(The following statement was issued by the TTD.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The following statement was issued today by Sonny Hall, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), in sharp criticism of the White House’s Office and Management and Budget designating air traffic control as a commercial activity.
“The White House’s quiet move late last week to designate air traffic control as a commercial activity defies common sense and clearly contradicts current law. It is yet another step in the Bush Administration’s ideologically-driven campaign to privatize air traffic control in America.
“The Office of Management and Budget is letting the facts fit the story it wants to tell. The FAIR Act of 1998, which sets guidelines for the federal government to declare an activity either commercial or inherently governmental, defines the latter as a function so intimately related to the public interest as to mandate performance by federal employees.’ It would be an understatement to say that air traffic control’s intrinsic link with public safety meets this criteria.
“The Bush Administration is putting ideology ahead of safety in wanting to privatize this inherently governmental safety function. The men and women who operate and maintain our air traffic systems have proven themselves as more than worthy to carry out their important roles. Their work — and our safety — should not be sold to the lowest bidder.
“A scan of the globe shows nothing but failure wherever privatization has been tried. Whether it’s the insolvency of the British system or the steep increases in fees passed onto passengers in Canada or the chronic fatigue caused by short-staffing in the Australian system, the lesson is crystal clear: we should not privatize our air traffic control system.
“We live in a world that grows more dangerous and complicated by the day. There is no place for privatizing air traffic control. It won’t solve any of the challenges our nation faces, and it’s long past time the Bush Administration abandons this misguided crusade.”
TTD represents 35 member unions in the aviation, rail, transit, trucking, highway, longshore, maritime and related industries. For more information, visit www.ttd.org.