Advocate in Washington
Several of the messages I received from my last Blog stated clearly that for the aircraft maintenance person to advance in today’s socio-economic arenas, there must be an advocacy presence in Washington, D.C. I agree wholeheartedly with this.
I recall my days of roaming the corridors of 800 Independence Ave. looking for knowledge and sometimes support for my company. As an unofficial advocate for maintenance personnel resulting from my years with PAMA, it was clear to me that the FAA was looking hard for an association to represent the particular interests of the technician. Not anything more.
They were and I believe still are looking for an advocacy group that has a credible, growing membership, no political or commercial axes to grind, and offers professional representation at their offices. I think they know the input they receive from other groups represents only tangentially the interests of the aircraft mechanic. These other groups represent pilots, FBOs MROs, and the like. While maintenance issues, such as how to comply with maintenance-related FARs are on the agenda, there is no one with any clout telling the FAA what the technician thinks and how complying with a particular FAR may effect him or her.
How do you feel about this? Do you have a suggestion(s) on how this situation can be corrected, if at all? Do you agree that aircraft technicians need a single voice with clout representing just their interests in D.C.?
We would like to hear from you on this and please don’t pull any punches.
No voice yet. No clue what ever happened with NBAA and PAMA when Pama was housed at NBAA but that is the only marriage I see that might pull this all together. I was one of the first one hundred members of pama and still have my big pin from Glen McCauley
John
I’ve been a pilot almost as long as I’ve been a mechanic (23+ years). Long ago I choose to focus on my technical avocation to advance my career in aviation, supplementing it with the experience and knowledge gained while flying as well.
When I review my yearly association dues expenses i.e. NBAA, AOPA, PAMA, ARSA, etc… I come up with a yearly expenses of around $900 which I gladly pay out of my own pocket. What do I get for this expense?
Well on the flying side I get excellent representation in DC, with boots on the ground watching, listening, knocking on doors and pinching our elected officials making sure they are aware of my concerns and needs. Excellent monthly published magazines with useful articles, and interesting pictorials. Very useful websites which include tools, training, and excellent notification systems that alert me every time the FAA steps out of line, which at times seems almost instant and constant. With all the details I need to respond and have my voice heard.
On the technical side what do I get? Very little representation in DC. The representation I do get lacks any real ‘teeth’ to affect any change on my behalf. Monthly publication that although short on quantity of content, what is published is relatively interesting. The pictorial content is hit and miss. Web sites which don’t offer any useful tooling, non-dynamic and stagnant training, alerts which generally post after I’ve seen them in the above mentioned sites and offer little follow up.
Those are just my personal observations. I’m also grateful for the help I do get via all these organizations. How do I feel about the states noted above? On the flying side very satisfied. On the technical side, continuously at risk. Under represented and under reported.
Suggestions? Mechanics as a whole will one day need to stand up, participate, open their wallets, and take an active roll in having our voices heard. The representation we need does not come cheap.
An issue at hand which I think is diluting this possibility is the viral inclusion of non-certificated individuals into our industry, in roles up to and including management positions. I interact daily with both certificated and non-certificated personal at all levels. Although there are superstars and duds in both groups, I believe the certificated personal as a whole do a better job, and are more conscientious of what they do, as opposed to the non-certificated personal.
I offer this analogy to ponder. We must have a driver’s license to drive a car. If you don’t have a license you can not drive- period. Even though you may know how to drive, and may even have driven for a long time, if you don’t have a drivers license should you drive? As a matter of law, of course not.
In this regard having a driver’s license is actually more important then your mechanics certification in more and more employment matters. It’s actually easier to get a mechanics job without an FAA certificate. But do you think you could be hired without a driver’s license?
To me on a personal level you either have a mechanics license or don’t. Obviously the FAA disagrees. And it obvious that’s not going to change with out outside influence. As it stands today, that needed outside influence does not exist.
Tommy, your comments are excellent! If I might expand just a bit… It appears to me from reading the blog and comments over time that there are at least 2 distinct groups of technicians with different concerns. First we have the airline techs who face the issues of job loss to outsourcing, and being held in low esteem or even contempt by profit minded execs. Secondly we have general aviation technicians who can be further divided into corporate techs with D.O.M. duties and the floor tech at the FBOs and repair stations. The floor techs share the concern of low esteem by management with the airline guys, and share the need for fair and clear regulatory oversight from the FAA with the corporate guys.
