National Association of Air Traffic Specialists

STATEMENT OF

FEBRUARY 25, 1997

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

I am Michael F. McAnaw, President of the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS). As President of NAATS, I still work regularly at an FAA field facility, as a GS-2152. At Seattle Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), I make daily contact with the public we serve - with our customers.

NAATS is the exclusive representative of the more than 2,450 controllers who work at the Flight Service Stations throughout the United States, and I am here today to give you the views of the people who provide vital safety functions to the flying public.

My testimony is in two parts: First, our recommendations on the FAA's FY 1998 budget and, second, a status report on the FAA's personnel reform efforts as mandated in the FY 1996 appropriations bill. I respectfully request that my entire written statement be made part of the record.

Before I begin, I want to take the opportunity of congratulating and welcoming the new members of the Subcommittee. We look forward to working with you all to further our mutual goals of making the FAA work more effectively, efficiently and safely. I also would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the Chairman and members of this Subcommittee for their efforts during last year's appropriations cycle to secure adequate funding for the FAA's Operations budget, particularly with respect to the relocation of employees from facilities formerly designated as Auxiliary Flight Service Stations into Automated Flight Service Stations. While there are still several such facilities in the continental U.S. which have not been consolidated, we have received assurances from the FAA that all FSS employees will be relocated prior to the end of the current fiscal year. The action by the Committee last year was critical in achieving long-term savings for the FAA and American taxpayers.

We also appreciate your continued support of operational funding in general. Without your actions, there would have been severe adverse impacts on the day-to-day operations of the nation's air traffic control system. We are confident that you will again make sure that sufficient funds are allocated for Operations in FY 1998.

THE FAA'S BUDGET

1. OASIS

Whenever the media report an FAA equipment failure or a facility going off-line, it is the men and women working the air traffic control system who keep it operating - and who safeguard the lives of air travelers. While outages at radar facilities and control towers receive most of the publicity, they also occur at Flight Service Stations, inconveniencing the flying public and posing a hazard to safety and efficiency of aviation. We are the ones whose knowledge and experience can override the shortcomings of our equipment. Our biggest equipment concern is with OASIS. As you are aware, the FAA has designated the OASIS system as the replacement for current equipment in AFSS's, and within the last year the agency has moved towards a final purchase decision. In fact, OASIS is one of the original three "lead the fleet" examples of the new procurement authority at the FAA, which this panel was instrumental in establishing

We believe, however, that the only reason that the FAA is moving as quickly as it is moving on this program is because of the leadership demonstrated by this Committee. The OASIS program has been delayed for years, and would in all likelihood still be languishing were it not for the specific authorizing of funds for the program two years ago mandated by this Committee. But, your leadership is still needed on this critical procurement.

Mr. Chairman, there are 61 Automated Flight Service Stations in America. Each was established to replace more than a dozen Flight Service Stations over a decade ago. Each is now equipped with an antiquated, outdated Model 1 Full Capacity computer system. Each needs to be replaced by an OASIS system. The contractors have indicated that because OASIS is based largely on commercially-available, off-the-shelf technology, that they would have no problem installing 61 systems within months of a successful operational testing and evaluation procedure.

Despite the need, the FAA continues its foot-dragging. The agency currently plans to purchase/lease only 20 systems in a "first phase" of procurement. This would presumably be followed by a second purchase of 20, and then a third and final purchase. Mr. Chairman, this is an example of the FAA continuing to play politics with its procurement process. We all know that if all 61 units were purchased at one time, unit costs would be lower because the profit would not be front-end loaded by the contractor. In addition, the delays over two years would allow time for additional inflationary price increases. So from a strictly economic point of view, an immediate purchase of 61 systems makes the most sense. And as we pointed out already, the equipment needs to be replaced at each AFSS now - not three or four years from now.

We think that the FAA has another agenda here. As you know, Mr. Chairman, the FAA has been arguing for years that it needs "financial reform" (from user fees and similar sources) in large part so that it can have a "secure" funding source, free from "Congressional interference." We are concerned that the FAA is dividing this procurement in the hope that some form of independent financial reform, free from Congressional oversight, will in fact be adopted. The FAA would then be able to reduce the number of OASIS systems by consolidating AFSS facilities, unfettered by Congressional oversight.

