-year funding stream for NextGen failed to clear Congress this year, scuttled partly by disagreements over cost sharing among carriers, business aircraft and private pilots.
I like the selection... a former union leader running the FAA, and a pilot. I think this is a really good thing... what do you guys think ?
*******************************
[ Dow Jones & Company, Inc. · 2008-11-21 ]
By Andy Pasztor and Christopher Conkey, Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
A one-time union leader is a top contender to head the Federal Aviation Administration, people close to President-elect Barack Obama's transition team said, at a time when smooth labor-management relations will be critical to the agency's modernization plans.
Airline consultant Duane Woerth, who was president of the Air Line Pilots Association from 1999 to 2006, has met with House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D., Minn.) and has his tentative support, according to people familiar with their discussions. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W. Va.), who heads an aviation subcommittee, is slated to meet with Mr. Woerth in the next few days.
(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal Web site, WSJ.com.)
Stephanie Cutter, spokeswoman for the Obama transition team, declined to comment. Mr. Woerth and the lawmakers couldn't be reached for comment.
People familiar with the matter said the situation remains fluid, no final decision has been made and other candidates still could gain strength. The dynamics also could change if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) pushes aide Robert Herbert for the FAA post.
Separately, Debbie Hersman, a current Democratic member of the National Transportation Safety Board, is likely to be nominated to be its next chairwoman, according to people familiar with the matter. Labor groups are also enthused that former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, a senior member of Mr. Obama's transition team overseeing aviation issues, remains a leading candidate to head the Transportation Department.
Mr. Woerth, who was a Northwest Airlines pilot and then went to work advising company officials in the carrier's Washington D.C. office, has the strong backing of various labor groups, including more than two dozen transportation- trade unions, seeking to cash in political chits for aggressively supporting Mr. Obama during the campaign. But Mr. Woerth, who frequently prodded the agency to step up air-safety efforts, also has garnered bipartisan endorsements on Capitol Hill and enjoys the backing of some aircraft makers and airline-industry officials.
The FAA job traditionally goes to an industry executive, high-ranking military officer or government official. No union leader has had the top job since at least the 1960s. But the agency is embroiled in protracted negotiations with the union representing air-traffic controllers, and labor peace is widely seen as a prerequisite to upgrading the nation's air-traffic system.
The union that represents the FAA's 15,000 controllers scored a big contract win when Ms. Garvey led the agency in 1998. Five years later, relations between the union and the Bush administration started to deteriorate when it came time to negotiate a new contract.
Amid a rancorous impasse in 2006, then-Sen. Barack Obama sponsored legislation that would strip away the FAA's ability to impose labor rules and force the two sides into arbitration. The measure failed to pass, and the FAA imposed new work rules and pay requirements on the air traffic controllers union.
Frustrated by what they characterize as authoritarian work environments and less-generous pay scales - the typical new hire makes 30% less under the FAA's imposed terms - many veteran controllers have opted to retire in recent years. This has exacerbated a turnover problem that the FAA long anticipated. The agency is now in a major campaign to hire and train new controllers.
Earlier this year, the House passed legislation that would require the two sides to enter arbitration to settle their dispute. But the Senate version, which only addressed labor spats in the future, failed to pass.
However, the election of Mr. Obama has boosted morale and halted attrition for time being, NATCA says. "We are seeing a lot of controllers saying, 'You know what, I'm going to wait this out and see what happens next year,'" said Doug Church, a NATCA spokesman. "This was a candidate that had been friendly to them."
Other action items on the incoming FAA chief's plate include initiatives to reduce pilot fatigue in the cockpit and to enhance oversight of aircraft maintenance - particularly work outsourced to foreign shops. Rep. Oberstar, who has close ties to some labor groups and whose influence in these areas is bound to increase in the next administration, also is supporting a top aide, Clay Foushee, for a possible senior FAA slot, according to people familiar with the matter.
By far the biggest issue confronting the agency, however, is the slow-moving transition to new air-traffic control technology, a process dubbed "NextGen" by the agency. The goal is to replace the aging, radar-based infrastructure relied on by air traffic controllers today with a satellite-based network that give a much more precise read on the location of planes in the sky. That will allow planes to fly closer together, the thinking goes, reducing delays, saving fuel and enabling more flights at into and out of busy airports.
"At an age when teenage drivers use GPS systems in their cars, air traffic controllers still use World War II-era radar to guide modern jumbo jets," said President George W. Bush on Wednesday. "That doesn't seem to make any sense to me."
Mr. Bush signed an executive order on Wednesday directing the many federal agencies involved in the NextGen transition to make it a high priority, but current government forecasts suggest the new system won't be up and running nationwide before 2020. Mr. Obama and his picks to head the FAA and Transportation Department may try to speed up the process, but many obstacles exist. Already, airlines are opposing the first major NextGen rulemaking by the FAA, obligating airlines to equip their jets with advance transmission technology.
Legislation that would set up a reliable, multi-year funding stream for NextGen failed to clear Congress this year, scuttled partly by disagreements over cost sharing among carriers, business aircraft and private pilots.