Woerth to Head the FAA?

[rudder]

Reuters
Former union chief could lead FAA: paper
Friday November 21, 7:35 am ET
BANGALORE (Reuters) - A onetime union leader is a top contender to head the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people close to President-elect Barack Obama's transition team.
Airline consultant Duane Woerth, who was president of the Air Line Pilots Association from 1999 to 2006, has met with U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar and has his tentative support, people familiar with their discussions told the paper.
But the situation remained fluid, no final decision had been made and other candidates could gain strength, the paper added.
The dynamic also could change if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pushed aide Robert Herbert for the FAA post, it said. Reuters could not immediately reach the FAA and Obama's team for comment.

 

[Dizel8]

God help us all!

 

[Cobraair75drvr]

Yeah that would suck. Can't imagine having a former pilot, much less union head at the top of the FAA.

God help us all!

 

[Texx]

God help us all!

Randy Babbitt, thats the ticket!

 

[satpak77]

I would prefer the head of NBAA or AOPA

 

[Voice Of Reason]

I would think he would be better than some "aide" to Harry Reid who has only been an aide and NO knowledge whatsoever about the industry or safety! Lesser of two evils by far.
If Obama picks the aide, it is blatantly clear that he is only about settling debts and NOT positive change (as I predicted).

 

[samballs]

Obama must not want anything done for awhile if he's putting Woerth in that position. Either that or Obama wants the NTSB to start pushing the FAA to do more, and Obama knowing woerths record against management knows this would be an easy fight for the NTSB. Whats funny is, this position is 10x's more important than the head of ALPA, but he made more as the head of ALPA and did even less than the FAA did in those years.

 

[Dizel8]

Yeah that would suck. Can't imagine having a former pilot, much less union head at the top of the FAA.

I don't have a problem with a pilot running the FAA, I have a problem with this guy running FAA!

 

[Princedietrich]

I would prefer the head of NBAA or AOPA

This would never happen because AOPA is probably the most anti-FAA organization (apart from the TSA) in existance. Just pick up a random issue of their magazine and you'll find all kinds of rhetoric about how the feds are only out to get us and they should be resisted at all costs.

 

[JoeMerchant]

This would never happen because AOPA is probably the most anti-FAA organization (apart from the TSA) in existance. Just pick up a random issue of their magazine and you'll find all kinds of rhetoric about how the feds are only out to get us and they should be resisted at all costs.

....they're right.....

 

[Voice Of Reason]

great "experience" for FAA

from legistorm.com:

Robert T Herbert, Congressional Staffer - Salary Data

• Trips
• Personal Finances
• Foreign Gifts

List by: Fiscal Year Calendar Year *Senate data is reported by Fiscal Year and cannot be displayed by calendar years.
Employing Office Start date End date Position Amount Notes Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 10/01/07 03/31/08 Senior Policy Adviser/Director of Appropriations $50,874.22

FY 2008 subtotal: $50,874.22
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 04/01/07 09/30/07 Senior Policy Adviser/Director of Appropriations $52,777.40
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 10/01/06 03/31/07 Senior Policy Adviser/Director of Appropriations $47,162.50

FY 2007 subtotal: $99,939.90
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 04/01/06 09/30/06 Senior Policy Adviser $51,540.00
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 10/01/05 03/31/06 Senior Policy Adviser $45,774.00

FY 2006 subtotal: $97,314.00
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 04/01/05 09/30/05 Senior Policy Adviser $47,000.00
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 10/01/04 03/31/05 Regional Director $46,032.68

FY 2005 subtotal: $93,032.68
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 04/01/04 09/30/04 Regional Director $45,290.40
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 10/01/03 03/31/04 Regional Director $41,395.32

FY 2004 subtotal: $86,685.72
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 04/01/03 09/30/03 Legislative Assistant $58,624.99
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 10/01/02 03/31/03 Legislative Assistant $38,558.43