I cannot speak for the airline guys because I’ve not worked in that environment, but it seems to me that perhaps the best way for the rest of us to earn the respect of our managers (and chief pilots for you corporate guys) would start with us. From what I’ve noted in my travels around the country, many of us need to clean up our acts in order to be recognized as the professionals we should be. Ditch the sloppy shirts and baggy pants, get groomed neatly, drop the obscenity laced language, clean up after ourselves and show an interest in a neat, organized hangar or office, etc. Looking and acting professionally will make us feel professional. Ever notice how different you feel when you put on that suit for a formal function?
On the outside, we need an advocate that can get the FAA to provide us with guidance and interpretation of their own rules. I know the FARs are written ambiguously by intent, but how can they then expect each tech to understand and comply in good faith when the rules are so loose that the individual FAA inspector is his own god? I’m probably dreaming here, it’s not very likely that the FAA will ever stand up and take responsibility for its own rules. But perhaps we could have an office that would be able to hammer out clear cut interpretations, acceptable to the FAA and disseminated to all techs so we can comply without looking over our shoulders and wondering if our PMI got up on the wrong side of the bed!
I see the same subset of technician as you do Forrest. And I’ve work as a mechanic in all of them. The common denominators amongst all the groups concerned as I observe them are, pay/training/respect/ fair advancement/ job security.
And I think you’re right on in regard to professional appearance and performance. That’s a subject so large and important that I think it deserves a blog of its own.
One other recent and repetitive observation I’ll share with you is as follows:
Visit any ‘flight ops’ lounge or congregating area. Observe all the reading material around. Professional Pilot Magazine, AOPA, Business Aviation, multiple months issues and other flight ops related publications, local attractions guide.
Visit any Maintenance congregating area, lounge, break room, lunch area etc. Observe the local newspaper, Bass Proshop catalog, Tattoo magazine, Carcraft, Southern Hunter, AMT 2007 salary survey addition (one worn out copy), one Aviation Maintenance Magazine August 2006, Sports Illustrated college football edition.
There’s nothing inherently right or wrong with either group of observations. One observation does speak of set of people that stay actively engaged in there chosen profession even when not actively performing the duties of such role.
One observation says something different.
I believe until mechanics as a whole, licensed or not, begin to take the opportunity to actively engage in their own professional development, both in the administrative arena well as technical duties, there will be little hope of having a congruent, participative force, gathered that will advance our needs as a whole.
My old man gave me some good advise long ago- the cream always rises to the top, never let management hear you griping on or about the job, don’t wait around for others to advance you, don’t stop training, work every job like you own it, built your own network of contacts, help those you can along the way, never fear change, count on being judged by others on the company you keep, know the job you have today wont be the job you have tomorrow, and your name will become known and you services always in demand.
Just something to think about.
My two cents worth:
It is very hard to maintain a professional appearance when your job function is to get at least dirty, if not filthy. That’s why I am a fan of company uniforms in enough quantity to wear a clean one every day.
I would also like to see a group in washington that was on the mechanics side. Every place I have worked seems to be interested in nothing more than my signature on a maintenance release document of some kind. A federal mechanic license seems to be a drag on the mechanics career. What with the large number of completely unlicensed people in positions of authority over those who are licensed.
Well, folks, I have been a pilot since 1955 (yep I’m old), had the A&P since 1974 and the IA since 1984. The PAMA started out ok but soon tried to be a substitute labor union and, then, became an “ole boys club”. Then came the AMT Society which was a great idea but was incompetently managed. Who knows what the future will be. But all of this is meaningless. If you want to work as an aircraft mechanic then work as an aircraft mechanic. Rise to the top through hard work, continuing education and being a “company man”. If you don’t like your company find another. But don’t sit around whining about recognition. EARN recognition.
I have 2 children who have the A&P. Both of them have, financially, done much better than I ever did. I have been retired for 16 years and am still buying food so I guess I did ok, too.
Just get to work!
I just have 2 words for Bob’s comments, A Men!
All excellent comments. I’m simply amazed that we still don’t seem to have a common voice. Tommy’s comment about the reading material found in maintenance offices rings sooo true. I’ve met and worked with way too many mechanics who don’t stay professionally engaged and in touch with what is going outside of their immediate work area. Before this cool Internet thing came along, it was inherently difficult to keep abreast of what was happening in the world of aircraft maintenance. There’s no excuse for that anymore.
Certainly we need an advocate in Washington. Why? For one reason, the ATA is certainly NOT an advocacy group for maintenance folks. Considering all of the recent press surrounding aircraft maintenance issues, we, as professionals NEED someone to essentially give our side of the story. Our story is a damn good one, and we have some real issues and concerns that get glossed over without unbiased and thoroughly credible representation in Washington and in the press.