美国航空业的劳动争议
——联邦航空管理局与航空调度员们的矛盾危及航空安全
作者：MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN,
2006年 11月15 日，一架美国航空公司的喷气式客机停在波士顿洛根国际机场几架Delta 飞机旁边。随着航空交通量的增长，对于是否有足够合格人员引导空中交通及今天的空中安全状况，全国航空调度员们与雇佣他们的联邦航空管理局（FAA）之间存在分歧。
美联社华盛顿消息：下一次当你登上航班系好安全带之后，你将在一场令人不快的劳动争议中度过你的飞行时间，而卷入劳动争议的人对你的空中安全负有重大责任。
对于是否有足够合格人员引导空中交通及今天的空中安全状况，全国航空调度员们与雇佣他们的联邦航空管理局（FAA）之间存在分歧。
随着航空客运业复苏到2001年9月11日恐怖袭击之前的水平，美国航班的延误率也创下新记录。六月份，将近三分之一主要线路的国内航班发生延误。而空中交通量还在增长。
同时，美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）和全国航空调度员协会未能签订新合同。一年前，FAA宣布陷入困境并强制执行了一个合同。此后，熟练调度员的退休人数猛增，超出了业内预期。
"这使得好几个地方已经产生安全问题，那些地方调度员们一周工作六天，每天工作十小时，并且由于没有足够合格人员只能一人身兼数职"，工会主席 Patick Forrey说。
FAA的数字显示，五月份，完全合格的调度员人数下降到11467人——这是十年来最低点。除此之外，控制中心有3300 个所谓的"见习调度员"，这些人正在接受调度员的职业训练，相比完全合格的调度员，他们尚不足以胜任所有工作。
"他们已经忍无可忍，有些人几乎要垮掉了"，Forrey警告说。"除非缩减航班，否则有人可能就要犯错误，然后他们准备归罪于调度员吗？
与之相反，FAA发言人Laura Brown说，"这是航空史上最安全的时期。"她说，该合同允许该局更顺利地调整人员以适应航空业的需求变化。
FAA管理人员Marion Blakey说，该强制合同在过去五年里为纳税人节约了19亿美元……以用于 21世纪航空交通系统的投资。
过去三年，商业航班的重大事故率下降到了平均每10万次起飞仅有0.017次事故的新纪录。私人飞机的重大事故从2005年的 354次下降到了2006年的299次，而今年将继续下降。
工会则反驳说，这些全国范围的数字掩盖了飞机在空中飞行和到达终点降落时的高风险状况，在各地区航空调度中心，调度员们扫视着雷达屏幕上代表飞机的光点，这些光点必须保持移动并且保持一定距离。
下面是工会的一些例子：
在克里夫兰航线中途的调度中心——全国第四大调度中心里，29名完全合格的调度员因为强制合同而退休，其他19名被提升到管理岗位，另外7人调动，剩下 366名完全合格的调度员。违反飞机之间安全距离的操作错误在本财政年度猛增到34次，而2006财年同期仅有16次。
在芝加哥航线中途调度中心——全国第五大调度中心里，因退休和其他原因失去了40名完全合格的调度员，剩下360人。迄今为止，该调度中心本财年已经记录了21次操作错误，而前一年只有 12次。
在纽约，南加利福尼亚和北卡罗莱纳州的夏洛特，已经上岗的见习调度员们因为操作错误过多而被临时停职。
7月5日，在纽约LaGuardia 机场，一名见习生错误地将一架50坐的Comair喷气机横穿过跑道，而此时，一架Delta737客机正以240KM/H的速度降落在该跑道上。二者相距只有几百英尺。这名见习生受一名教练指导，当时管理着该机场的 24架飞机。一名前调度员抱怨说，如此繁重的工作量本应划分成两个独立的职位由两个人来承担。
全国运输安全部正在调查LaGuardia事故和今年其他五起侥幸避免发生的机场事故——其中两起发生在丹佛，旧金山、佛罗里达州的Lauderdale和洛杉矶各发生一起。所谓的跑道入侵事故发生得如此频繁，本月， Blekey要求FAA全行业召开一整天的头脑风暴会议。
"这些错误完全是精神疲劳导致的"，芝加哥调度中心调度员兼工会副主席Bryan Zilonis说，"很多调度中心里，由于无法提供合适的职位，FAA大多数的熟练调度员正在被慢慢耗尽。"
在FAA，Brown对某些操作错误加以掩饰，比如那些飞机之间垂直距离小于1000英尺、或者水平距离小于5 英里、或在机场附近飞机之间相互距离小于3英里等错误。去年10月1日操作错误七年来首次下降，并已连续下降12个月，她说。"今年我们的操作错误将继续下降。"
并且，她否认见习生们危及航空安全。
"操作错误的原始数据并不能说明他们的操作水平"，Brown说。远在完全合格以胜任所有岗位之前，每一个见习生在单独工作岗位上是合格的，他们可以在他们胜任的岗位上安全工作。
见习生有来自FAA学院的学生，也有从军方或FAA其他机构转岗的熟练调度员。Brown说，熟练的见习生有能力在数星期的时间内胜任一些复杂程度较低的设备，而一个初学者可能需要三年时间的在职训练才能胜任各种复杂的设备。
工会发言人Doug Church对此回应：有一个转岗调度员，在接受新岗位培训期间，卷入了LaGuardia那次侥幸没有发生的事故中，此人认为，新岗位的在职训练需要两年以上的时间。
Church说，FAA在今年夏天改变了操作错误的定义以减少字面的错误数量。一份FAA的演示文稿描述的新定义中，飞机间的安全距离可以比老标准减小 10%，使用修改后的标准，2006年仅有298次严重操作错误，而不是文件中按照老标准计算出来的627次。