FY 2003 subtotal: $97,183.42
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee 08/20/02 09/30/02 Legislative Assistant $10,546.99
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 04/01/02 08/19/02 Legislative Assistant $28,976.40
Sen. Harry Reid (

-Nevada) 10/01/01 03/31/02 Legislative Assistant $36,526.81

FY 2002 subtotal: $76,050.20

Congressional staff salaries shown are the amount paid in the period shown. They are not annual salaries. Because bonuses may be included here and other payments may not be (most notably with aides working for multiple offices or for a political campaign committee), please use caution in extrapolating annual salaries from the figures shown here. "

 

[~~~^~~~]

Woerth, or one of 80% of the pilots on any seniority list, would be a better pick over many of the political choices out there.

Please not Boyer at AOPA, although he is now looking for consulting gigs. Boyer was not an intellectually honest man but made up for it with an ego that told him AOPA really needed to buy him a continental jet to represent all the single engine prop guys that pay the bills there.

ACL65, send Mr. B your resume!

 

[Chest Rockwell]

A friend that attended Woerth's wedding in 2000 said that he was very proud of the fact that the Gore 2000 campaign was paying for his reception. Of course this was right after ALPA endorsed the creator of the internet.

 

[N2264J]

So tell me, was Woerth knowingly misleading our attorney under oath or is he just ignorant?

Woerth: Single carrier representation has nothing to do with mergers. It has that to with representational status of the unions.
Haber: But single representation would be another way of getting what you advocated; right?
Woerth: They are not related at all.
Haber: Why not?
Woerth: Because it just has to do with who is the collective bargaining representative in a single carrier case; teamsters, ALPA, independent. A single carrier just describes who is going to be the bargaining representative.
Haber: At Mesa, for example, ALPA represented all carriers involved, so what was the rationale for seeking National Mediation Board single carrier determination?
MR. MIGLIORE: Object to the form of the question; assumes facts that are not in evidence.
THE WITNESS: I don't know why we sought single carrier determination.​

http://www.rjdefense.com/2006/woerth_xscript.pdf

Listen up "regional" MECs. Big, dead, bloated, rotting, smelly fish on the table:

Why does Delta and Northwest need a single carrier petition? They're already both ALPA.

Or said differently, why isn't ALPA filing a single carrier petition for the alter egos Compass, Mesaba and Comair?

 

[GogglesPisano]

Much better to have the typical career-beauracrat political donor who doesn't know the difference between an aileron and an accumulator.

What's Brownie doing these days?


(PS: Woerth as FAA head should be welcome news for the typical airline pilot, even if it isn't blatantly obvious to some cursed with political blinders.)

 

[LearLove]

The only thing Woerthless would do is outsource the FAA's aircraft to a regional carrier.

 

[Fubijaakr]

Who would you rather have, a typical political hack?

 

[stlflyguy]

How about a candidate that isn't as polarizing as Woerth, to start?

stlflyguy

 

[BoilerUP]

Please not Boyer at AOPA, although he is now looking for consulting gigs. Boyer was not an intellectually honest man but made up for it with an ego that told him AOPA really needed to buy him a continental jet to represent all the single engine prop guys that pay the bills there.

Why do you say Boyer "was not an intellectually honest man"?

Also, like it or not AOPA has interests all over the country and its much easier and time efficient to make a trip to a bunch of GA airports in a CJ3 than by airlining out of IAD or BWI.

 

[Slick]

Is this what Obama meant by "Hope" and "Change"???

Still glad I voted for McCain.

 

[twepilot]

me too.

RV

Clintonistas...I love that word

 

[~~~^~~~]

Why do you say Boyer "was not an intellectually honest man"?

Because he would get involved in tort litigation on the side of the Plaintiffs, despite all of his public statements in favor of tort reform. He would also allow AOPA staff to get involved with smaller matters like diminution in value claims against little A&P shops, like the letter my mechanic asked me for help with demanding $17,000 in diminution on AOPA letterhead on a Cessna that had a wingtip position light lense replaced at a cost of about $325.

