Airline Division Voices Support of H.R. 3578, Calls On DOT Secretary to Rescind Arbitrary FAA Flight Surgeon Directive on OSA
Earlier this week, in response to the concerns of members and his personal concerns as a pilot; Airline Division Director Captain David Bourne conveyed those concerns to Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. In the letter he wrote:
“I am writing you today to express the my deep concern and the displeasure of our members over the arbitrary decision of FAA Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton, to impose standards on Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in the FAA Aeromedical process.
While there is not a question about the effects of OSA, what is in question is both the basis for Dr. Tilton’s decision and the manner in which he has chosen to implement a process that has no specific guidelines, requirements or acceptable outcomes. In a recent editorial in the Federal Air Surgeons Medical Bulletin, Dr. Tilton addressed the issue and indicated his intent to implement his decision without mention of any public comment, discussion or review. In fact, the only information he shared was that, “Dr. Nick Lomangino has been working on this policy for quite awhile and I think he has a good product.” (F.A.S. A.M.B, Vol. 51, No. 4, p.2).
Clearly, this matter has been under consideration for some period of time. To not have involved the very people who will be impacted by this decision; pilots, both commercial and general aviation, as well as airlines, trade groups, representative organizations and their specific Aeromedical committees shows complete disregard by the Federal Air Surgeon and casts grave doubt concerning the legitimacy not only of the process by which the standards were developed but also the standards themselves. To date, there has been no evidence or hard data presented that shows OSA as a major factor in flight operations. In fact, the biggest fatigue issue in the industry; flight time and duty time limits, took years of research and debate before it was addressed. Even then the FAA took a position that despite operating the same aircraft under much more demanding conditions, pilots who operate cargo and other operations were not entitled to the same rest requirements of legitimate and proper crew rest as those engaged in Part 121 passenger operations., The Federal Air Surgeon, who chose to not take a hard line position over a matter that affects all pilots has imposed his opinions without public comment or input from anyone other than Dr. Lomangino on this issue that will impact the entire pilot population.
Beyond this imposition is the impact the new standards have on the airline industry and indeed all pilots who operate in it. For those pilots who require further testing, their medicals will be suspended until such time as they are tested, begin OSA medical guidance, have their data reviewed by the Aeromedical Branch and are cleared for a Special Issuance medical. Based upon information we have received from pilots who have gone through this process in the past, this takes approximately five months and in many cases is not covered by insurance. At a cost of $3,000 to $5000 (three to five thousand dollars) for a sleep study, cost of equipment that meets FAA standards for data collection and an unspecified determination of how often a person must undergo retesting, indicating no established guidelines whatsoever, this process becomes exorbitantly expensive to any person. When you add in the cost of almost one half years lost wages if not more, this is an unacceptable financial burden to arbitrarily impose on anyone. Of even greater concern is the fact that the Aeromedical branch delays now run into weeks and months. This increase, without substantial additional, qualified staff will further delay airman medical reviews, costing them even more in lost wages and indeed, potential loss of health insurance as they will be dropped from their company insurance and forced to purchase outside insurance at unknown rates.
The additional unstated impact of this poorly thought through imposition is the impact on the airline industry and U.S. economy. If one were to assume that approximately 20% of airline pilots’ fall under the imposed rule; that takes thousands of pilots off of flight status for no reason other than a decision of the Air Surgeon. With airlines scheduling their crews based on soon to be implemented Part 117 flight time and duty time requirements; this means that every commercial flight in the U.S. will be impacted, including those not covered under the Part. Cancellations will be rampant as there are insufficient flight crews to operate flights and those that do will be under more pressure to operate a system that is now short a substantial number of pilots. And while we do not speak for the general aviation community, as a pilot I can assure you that this action will result in many pilots putting a “for sale” sign on their aircraft and walking away from aviation. The cost and unpredictability of the Federal Air Surgeon’s actions will make the already costly general aviation sector out of reach, creating yet another impact on our nation’s economy in lost jobs from the production line to the flight line.
Mr. Secretary, we fully support H.R. 3578 introduced by Congressman LoBiondo and urge you to direct the Federal Air Surgeon to rescind his directive. This is a matter that cannot and should not be decided by one person or on the basis of one doctor’s views. This matter needs to be addressed in an open and proper process involving input from all parties and comment from the very people that will be impacted by it.
I urge you to give this your highest priority. I look forward to contacting you to so that we may further discuss this urgent matter; alternatively, please feel free to call me.”
“This is a matter of critical importance for our members,” said Bourne. We cannot have arbitrary implementations of a policy like this that have an untold, devastating financial impact on our members or the airlines they fly for. There must be a full and open process of discussion and agreement before any program like this is ever implemented” he concluded.
(Late Friday, the Airline Division was been advised that the FAA is temporarily suspending the implementation of OSA standards as announced. We will continue to monitor the situation.)
Holman Steps Down as Atlas Communications Chairman
Captain Tom Holman recently stepped aside from his long held position as Communications Chairman for the Atlas Air pilots of Local 1224. In a message to the membership this week, the Atlas ExCo noted:
“Tom Holman who served as our Communications Committee Chairman for many years during the tenure of ALPA and Teamsters Local 1224. Through his tireless work, many of the communications products and procedures we have today were either instituted or implemented by Tom and we would be immeasurably diminished without his tremendous contribution of time and energy.”