Forrey预测，除非重开合同和解谈判，退休人数还会上升。一项未决议的国会议案重新授权FAA这样做，但布什当局否定了该议案。
FAA强制合同削减了30%的任职首次薪金，取消了对熟练调度员的奖金，并给与管理者更大的人事权力。从去年9 月开始，记录在案的调度员申诉达22万次。
FAA预计本财年将有800人退休，Brown说。这个数字是从 643人两次修改而来的。
Brown说，该局预计72%的调度员将在接下来的十年内达到退休年龄。多数调度员是在里根总统1981 年任期之后受雇的，当时由于"航空交通职业调度员组织"拒绝结束一次非法罢工而开除了11000名前工会成员
Brown承认存在预期的退休问题，但她说，"没有关系，如果我们有需要，我们可以增加雇用人数以补偿"。去年，雇佣人数从937人猛增到 1100人，而今年雇用人数超过1500人。
Blakey说，要改善航空安全，关键是FAA计划耗资数十亿美元的下一代计划，用更加精确的卫星跟踪系统取代雷达控制，这样，飞机可以飞得更近。 FAA上星期四启动了第一笔18亿美元的合同，但该系统要到2013年才能投入使用。
"你们仍然只能一次降落一架飞机"，工会主席Forrey回应说，肯定会需要更多的跑道和调度员。"下一代空管系统需要数年时间才能建成，他们现在该做点什么了。"
相关网址:
FAA: http://www.faa.gov NATCA: http://www.natca.org
附：搜集到的一些美国航空业的资料：
调查显示:美国航班延误或取消次数达 13年来新高
2007年08月21 日 08:59 来源：中国新闻网
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gj/bm/news/2007/08-21/1006486.shtml
业内人士称，航班延误主要是由于乘客飞行量的高速增加。去年国内乘客量高达1亿 5000万次，比2003年高出了 38%。
私人和个人飞机的增加也是越来越多航班延误的另外一个原因。据美国空中交通协会介绍，1970年美国只有 1800架私人飞机，但现在却有超过18000架。
航班延误的最主要问题在于许多机场将飞机起飞和降落的时间排得太紧凑。"但只要天气恶劣，或发生突如其来的情况，那机场就应接不暇，阵脚大乱。 "
因其他"特殊" 原因延误或取消的航班虽然不多，但给出的理由也颇令人大跌眼镜。美国东北航空公司上个月就以"机师缺席 "为由而取消了多趟航班，但该公司的机师协会则反驳说，公司聘请的机师太少，迫使他们得超时工作。
航空行业：行业整体向好 推荐 5大金股
2007-08-14 10:23:38 来源: 申银万国
http://money.163.com/07/0814/10/3LRNBB9V00251M00.html
2001年"9.11"事件对全球民航业造成重大打击，当年全球民航业的客流量下降约 20%，有的地区降幅达40%；当年全球航空公司总损失，除去利息，几乎是之前 4年的利润总和。"9.11"之后，全球民航业陷入低迷， 2003年的伊拉克战争以及非典(SARS)使民航业雪上加霜。这一期间，航空公司大量破产，航空公司之间的合并重组增加（最成功的是法国航空与荷兰皇家航空的重组，即目前的法荷集团） ,飞机运力持续退出；与此同时，也直接导致了全球航空自由化，航空联盟的兴起，低成本航空的兴起，航空货运的升温；这为全球航空业今天的复苏奠定了基础。
从1995年以来的世界航空数据来看，盈利周期每 5年一次循环的迹象非常明显。2006年是全球航空运输业的转折年，随着全球主要经济体经济复苏和消费者信心的回升，全球民航业逐步减亏并有望进入新的盈利周期。国际航空运输协会（ IATA）预测，2007年全球民航业将首次实现盈利 38亿美元，2008年翻倍达到 76亿美元。各地区的盈利预期为：欧洲最高、亚洲次之、再次是美国、中东和拉美，非洲由于运力供给过剩，仍然处于亏损状态。
业绩飙升航空公司喜从天降
2007年07月 26日 05:07 证券时报
http://www.p5w.net/today/200707/t1112683.htm
全球航空盈利能力提高
统计数据显示，今年1-5月全球航空客运持续高增长，增速达到 6.5%，客座率持续提高，亚洲的商务航线景气度保持强势。国际航空运输协会IATA于 6月再次提高对今年全球航空业的盈利预测，预计2007、 2008年盈利分别提高至51亿美元和 96亿美元，这是IATA从去年 12月以来第三次调高对全球航空业的盈利预测，而前两次IATA对今年的预测分别为 18亿美元和25亿美元
英文原文：
FAA, controllers fight over air safety
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The next time you board an airliner and buckle your seat belt, you are about to fly through a bitter labor dispute between some of the people most responsible for your safety in the skies.
The nation's air traffic controllers and the Federal Aviation Administration that employs them cannot agree whether enough qualified people are guiding air traffic or how safe the air space is today.