If you were privy to last year's member survey, a significant number of responses were "Fire Boyer." Somebody listened.

It would not surprise me to see him on the Plaintiff whore circuit with Art Wolk.

 

[BoilerUP]

Because he would get involved in tort litigation on the side of the Plaintiffs, despite all of his public statements in favor of tort reform.

I'm sorry Fins, I'm a simple pilot...I understand torts a little but can you give me an example of what you're talking about?

I personally thought AOPA's briefs in defense of Parker Hannifin regarding the 2000 Mel Carnahan Cessna 335 crash in Missouri were particularly useful to GA...especially since the vacuum pumps DID NOT fail!

Are you talking something along those lines?

This relentless litigation is why just about any new Piper starts at a half million and they sell so few. General Aviation is dead & dying, thanks to Boyer's buddies in the Plaintiff Bar.

Its certainly not the late 60s/early 70s, but you wouldn't know that by the number of Cirrus aircraft sold every year. I don't have the latest AIN or BCA in front of me but the last info I can find online is that in 2007, piston deliveries (2755) slipped 3% from 2006 (2675 units).

New Piper also said their deliveries YTD through the first 3 quarters of 2008 is up 18% compared to the same 3 quarters of 2007.

 

[~~~^~~~]

I'll PM you my reply.

Bottom line, don't like Boyer and glad he's gone.

Your moniker "getting paid" is exactly right. Boyer helped make flying more expensive and always preferred the NBAA crowd over his own supporters.

 

[rudder]

How many former trade unionists would have been considered for top administrative positions under the current white house? Zero.

If appointed, DW has the opportunity to actually fix all of the problems that he identified when he was representing the commercial pilot users of the system.

Lots could change and likely will if he secures the position. Airline boardrooms should cringe as their influence is about to drop close to nil.

Now as for the NMB........

 

[PCL_128]

I can't believe the attitudes of some people on this board. If Duane is appointed to this position, you finally have a chance of getting good flight/duty time rules. Duane will also help the controllers get a decent contract so we don't have constant turnover in ATC positions and a bunch of inexperienced kids vectoring us around crowded airspace. I hope Duane gets it. We could use the help in high places.

 

[BoilerUP]

I can't believe the attitudes of some people on this board. If Duane is appointed to this position, you finally have a chance of getting good flight/duty time rules. Duane will also help the controllers get a decent contract so we don't have constant turnover in ATC positions and a bunch of inexperienced kids vectoring us around crowded airspace. I hope Duane gets it. We could use the help in high places.

I agree DW as FAA Administrator would be favorable to airline pilots...but I'm concerned about potential favoritism toward his former constituents via policy, at the expense of business and/or general aviation. I hope I'm wrong for having that concern.

All things told though, I think holding an ATP should be required of anyone in that position...

 

[stlflyguy]

Duane will also help the controllers get a decent contract so we don't have constant turnover in ATC positions and a bunch of inexperienced kids vectoring us around crowded airspace.

Guess what: you're going to get that anyway as the senior controllers retire in droves in the upcoming few years.

With a huge national deficit I wouldn't expect this to be the "top priority" when it comes to settling contracts.

stlflyguy

 

[ualdriver]

I can't believe the attitudes of some people on this board. If Duane is appointed to this position, you finally have a chance of getting good flight/duty time rules. Duane will also help the controllers get a decent contract so we don't have constant turnover in ATC positions and a bunch of inexperienced kids vectoring us around crowded airspace. I hope Duane gets it. We could use the help in high places.

+1

It's amazing to me how blind with anger some of you ALPA haters are. Duane running the FAA could be, in my opinion, a very positive thing for the airline piloting profession. I'm under no illusion that we're going to get everything we want just because we have Democrats in power and Duane possibly running the FAA but c'mon! A unionist, ex-airlne pilot running the FAA? I hope very much this comes true.

 

[Tejas-Jet]

Count me in...I'm down wit Duane getting this gig.