Commenting on Holman’s departure, Airline Division Director David Bourne commented, “I’ve had the distinct pleasure of knowing Tom both personally and professionally since we both joined Atlas in the early days of the airline. Tom was instrumental in working with the union organizing effort and later, a tireless member of the Communications and SPC/Strike Committees. With Tom, you never got 100%, he always gave 200%. And as the pilots made the decision to join the Teamsters, Tom fully dedicated his efforts to helping the pilot group.”
“What is unknown about Tom by many is his humanitarian side. While in Japan during the earthquake and devastation caused by the tsunami, Tom spearheaded efforts and arranged not only the setup, but the operation of a Wi-Fi network in the earthquake devastated region that allowed people to communicate with the outside world. He also helped wire a large generator into a building, supplying it with power to allow it to serve as a local medical aid facility when the hospital was destroyed and supplied a tanker of diesel fuel to ensure its operation,” Bourne went on to say. “You don’t find many people like Tom who regularly volunteer their time or go out of their way to help others; it’s a privilege to know him and I commend him for his years of dedication to the Atlas pilots and trade unionism,” Bourne concluded.
Holman is a Captain on the Boeing 747-400 and 747-8.
Airline Division, Local 1224 File Lawsuit against Allegiant, Alleges Violation of “Status Quo”
In a motion filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the Airline Division of the Teamsters and Local 1224 have requested a hearing and Motion for Preliminary Injunction against Allegiant Air Travel for violation of the “Status Quo” provisions of the Railway Labor Act.
Specifically, the suit claims that prior to the Allegiant pilots electing for Teamster representation, the Allegiant Air Pilots Advocacy Group (“AAPAG”) was formed and represented the pilots in discussions and agreements on pay and working conditions with management and constituted a legal bargaining representative for the pilots. Since the election of the Teamsters as representatives, the company has repeatedly violated the “status quo” working provisions of the previously agreed conditions and is in violation of the Railway Labor Act.
“We have since the beginning, shown that we were willing and open to honestly discuss items and come to a fair and equitable agreement that was good for our members and the airline,” said Division Director David Bourne. “It is truly unfortunate that management has opted to take an adversarial role and expressed an antagonistic and open dislike for our members. We will continue to seek common ground with management and a fair contract for our members; however we will not stand by and watch Allegiant violate the RLA unchallenged,” Bourne concluded.
No date has yet been set for the hearing.
UAL Members Attend CEO Exchanges
On Wednesday and Thursday of this week members of Locals 856 and 986 attended the CEO exchanges in SFO and LAX. CEO exchanges are ongoing company road shows to the cities that allow employees to ask questions of the company leadership. Members showed up in force to press the company to return to the table and finish the joint collective bargaining agreement.
The company was reminded of testimony given to both the House and Senate in 2010 that promised a fair contract for all employees. During those hearings the company testified that;
“We are committed to continuing our cooperative labor relations and to integrating our workforces in a fair and equitable manner and negotiating contracts with our unions that are fair to the employees and fair to the company.” and “In sum, the merger will create a strong, financially viable airline that can offer good-paying careers and secure retirement to our co-workers…”
For anyone wishing to review the testimony provided to the Senate the transcript can be found here http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111shrg61688/html/CHRG-111shrg61688.htm
C-Span video of the House testimony can be found at:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/294092-1
Sub ASA Technicians and Related Update
Negotiations for a stand-alone Technician and Related, Subsidiary ASA contract resumed this week in Houston with the Union and the Company meeting in Federal Mediation.
The Company has yet to respond to a proposal put forth by the union that they are interested in accepting the company offer of additional wages and work rules with the understanding that it would only apply to the S-ASA side.
Negotiations continued with the Union and the Company having discussions on Section 3 – (Classifications). The Union and the Company exchanged passes on Section 7 – (Hours of Service), and Section 10 – (Leaves of Absence). Although no Tentative Agreements were reached during the week substantial progress was reported on both Sections 7 and 10.
For the Stand-Alone Sub-ASA contract, Tentative Agreements on the following Articles; 4 (Seniority), 5 (Filling of Vacancies), 6 (Reduction in Force and Recall), 13 (Training), 14 (Health and Safety), 16 (Moving Expenses), 20 (Grievance Procedure) and 21 (Board of Arbitration).
An Interim Agreement which gives the members a process to fight Discipline and Discharge up to and including Arbitration has also been agreed to.
While the meetings with the Company are scheduled the week of February 17th in Atlanta, talks will continue in Mediation on the Sub-XJT side.
Airline Industry News
Governmental and Regulatory
Late Friday it was announced by the FAA that the Federal Air Surgeon has put the implementation of his new sleep apnea policy on hold.
Jeh Johnson has been confirmed by the Senate as the chief of the Homeland Security Department. The Senate voted 78-16 to approve Johnson, who was nominated by President Barack Obama. Johnson, 56, formerly served as general counsel for the Department of Defense.
NextGen should be a top priority for the Department of Transportation in 2014, according to a report by the agency's Office of the Inspector General.
Airlines, Industry and Labor
Boeing is planning to equip its 777X aircraft with folding wingtips to allow for easier parking on the ground. "The folding wingtip is a critical element of the architecture of this airplane," said Bob Feldmann, vice president and 777X program manager.
The International Air Transport Association is predicting stable results for air cargo in 2013 and 2014, with global air cargo revenues at $60 billion for both years.
In recognition and celebration of Christmas, the office of the Airline Division will be closed on Tuesday, December 24th and Wednesday, December 25th. We will reopen for business on Thursday, December 26th. On behalf of the staff of the Airline Division, we extend to all our best wishes for a Merry Christmas.