Outsourcing: The 800-Pound Gorilla

Despite the recent congressional hearings concerning inadequate FAA oversight of repair stations, particularly foreign CRS facilities, the FAA continues to certify new ones, most recently in Australia. That’s the nice thing about being king — you don’t have to listen to anyone. To quote Mel Brooks, "It’s good to be King."

Recently, I came across a slideshow on the Web concerning the pending FAA reauthorization bill and was somewhat taken aback by some of the contents. The presentation, which until recently was available on the Web, was given at the FAA-EASA "harmonization" conference by Daniel Bachelder, deputy assistant manager, Aircraft Maintenance Division. He stated that the provisions regarding foreign repair stations, meaning the Poe Amendment, which would require a level playing field for drug and alcohol testing programs, is opposed by the Administration and significantly, he stated, "Industry has also voiced its opposition." Were you included in that industry survey? Do you know anyone who was? I must have missed the memo.

The Senate version of the FAA reauthorization bill (S. 1300) "does not include any (staffing) provisions related to increased inspections of repair stations. (These) provisions are more favorable to the FAA." How in the world is a relaxed inspection schedule for foreign or domestic repair stations more favorable to FAA? Seems to me that in a sane and rational world, increased oversight is a superior safety concept to "more favorable to the FAA", whatever that means. Sane and rational may be the operative phrase here.

It used to be that the people in the Aircraft Maintenance Division were supportive of Aircraft Mechanics. I guess those days ended around the same time that the recently deceased Bill O’Brien retired. Too bad. I’ll miss Bill. He used to be the go-to guy whenever a mechanic needed clarification of a regulatory issue. Answered his phone, too.

While this presentation is clearly a political statement by the outgoing Administration, it should be a wake-up call to all A&P Mechanics. Clearly, either someone representing you has spoken out of school, or the membership organization that purports to represent you is not doing an effective job in that area, and that includes your union, if you belong to one. The alternative is that someone at 800 Independence Avenue is less than perfectly honest. Perish the thought!

The fact is that if the FAA Reauthorization Bill is passed with the Poe Amendment in place, this would effectively eliminate major contract inspection activity being conducted overseas on U.S. Carrier aircraft. The reason is that the USA is the only government on the planet that allows random drug testing on aviation employees. Yes, my friend, the "Land of the Free" is the only country that does not regard this as an invasion of privacy. Go figure. With this amendment in place, U. S. airlines would have no alternative but to use American facilities for American work. What an astonishing concept!

If your organization hasn’t told you about the Poe Amendment, shame on them. It is still pending, and will likely be part of the reconciliation process, where it may be dropped without popular support. You need to let Congress know, through your local, chapter or lodge that you are not pleased with their efforts, or lack thereof, on this issue. Whoever it is in the "Industry" that provided Mr. Bachelder with his statement of opposition needs to be countered by you, and soon. Your livelihood is at stake.

If you’ve never written to your Senators or Congressperson, shame on you. With email being so prevalent, it doesn’t even cost you the price of a stamp today. I have an entire file of well-reasoned personal replies I have received from Washington, so I can attest that your letter is read and some thought is put into the response. Even if your views are opposite those of your elected officials, your views might soften theirs a bit just because of the ballot box effect. You are the best advocate for the aircraft maintenance industry because you directly affected by the legislation. It is your ox being gored, my friend. You need to act and be heard from. The nice part about this interactive process is that you have the one thing that the recipient of your message dearly needs — your vote. No lobbyist has more clout than you do as an individual, despite what you see on network news.

You should also be keeping up-to-date on the status of the reauthorization bill and should be emailing your U. S. Representatives and Senators (both outgoing and incoming) concerning your support for the Poe Amendment, H. AMDT. 805, H.R. 2881. While you’re at it, send an email of support to Rep. Ted Poe at http://poe.house.gov/email/. If you happen to reside in the 2nd Texas Congressional District, be sure to offer your support for his future election efforts. It appears to me that he may be the best friend of A&P Mechanics in Congress. After reading about some of the legislation he’s proposed, it almost makes me wish I could vote for him myself. He sounds like my kind of people.