Do You Have The Flick ?

"I looked into it and came to the conclusion that if we did not restore a fair negotiation procedure, it would threaten agency morale and effectiveness. (The FAA's authority) denies air traffic controllers and all other FAA employees the opportunity to engage in and conclude negotiations in good faith."

Senator Barack Obama
January 2006

Double check that date. January 2006. Here it is, June 2008 and where do we stand ? The FAA imposed its work rules on September 3, 2006. Over 1,000 controllers have left and only a handful had reached mandatory retirement. By now you should have seen yesterday’s hearing or at least read the summaries in the news. It appears to me that Senator Obama has the flick. And he’s had it for over two years.

Just in case you think this is about just air traffic controllers...

”The Obama legislation was spurred by the ongoing contract negotiations between the FAA and the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS), the union that represents FAA systems specialists and safety inspectors, ...”

As was mentioned in the hearing yesterday, NATCA is just the 500 pound gorilla in this fight. There are many other union members suffering right along with air traffic controllers. This announcement should come as no surprise.

Air Traffic Controllers Announce Support for Obama's Presidential Campaign

I’ll be voting for someone that has the flick -- Barack Obama.



Don Brown
June 12, 2008