George Miranda, Chairman of Airline Division Board of Directors, is Appointed to Cuomo Transition Team
New York Governor – elect Andrew Cuomo has appointed International Vice President George Miranda and Greg Floyd, President of Teamsters Local 237, to serve on two of his transition committees.
Miranda, who is also Secretary-Treasurer of Local 210 and President of Joint Council 16, will serve on the Transportation and Infrastructure Transition Committee. The committee’s role is to recruit, review and recommend candidates for top levels in New York state government.
"The 32 unions of the Teamsters Joint Council 16 represent tens of thousands of workers in New York’s transportation industry on waterfronts, on highways, and in airports ranging from State Thruway employees to skilled construction workers,” Miranda said. “We are honored to work with the Cuomo administration moving forward and continue to support the Governor-elect’s forward-looking platform of infrastructure development and innovation.”
Commenting on Miranda’s appointment, Airline Division Director David Bourne said, “I congradulate Governor – elect Cuomo on his selection of these two fine men. George and Greg are both excellent choices and will serve with distinction.”
Floyd was appointed to the Coalition for New York’s Future, a statewide project that will work to find solutions to grow the state’s economy, create jobs and public-private partnerships.
“Creating good jobs is the number one priority of my members, and for the state of New York,” Floyd said. “I’m honored to be part of this coalition and I look forward to seeing New York state’s economy prosper in the near future.”
IBT Fully Supports Position of CAPA, Calls for Higher Standards For Pilots
In a press release to be issued on Monday, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline Division Director David Bourne reiterates the Airline Divisions call for higher minimum standards for airline pilots. The FAA’s current Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) regarding minimum pilot standards has been challenged by some industry groups as too demanding for new airline pilots and costly for the airlines.
“The Airline Division of the Teamsters is fully committed to the highest standards of pilot experience in the cockpits of commercial airliners, whether they carry passengers or cargo,” said Bourne. “We fully support the position of the Coalition of Airline Pilot Associations (CAPA) that under no circumstances should there be a lowering of the minimum hours requirement for those pilots who have a college degree from accredited aviation schools.
The Airline Division was proud to have joined with CAPA, APA, SWAPA and IPA at the first roundtable discussion supporting the call for higher minimum standards for the pilots who operate commercial airliners. We were also humbled to have met with, and promised our full support to the families of Colgan 3407, whose perseverance on this matter has finally brought this issue to the forefront. And we were honored to work on Capitol Hill with CAPA, the families and members of the House and Senate to bring the legislation forward.
To be clear; we have the highest respect for anyone who completes a course of higher education. The fact is that a four year degree has no relationship to an individual’s skills as a pilot. The simple truth is, regardless of the classroom situations and lessons learned in that environment, there is no acceptable substitute for the experience of actual flight hours in aircraft.
We realize that technology has evolved to a much higher level in this industry, allowing us the luxury of fully automated cockpits and aircraft that can operate in almost any environment imaginable. Technology is however, subject to failure and it is when that failure occurs that the skills of a pilot are tested. It is at this point that a pilot’s experience becomes critical and is a matter of life or death for everyone involved. A pilot is unable to draw upon a college degree to ensure a successful outcome; they must instead they must draw upon those hours and years of experience to avoid a disaster.
We fully understand the industry’s desire to have lower standards as it will allow them to use relative inexperience as an excuse to lower pay rates as was noted in the hearings on the Colgan 3407 crash.
For too many decades, aviation safety has been based upon the lowest bidder or the odds of something happening compared to the cost of fixing a problem. FAA Administrator Babbitt, himself a former airline pilot knows of this firsthand, when he experienced these same problems in the 1980’s when he and his fellow pilots uncovered thousands of maintenance lapses at Eastern Airlines.
We have seen too many tragic results of this short sighted approach over the years. The 1500 hour requirement with specific experience must be the minimum acceptable standard. The American public deserves no less.
We remain committed with CAPA, the families of Colgan 3407 and Congress in calling for Administrator Babbitt to accept nothing less than a 1500 hour minimum with specific experience for any pilot operating passenger airliners,” Bourne concluded.
In Light of Security Complaints “CrewPass” may Finally Become Reality
After a recent spate of incidents across the nation where travelers, pilots and flight attendants have complained about the “enhanced” security pat downs and body scanners, officials o the TSA held a conference call with various airline labor groups this week to attempt to find common ground on the implementation of the “CrewPass” system for flight and cabin crews.
Attendees on the call included safety representatives from the IBT Airline Division as well as ALPA, APA, SWAPA, USAPA & FAPA. First Officer Avery Bates of Atlas Air (Local 1224), who has extensive experience in the matter, participated on behalf of the IBT.
Labor representatives asked that the Office of Homeland Security find a common solution for all airlines and all unions. The TSA has indicated they want a change to occur and has to loosen their initial biometric requirements for crewmembers.
One of the major sticking points is cost. While TSA has indicated they will provide staffing and related infrastructure, they will not assume the costs of the program estimated to be approximately $50.00 per crewmember per year.
Airline Division Director David Bourne has stated, “As a pilot myself, I am very much in favor of the long overdue implementation of the “CrewPass” system. However, it must not be implemented in a way that places yet another cost on our membership or any crewmember, regardless of union or airline affiliation. While the initial cost may seem a detriment to airline operators, the time and related cost savings to the airlines will in the end save them much more than they will spend.”
Week In Review News Items
Legislative, Safety & Regulatory
Shrapnel from the engine explosion on Qantas's QF32 severed a fuel pipe and narrowly missed the wing's fuel tank, according to official preliminary reports seen by The Age newspaper. The confidential reports reveal the extent to which metal components tore through the wing structure, severing wiring looms, chopping a main fuel pipe, puncturing structural spars and ribs and punching through wing surface panels.
Rolls-Royce modified a problematic section on new models of its engine for the world's largest jetliner months before one caught fire and blew apart over Indonesia, a Lufthansa spokesman said Thursday. The chief executive of Qantas, meanwhile, said Rolls-Royce had made modifications to the Trent 900 engine without telling the airline or Airbus, which makes the A380 superjumbo…and Rolls-Royce has asked Airbus to return Trent 900 engines from A380 superjumbo production lines so they can be used to replace faulty ones on aircraft already in service.
An FAA plan to give pilots more rest in response to a fatal crash in upstate New York will be 15 times more expensive than projected, the airlines’ trade group said in opposing the rules. The Air Transport Association in Washington, representing the nation’s biggest carriers, said the plan is “onerous” and would cost $19.6 billion in the next 10 years, not $1.25 billion as projected by the FAA.
Airport Security
When you think of Thanksgiving you think of parades, football, family reunions… and maybe even being thankful. This year, some of the strongest memories for some people will be etched at the airport, where new invasive security screening will likely outrage more people and add to long lines at security checkpoints…complaints about the new methods for TSA screening will not make the TSA change the way it now scans or pats down passengers, according to today’s testimony by TSA Administrator John Pistole before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. After being interrogated by committee members over the need for the new body scanners and the TSA body frisks that one senator called a "love pat," Pistole said the methods are the best ways to deal with the threats security agents face today.
Airline Industry Finances & Structure
U.S. airlines are projected to post $4 billion in profits for 2010, the chairman of newly formed United Continental Holdings Inc. said on Wednesday. Speaking to an industry group in Washington, Glenn Tilton also said that United Continental needs a "tremendous amount of deleveraging" and it may be time to make balance sheets more resilient industry wide. "I think with these interest rates, everybody is focused on opportunities to refinance debt," Tilton said. "It's a timely thing."