SPEEA’s Rich Plunkett attends Senate hearing on FAA aviation oversight

SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001’s director of strategic development, Rich Plunkett, was in Washington, DC this week to attend a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing entitled “FAA Oversight of Aviation Manufacturing”. 

Committee Chairwoman, Senator Maria Cantwell from Washington State, led the hearing with the sole witness being FAA Administrator, Michael Whitaker.  Chairwoman Cantwell opened the hearing by stating that, “What this Committee and the flying public want to know is, what is the FAA doing to strengthen its oversight of the planes that we fly on every day and to make sure that they are safely built.” 

Among the highlights of the hearing was the unveiling of The Boeing Company’s long-running, ‘Union Avoidance’ policy.  Brother Plunkett, who has met with Senator Cantwell and other lawmakers on FAA oversight, as well as has served on multiple federal advisory boards on aerospace manufacturing, including the Spring Aerospace Supply Chain Resilience (ASCR) task force commented on the hearing:  “SPEEA and IFPTE commend Chairwoman Cantwell and the members of the Committee for continuing to provide strong oversight of Boeing’s safety practices, including their continued refusal to work collaboratively with SPEEA and Unions in general when it comes to partnering and agreeing on implementing a strong Safety Management System policy.  I am hopeful, and expect, that the committee will continue to provide aggressive oversight of the FAA, and in turn Boeing.”  

See the full hearing here.