With airline travel rebounding almost to the volume before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, delays on scheduled U.S. flights have reached a record high. Nearly one-third of domestic flights on major carriers were late in June. And air traffic is growing.
At the same time, the FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association been unable to agree on a new contract. A year ago, the FAA declared an impasse and imposed a contract. Since then, the retirement of experienced controllers has soared beyond the agency's forecasts.
"In several places, it has created a safety problem where controllers are working 10-hour days, 6-day weeks and working combined positions because they don't have enough fully trained bodies," union President Patrick Forrey said.
FAA figures show the number of fully certified controllers dropped to 11,467 in May - the lowest in a decade the union says. Beside them in control centers are 3,300 so-called "developmental controllers" who are being trained on the job by other controllers. The trainees are not yet qualified for all work assignments required of fully certified controllers.
"They are pushing the envelope and somebody is going to snap," Forrey warned. "Unless the agency slows down the traffic, someone may make a mistake and then are they going to blame it on the controller?"
By contrast, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said, "This is the safest period in aviation history." She said the contract allowed the agency to more easily move staff to meet the needs of a changing airline industry.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey says the imposed contract "is saving taxpayers $1.9 billion over five years ... to invest in 21st Century air traffic systems."
The three-year average of fatal accidents on commercial flights has dropped to a record low .017 per 100,000 departures. Fatal accidents on private planes dropped from 354 in 2005 to a record low of 299 in 2006, and Brown says this year is below last year's pace.
The union says these national figures conceal risky situations in towers, terminal approach and at regional control centers where its members scan glowing radar screens with blips representing planes loaded with passengers they need to keep moving - and keep apart.
