FAA, controllers union to hold second meeting on safety issues

Federal Aviation Administration acting chief Robert Sturgell and National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Pat Forrey will meet for the second time on Thursday to discuss aviation safety issues -- a sign that the relationship between the agency and the union could be improving.

Forrey requested a meeting with Sturgell in a Dec. 10, 2007, letter, saying that while the union was undertaking its own review of some of the issues cited in an early-December Government Accountability Office report on runway incursions, NATCA and FAA needed to work together quickly to address pressing safety issues.

"NATCA is extremely worried that the safety margins -- which have kept the nation's skies the safest in the world -- have all but eroded," Forrey wrote.

Forrey and Sturgell met for the first time on Dec. 21. Afterward, Forrey said he disagreed with FAA's focus on technology as the critical element in managing delays, and he was concerned that it was shifting its goals to produce better performance results.

"The FAA continues to claim that critical technology needed to prevent mishaps and handle congestion is fielded on time and within budget, yet this flies in the face of data released by the Department of Transportation inspector general and GAO," Forrey said. "It's clear from congressional testimony that representatives from both political parties believe that re-baselining several major programs contributes to a false sense of security that [the] system safety was in check."

But Sturgell and Forrey did agree to the Jan. 3 meeting, where they plan to discuss a mechanism for cooperating to identify and solve safety problems.

Sturgell's predecessor, Marion Blakey, ended a program that allowed FAA's unions to send representatives to consult with the agency on technical projects. That decision was only one area of contention between Blakey and the unions that represent FAA workers.

Cooperation with NATCA also became an issue in the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation of an August 2006 crash in Lexington, Ky., that killed 49 people. NTSB recommended that FAA work with the union to address controller scheduling, but NATCA said its representatives were not given equal status on the working group convened by the agency to review the incident.

Sturgell may not have much time to advance changes in policy or in relationships with FAA's unions. The Senate Commerce Committee cancelled a planned Dec. 20 hearing on Sturgell's nomination to a five-year term as administrator, and has yet to reschedule it.

Forrey said he remained focused on winning a negotiated contract for NATCA members and his meetings with Sturgell did not change that goal. FAA imposed its final contract offer on NATCA in September 2006 after declaring negotiations were at an impasse.

"NATCA's position has not changed: We have a right to a negotiated, ratifiable agreement," Forrey said. "The FAA continues to refuse to negotiate a comprehensive collective bargaining agreement that would address the reasons why controllers are leaving in record numbers."