Mr. Chairman, we can't wait for OASIS any longer. The current M1FC system is on the verge of data overload, today. With the introduction of METAR/TAF (ICAO-standard weather information format), the system has been so overloaded that weather trending data has been reduced from three hours to two hours. This is a threat to the safety of the pilots we brief and to their passengers. When you fly on a general aviation or commuter aircraft, would you feel safer knowing that the FAA's real-time weather data bank has been reduced by one-third? Until OASIS is installed, this will be the case and is a very real threat to aviation safety and efficiency.

As this Committee is aware, the FAA continues to spend millions every year on the Direct User Access Terminal System (DUATS). You should know that these costs will largely disappear when OASIS is installed, because it will incorporate a DUATS- like function directly into Flight Service. This service can be continued for those of our customers who like to supplement their pilot briefings via this system. And in addition to saving millions each year, we will actually be able to provide even better service to our pilot customers, because the OASIS definition calls for an interactive DUATS capability, where a pilot can directly ask a Flight Service Controller specific questions about commonly-displayed data.

This is yet another reason why the FAA should proceed immediately with the OASIS procurement - for all 61 AFSS facilities.

2. RESTORE THE PIPELINE

Our second major concern for the you to consider this year is the fact that Flight Service will not hire another new employee from outside of the Air Traffic Division of the FAA for at least three years. There have been virtually no new hires into Flight Service for more than 10 years. While I may be considered a senior Controller in the FAA, with close to 20 years' experience, within Flight Service I am still a relative newcomer. The FAA budget proposal once again does not include any provision for new personnel. This is tantamount to a decision to terminate our vital safety service - and the agency plans to do so it without coming clean with Congress or with the public. The FAA plans to reduce our numbers (primarily through attrition) for the foreseeable future. Congress should remind the FAA - and do so forcefully - that the controllers at Flight Service are part of the essential safety net for this nation's aviation industry, and that our numbers must be maintained and strengthened. We've been downsized already!

We have asked this Committee to look into this matter in the past, but the FAA has not been particularly forthcoming. Our workforce is rapidly aging; in fact, 40-50% are eligible to retire today, and by the year 2002, 80% of the workforce will be eligible to retire. It is of paramount importance to initiate a new pipeline for employees in Flight Service: not to increase the number of Air Traffic Controllers in Flight Service, but certainly to maintain our numbers at least at current levels. Mr. Chairman, the most recent figures available show that there are 2,456 Flight Service Controllers now, down over 200 from this time last year. The FAA itself projects continuing attrition of more than 150 per year for the next several years.

However, while the ranks of Flight Service Controllers has been allowed to thin, by more than 1000 since the PATCO strike in 1981, management and support staff at Flight Service Stations has fared much better. During this period, the number of Flight Service management personnel has decreased by only twelve individuals. Clearly, Mr. Chairman, if the Subcommittee wishes to closely examine ways to conserve scarce FAA resources without reducing the quantity or quality of services to the flying public, this is an area which should be more fully explored. We would be pleased to work with you and your colleagues to find ways to implement such savings.

Mr. Chairman, staffing levels at many AFSS's are already reaching critical levels. Numbers are so low in some locations that many employees cannot even taken annual leave because there simply are not enough people available to handle the workload. We strongly urge this Committee to require the FAA to hire, train, and place 100 new Controllers in Flight Service in FY '98, and an additional 100 in each of the three (3) fiscal years thereafter. Of course, this will not even maintain current staff numbers in Flight Service, because of attrition through retirement; but it is a step in the right direction. By including such a staffing requirement in the FY 1998 legislation, Congress will make sure that an adequately-staffed Flight Service is available to provide its critical safety functions to the public into the next century.

I have made the following recommendation to the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, and I think you should consider it as well:

"Hire controllers into Flight Service first, and develop a pipeline of employees that can eventually transfer into towers, approach control, and enroute centers. This pipeline of controllers would learn the importance of aviation weather, talk to pilots and get a sense of what the pilot needs and desires before the pilots become mere targets on radar screens. This will give future controllers a more thorough understanding of all phases of weather, aviation and the mission of the FAA."

It is not an exaggeration to state that the FAA has made a policy decision - at the highest levels - to allow Flight Service to slowly disappear. The pieces of the puzzle are now clear: no new hires, attrition of the workforce to untenable levels, limiting the OASIS procurement to 20 systems (after all, there won't be enough Flight Service Controllers to operate more than 20 after attrition!) and slowly let Flight Service fade away. If the current FAA management wants to do away with Flight Service over the next decade or so, let them be forthright and say so to this Committee. We believe that if the issue is debated in the full light of public and Congressional scrutiny - and not simply allowed to happen by administrative fiat - that there is no doubt that the result will be continuing Flight Service as a valued component of the agency.