Some of the union's examples:
- At the Cleveland en route center, the nation's fourth busiest facility, 29 fully certified controllers have retired since the contract was imposed. Nineteen others have been promoted to management and 7 have transferred, leaving 366 certified controllers. Operational errors - in which planes fly closer than they are supposed to - soared to 34 this fiscal year, with a month left, compared to 16 in fiscal 2006.
- The Chicago en route center, the fifth busiest facility, has lost 40 certified controllers by retirement and other reasons, leaving 360. So far, the center has recorded 21 operation errors for the fiscal year, compared to 12 the previous year.
- In New York, southern California and Charlotte, N.C., on-the-job training of controllers was temporarily suspended this summer to evaluate a rash of errors.
- At New York's LaGuardia airport on July 5, a trainee mistakenly cleared a 50-seat Comair jet to cross a runway on which a Delta 737 was landing at 150 mph. They missed each other by a few hundred feet. The trainee, supervised by a trainer, was handling more than 24 planes on the ground. A previous controller had complained the heavy load should be divided into two separate positions.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the LaGuardia incident and five other near-misses at airports this year - two in Denver, and one each in San Francisco, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Los Angeles. So-called runway incursions were so frequent that Blakey called a daylong industry brainstorming session at the FAA this month.
"These errors are the calling cards of mental fatigue," said Chicago Center controller Bryan Zilonis, a union vice president. "The FAA is slowly burning out their most experienced controllers due to their inability to properly staff positions at many facilities."
At the FAA, Brown paints a rosier picture of operational errors - those cases where planes en route come within 1,000 feet of each other vertically or within 5 miles laterally, or within 3 miles near airports. The 12 months ending last Oct. 1 saw the first drop in operational errors in seven years, she said. "We're on target to continue the reduction in operational errors this year."
And she denies that trainees compromise safety.
"The raw number doesn't tell you their skill level," Brown said. A trainee is qualified separately for each work position and can safely work qualified positions long before being fully certified to work all positions, she said.
Trainees include novices from the FAA's academy but also experienced controllers hired from the military or transferred from an FAA facility where they were certified. Brown said experienced trainees can be certified in weeks at some less complicated facilities while novices may need up to three years on-the-job training at complex facilities.
Union spokesman Doug Church responded that a transferred controller, during training for his new location, was involved in the near-miss at LaGuardia where he said on-the-job training can take more than two years.
Church said FAA changed the definitions of operational errors this summer in a way that reduces their number. An FAA powerpoint description of the new definitions says planes can come 10 percent closer to each other before it's labeled an operational error. Using the revised criteria, there would have been 298 of the more serious errors in 2006, instead of the 627 under the old definition, according to the document.
Forrey predicted retirements will climb unless the contract is reopened for a negotiated settlement. A pending House bill to reauthorize FAA would do that, but the Bush administration is opposed.
The FAA-imposed contract cut starting pay by 30 percent, eliminated incentive pay for experienced controllers and gave managers more authority over staffing. Since last September, controllers have filed 220,000 grievances.
The FAA expects 800 retirements this fiscal year, Brown said. The figure has been revised upward twice from 643.
Brown said the agency has long known that 72 percent of its controllers become eligible to retire in the next decade. Most controllers were hired after President Ronald Reagan in 1981 fired more than 11,000 members of a predecessor union, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, after it refused to end an illegal strike.
Acknowledging flawed retirement estimates, Brown said, "It doesn't matter if we are off as long as we can increase the number we hire to compensate." Last year, hiring was boosted from 937 to more than 1,100; more than 1,500 have been hired this year.
Blakey says the key to improving safety is FAA's multi-billion-dollar NextGen plan to replace radar control with more precise satellite tracking so planes can fly closer. FAA awarded the first $1.8 billion contract Thursday, but the new system won't begin to operate until 2013.
"You still have to land them one at a time," responds union chief Forrey, who says more runways and controllers are needed. "NextGen is going to take years. They need to do something...now."
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On the Net:
FAA: http://www.faa.gov
NATCA: http://www.natca.org
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