RiverCity
21st Feb 2002, 01:41
Controllers want to ground airport tower manager.. .Union leader says employees have long-standing complaints.
By Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News . .(Published: February 20, 2002) . . [quote]The deteriorating relationship between Anchorage air traffic controllers and a federal airport manager loomed large on the radar screen of National Air Traffic Controllers Association president John Carr during a visit here this week.
The roughly 60 union controllers working at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport have long-standing complaints about the acting Federal Aviation Administration tower manager, Carr said during an interview Tuesday.
"We know a good manager when we see one, and we don't," he said.
Carr was in town Monday and Tuesday as part of a weeklong union recruiting mission.
Acting air traffic manager John Craft was named to that position about two years ago when the former manager left the job due to illness, according to FAA spokeswoman Joette Storm.
Craft would not comment on the union's complaints except to say he hasn't met with Carr this week. "He didn't request to meet with me, either," Craft said.
The dispute is coming to a head because the FAA is considering naming Craft permanent manager and controllers say they can't work with him, union officials say.
The FAA is allowing controllers to meet with union representatives during nonduty time, Storm said.
The union has filed multiple grievances against Craft, alleging equal opportunity violations, unfair labor practices and other contract violations, according to union liaison Jerry Whittaker.
He said the controllers' five-year contract expires in August 2003. The union will not strike, NATCA officials said. In 1981, then-President Reagan fired striking controllers. The union formed in 1987 with a no-strike policy.
Carr said the union is also pushing several projects:
Combining about 30 radar controllers stationed at Anchorage International with 114 at the FAA's Anchorage Center, located at Elmendorf Air Force Base. City power at the airport results in occasional power surges that knock out radar, according to Whittaker. The center has its own power supply.
Adding a direct communications system to eliminate lags of up to four minutes in transmissions between pilots and controllers when aircraft are flying over remote locations.
Increased perimeter security at airports nationwide to protect controllers from terrorists.<hr></blockquote>
By Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News . .(Published: February 20, 2002) . . [quote]The deteriorating relationship between Anchorage air traffic controllers and a federal airport manager loomed large on the radar screen of National Air Traffic Controllers Association president John Carr during a visit here this week.
The roughly 60 union controllers working at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport have long-standing complaints about the acting Federal Aviation Administration tower manager, Carr said during an interview Tuesday.
"We know a good manager when we see one, and we don't," he said.
Carr was in town Monday and Tuesday as part of a weeklong union recruiting mission.
Acting air traffic manager John Craft was named to that position about two years ago when the former manager left the job due to illness, according to FAA spokeswoman Joette Storm.
Craft would not comment on the union's complaints except to say he hasn't met with Carr this week. "He didn't request to meet with me, either," Craft said.
The dispute is coming to a head because the FAA is considering naming Craft permanent manager and controllers say they can't work with him, union officials say.
The FAA is allowing controllers to meet with union representatives during nonduty time, Storm said.
The union has filed multiple grievances against Craft, alleging equal opportunity violations, unfair labor practices and other contract violations, according to union liaison Jerry Whittaker.
He said the controllers' five-year contract expires in August 2003. The union will not strike, NATCA officials said. In 1981, then-President Reagan fired striking controllers. The union formed in 1987 with a no-strike policy.
Carr said the union is also pushing several projects:
Combining about 30 radar controllers stationed at Anchorage International with 114 at the FAA's Anchorage Center, located at Elmendorf Air Force Base. City power at the airport results in occasional power surges that knock out radar, according to Whittaker. The center has its own power supply.
Adding a direct communications system to eliminate lags of up to four minutes in transmissions between pilots and controllers when aircraft are flying over remote locations.
Increased perimeter security at airports nationwide to protect controllers from terrorists.<hr></blockquote>