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The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 12
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The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 12

Publication:
The Pantagraphi
Location:
Bloomington, Illinois
Issue Date:
Page:
12
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

A-2 Tht Sunday Pantagraph, July 27, 1980 Controllers, FAA gear up for bitter battle By Newsday ever, ask Congress to change them. Base tttvrholofflcal reasons to train for anouV The FAA contends that controllers work no more than two hours in a position and are given breaks and time for lunch, subject to recall if they are needed back at their posts. Joseph Newnan, acting director of labor relations at FAA headquarters in Washington, contended that, when breaks and lunch are taken into account, controllers work as little as five to six hours a day. "We don't see that the hours they work are that burdensome," he said. PATCO's Kerr says the two-hour rule is honored more in the breach than in the observance.

He says lunch is often a sandwich wolfed down while the controllers are handling traffic. Staff reduction. Nationwide, there are 22 fewer controllers than there were three years ago. The FAA says the reduction is justified by the addition of automated equipment, even though air traffic is expected to increase by more than 4 percent a year nationwide in this decade. PATCO says staffing should have been increased and says computerized equipment should not replace controllers.

Errors Reporting of errors. Controllers want restoration of a program ended last year under which they and pilots were granted Immunity from disciplinary ac tion in most cases when they reported "system errors," such as planes flying too close to each other. The FAA claims the system was abused by pilots and controllers. "It was an available means to escape accountability," said Norbert Owens, air traffic control chief for the FAA's eastern region, "and they obviously took it." PATCO claims many near-collisions and other mistakes now go unreported. Second careers.

PATCO also wants restoration, with some changes, of a program providing two years' full pay, tuition and other benefits to enable controllers and their immediate supervisors forced to resign for medical or salaries range from $13,925 to $45,126 a year. George Kerr, PATCO'i eastern regional vice president, agreed that the salaries sound high but, he said, "You're talking about a person responsible for millions and millions of dollars. If he makes a mistake, it could result in a significant loss of life. He's very valuable." PATCO notes that controllers in Australia, Canada and Germany work fewer hours a week 36, 34 and 33, respectively than its members. However, the FAA says that the salaries in those nations, when converted to U.S.

dollars, are much lower. er career. The program began In 1972 and ended last year after Congress, at the FAA's urging, cut off its funds. A General Accounting Office study found that only 7 percent of the controllers involved in the program actually entered the second careers for which they trained. PATCO admits the program was a failure but claims It would have worked if the FAA had provided career counseling for the controllers and stricter entrance requirements for it.

They argue that their skill is highly specialized. "It's not a transferable skill," Kerr said. Scaurs I 5) NEW YORK Like Snoopy and the Red Baron, the nation'! air traffic controllers and their boss, the Federal Aviation Administration, are revving up their engines for another dogfight. The controllers' two-year union contract with the FAA expires March 15, and negotiations on a new one don't begin until January. But already there are signs that this could be the bloodiest engagement yet.

The controllers are preparing for a strike that could seriously disrupt air travel, and FAA officials say it looks more likely than ever. This week, controllers in New York plan to picket Kennedy Airport to draw attention to their claims of poor equipment and inadequate staffing at the New York Common Instrument Flight Rules Room, a facility at Kennedy Airport from which planes are guided to and from Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports. The controllers blame the conditions for a series of near-collisions reported recently most of which were not confirmed by the FAA. When the contract talks begin in Washington, facing the FAA will be leaders and rank-and-file members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), an activist 12-year-old union that represents 14,700 of the nation's 17,000 controllers. The Issues are expected to include money, work hours, staff levels and other items.

The situation is complicated by bitterness and fundamental differences of opinion between the two sides. The FAA management sees the controllers as chronic malcontents who collect salaries as high as $60,000 a year, exaggerate the difficulties and the physical and psychological hazards of their jobs, and frighten the public needlessly with allegations of near-collisions and other dangers. The controllers say that their salaries average $27,000 a year and that they are responsible for more lives than airline pilots, who earn much higher pay. They portray themselves as overworked victims of an insensitive and slow-moving bureaucracy that equips them with outdated hardware to control an steadily A AA FEATURE OfSA I SEARS A FEATURE OF SEARS Kenmore 15.1 Cubic Foot Chest Freezer with Sliding Lift-out Basket NATIONAL HOME APPLIANCE SALE 10 OFF Kenmore 15.1 cul ft. Regular 349.95 chest freezer with Flash Defrost feature reg.

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law and says its strike preparations are only precautionary. The complaint is pending. More recently, six alleged near-collisions reported by controllers made headlines in New York, Chicago and California. The FAA confirms only one involving two light planes waiting to land at LaGuardia Airport on July 7 and contends the reports are a pressure tactic related to the upcoming negotiations. PATCO denies that.

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Pages Available:
1,648,610
Years Available:
1857-2024