NATCA N90,
Senator Schumer released the following press release today rescinding the letters forcing our 31 brothers and sisters in the EWR area to Philadelphia. Keep up the tremendous work that you all have done and we must continue to succeed.
Please see below.
SCHUMER: FAA WILL RESCIND LETTER TO LONG ISLAND AIR TRAFFIC EMPLOYEES THAT ORIGINALLY FORCED THEM TO MOVE & CREATED WORRY IF HUB’S FUTURE WOULD STAY STRONG ON LI; NO ONE WILL BE FORCED TO MOVE TO PHILLY AMID STAFF RESTRUCTURE; SENATOR WORKED WITH FAA TO SETTLE THIS DILEMMA FOR LI-ERS
Amid Newsday Report Of TRACON Turbulence, Schumer Successfully Put Pressure On FAA To Keep Staff On LI & Continues To Protect ALL The Work LI’s TRACON Hub Does In Regional Airspace
FAA Recently Sent Letters To More Than 30 Air Traffic Controllers At The New York TRACON Facility On LI, Instructing Them That They Will Have To Temporarily Relocate To Philly To Train New Controllers—For Up To 2 Years;— NOW THEY’LL RESCIND THE ORDER
Schumer: We Are Through The Turbulence; LI TRACON & Employees Won’t Be Forced To Move & Air Traffic Hub Is Also Safe
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer announced today that the FAA will rescind its letter to Long Island air traffic employees that said they would be forced to move to Philadelphia, delivering on a February 13th press event with employees and local officials of TRACON.
In February, Newsday reported that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was planning to require more than 30 employees at the Uniondale-based New York Terminal Radar Approach Control, or TRACON, facility to move to Philadelphia. Schumer, during his event, revealed new details about the situation and said he had been on the phone to try and remedy this issue, but that he would be demanding that the FAA back off while they restructured staffing and the airspace operations of Newark, which Long Island workers oversee. Today, the FAA has heeded Schumer’s call.
“There are approximately 325 staff here at Long Island’s TRACON, including 176 air traffic controllers, and I have fought hard for each and every one of these jobs, said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, not just because I love Long Island, but because this is the place, this is the mecca for air traffic monitoring that makes the most sense for safety. And when I learned about the FAA’s letter to move staff, pull the rug out, take them from Long Island to Philly I knew we could fix it, and we did, and I thank the FAA for heeding my call. I will always fight for this TRACON site and each and every worker.”
Schumer, in February, revealed that the FAA recently sent a letter to 30-plus LI’ers, telling them they would need to move to Philadelphia for up to two years. Schumer said this made no sense and was counterproductive. Schumer made his case, provided an update on talks with the FAA and the union that represents the workers while he discussed what should happen next. Families were present and the union spoke about how impossible it is to just pack up and move right now, particularly those with children in school.
Schumer also detailed how he has delivered massive upgrades to the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (NY TRACON), including a new two-story building, which is about 20,000 square feet; new ATC equipment; the repurposing of old equipment and other critical advancements required to adapt the facility to present needs, which include cyber threat prevention. NY TRACON has also proposed obtaining new ‘leapfrog’ (computer) equipment within the next years, which would be installed in a new equipment room. NY TRACON would also use federal funds Schumer secured to test and checkout all systems with live data, conduct ATC training, and conduct Go-No-GO (take-off safety) reviews. The facility would also remove old TRACON equipment that has become outdated. The regular infusion of federal funds to complete upgrades and maintain current systems helps Long Island’s facility remain fully operational, modern and protected from any future cuts, Schumer pointed out.
Schumer also reiterated the work it took to keep the NY TRACON facility on Long Island in the first place, saving hundreds of good-paying Long Island aviation jobs. The FAA was initially interested in combining the New York Air Traffic Control center in Ronkonkoma (about 500 jobs) and the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control facility in Westbury (about 400 jobs) into one Integrated Control Facility (ICF) site for the New York metropolitan region. Schumer relentlessly advocated to multiple DOT secretaries, the White House and FAA leaders to keep the air traffic control centers on Long Island after the serious possibility that the new Integrated Control Facility would be moved off the Island. As a result of Schumer’s fierce advocacy, the FAA ultimately decided to rebuild and modernize the TRACON site on Long Island.
According to Newsday and Schumer, NY TRACON in Westbury, is one of the busiest air traffic control centers in the nation. It is responsible for guiding and monitoring air traffic coming in and out of Kennedy Airport, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty, Teterboro and dozens of other regional airports, including Long Island MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma and Republic Airport in Farmingdale.
Schumer, in February, publicly called on the FAA to honor their original promise to him and not move controllers to Philadelphia. The FAA had told Schumer that no controller would be forced to move as the FAA restructured staffing for the Newark airspace.
“We wanted them (FAA) to stand by their original word here. No one leaves Long Island if they want to stay at TRACON --no one-- and now that’s true, and it’s also the right thing to do,” Schumer said.