3. SPECIAL USE AIRSPACE COORDINATION

We have read with considerable concern in recent weeks about the unfortunate close calls between military and civilian aircraft taking place in what we call Special Use Airspace (SUA). The Committee may not be aware of the fact that for the past several years, Flight Service Controllers and their supervisors in the Forth Worth, Texas AFSS have been developing a system for SUA which could help prevent some of the SUA conflicts and incursions, especially those involving general aviation aircraft. This test program has been the brainchild of people at the local level, working together in a true spirit of Partnership, and holds the promise of providing for a more efficient utilization of airspace and more efficient routings for air carriers as well as General Aviation aircraft. We invite the Committee's attention to this SUA project, and we would be delighted to present more information on it to you or your staff, as well as invite you to see the system in action at the FTW AFSS.

Personnel Reform

As mandated by the FY 1996 DOT Appropriations bill, we have been hard at work with the FAA trying to establish a framework for a new personnel system to take us into the next century. While we have significant concerns about the process and its numerous components, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman, and the Subcommittee as a whole for helping make sure that the vital protections of Chapter 71 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code were restored last year. As a result, our members can be assured that the changes taking place within the FAA's personnel system will occur with their elected representatives as full partners at the bargaining table.

Mr. Chairman, we know of your personal commitment to the rights of federal workers. The simple reinstatement of Chapter 71 has gone a long way to ensure that the transition to the new personnel system is going smoothly and meeting the safety needs of our air traffic control system. The help and consideration of you and your colleagues on the Subcommittee has been invaluable to us as we continue to work with the FAA to implement the reform you set in motion several years ago.

I am pleased to say that we are working closely with the FAA, and have experienced a positive atmosphere in large part. Nevertheless, we must note that little has happened in terms of personnel reform at the work place. While we as an organization have been expending significant resources to support our involvement in the ongoing process of FAA personnel reform, the FAA has delayed or "back-burnered" the most significant changes, and has been satisfied to tinker around the edges.

For example, we worked very closely with the FAA to develop what was called the Reorganization Plan, which would have effectuated many of the goals of the Administration by reducing the number of supervisory and staff support positions. The plan called for the gradual assumption of many of these duties by Flight Service Controllers, providing them with potentiallyexciting and interesting functionalities and work opportunities, and at the same time reducing the number of individuals in the supervisory and support ranks. This plan has been unceremoniously shelved by the FAA, and instead, a plan is now under consideration which will reduce the number of staff and support positions by a mere handful. We believe that an essential part of personnel reform must be a redistribution of duties and functions in a more efficient and enabling manner.

Despite the FAA's major push for personnel reform two years ago, as we pointed out, little has happened as of yet. It now appears likely that for employees represented by labor organizations within the FAA, most changes will take place in the next round of collective bargaining, scheduled to begin later this year. This can be an unparalleled opportunity for the FAA and its employees to come together in a spirit of true Partnership, utilizing the latest techniques in consensus-driven problem resolution, to creatively resolve decades of less-than-satisfactory employee/management relations.

We stand ready to use any method or technique which will achieve our goals: increased productivity, greater employee responsibility, a pay system which is rational and appropriately rewarding, and a working environment where safety is the highest priority at all times. We challenge the FAA to be just as creative and open to new thinking and new ideas. We also suggest that this Committee watch these developments closely, and encourage FAA's representatives to "think outside of the box" when meeting with us and our fellow organizations at the bargaining table. We have an opportunity to make a unique contribution to the air traffic control system, and we're eager to do just that.

Finally, I do want to say that in the last year, the FAA has taken partnership to a new level, and NAATS and other organizations are being included in a number of projects from their beginning. In the spirit of partnership found in the Charter of the National Labor Management Partnership Council at the FAA, we are working together for the safety of all aviation.

We thank you, Mr. Chairman, and the Subcommittee for the opportunity to provide these comments. We look forward to working closely with you and your staff to ensure that the best interests of the flying public are protected. I would be pleased to respond to any questions. Thank you.

NAATS

The National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS) is a labor union with national exclusive recognition as the bargaining agent for all GS-2152 series Air Traffic Control Specialists employed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the Flight Service option. NAATS was certified as the national exclusive bargaining representative in February 1972.