In addition to presenting at AMROI 2013, MacLeod met with key Indonesian aviation officials to discuss aviation maintenance safety and economic matters as well as ways in which the U.S. MRO community can work more collaboratively with the Indonesian MRO community.

“This trip has been a fantastic educational and networking experience,” stated MacLeod. “Indonesia continues to expand its MRO presence. ARSA must be actively engaged with those companies that provide maintenance in Indonesia to ensure collaboration on safety and business matters with their counterparts here in the U.S.”

One way for a repair station to invest in its community and help develop a stronger local workforce is to partner with a local trade school or community college. Two federal grant opportunities are available to fund partnerships with higher education institutions. While both require the school be the named applicant, the funds may be used toward a joint project with a business or local employer.

The first funding opportunity is the “Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grants Program” (TAACCCT), offered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Education and supporting projects seeking to provide resources or training for students’ educational and workforce development purposes. The program offers grants ranging from $2,372,500 to $2.75 million to single institution applicants and grants of up to $25 million to consortium applicants. There are several requirements the project must meet to receive funding under TAACCCT. Perhaps most importantly, one or more employers must be actively engaged in the project.

A second funding opportunity is an Aviation Research and Development Grant via the FAA. This is not available to projects intended to educate or train the workforce, but rather to support research in the “fields of science, engineering, aviation medicine, and human factors with potential relevance to the long-term growth of civil aviation.” Research projects in one of these fields are eligible for a grant of up to $5 million.

For information on federal grants, visit Grants.gov.

Whitaker most recently served as a board member and business development consultant for InterGlobe Enterprises from 2011 to 2012 following two years as the group’s CEO. Whitaker worked for United Airlines from 1994 to 2009, most recently as senior vice president for alliances, international, and regulatory affairs. He also spent time at Trans World Airlines from 1991 to 1994 as assistant general counsel for regulatory and international affairs.

The FAA has been without a deputy administrator since 2011, when now-Administrator Michael Huerta was promoted following the resignation of former Administrator Randy Babbitt.

Developed in partnership with the Joint Committee on Taxation, TaxReform.gov offers tools to inform the public about why reform is needed and what actions are already underway. Additionally, visitors are encouraged to share stories and ideas about the tax code. The public can also submit comments via Twitter to the handle @simplertaxes. Lawmakers will use this input as they craft legislation.

ARSA has remained actively engaged with leaders in Washington throughout the comprehensive tax reform debate by submitting comments on the Ways & Means’ small business tax reform discussion draft.

ARSA urges its members to tell their story using TaxReform.gov.

The court found the NLRB rule would violate employers’ first amendment rights by forcing the display of language that favors unionization. The court held:

“The Board’s rule requires employers to disseminate such information, upon pain of being held to have committed an unfair labor practice. But that difference hardly ends the matter. The right to disseminate another’s speech necessarily includes the right to decide not to disseminate it.”

ARSA joined its allies at the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) in opposition of the NLRB rule, arguing it would require nearly six million businesses to post notices amounting to little more than advertisements for union membership.

The posting notice issue is far from settled. Another challenge to rule is pending before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is hearing an NLRB appeal from a South Carolina federal district court that also struck down the rule. Depending on the outcome, the Supreme Court may choose to take on the case. For now, however, employers are free from displaying this contentious poster against their will.

Don’t let the industry’s opponents tell our story—visit ARSAaction.org for the political resources to fight for contract maintenance.

The OIG prepared the report titled “FAA Continues to Face Challenges in Implementing a Risk-Based Approach for Repair Station Oversight” at the request of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Aviation. The OIG investigation focused on “(1) determining whether the FAA’s oversight includes accurate and timely risk assessment of repair station, and (2) evaluating the effectiveness of the FAA’s oversight of foreign and domestic repair stations.”

The OIG’s most important finding was the FAA has been more focused on mandatory inspections than shifting limited oversight resources to high risk areas. The Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), which represents aviation maintenance and manufacturing companies, has long echoed concerns expressed in the report and worked with regulators and lawmakers to improve the quality of oversight.

To improve regulation of the aviation maintenance industry, ARSA believes the OIG should ensure the FAA issues regulations in strict accordance with statutes; provides clear, concise guidance material to its workforce and the public; and enforces the regulations uniformly and consistently.

While the report highlights the need to improve the way the FAA does its job, air travelers should rest easy. “Shortcomings at the FAA don’t translate into safety deficiencies in the industry,” ARSA Executive Vice President Christian A. Klein said. “Regardless of whether or not regulators are looking over their shoulders, our members have an overwhelming business incentive to achieve the highest levels of safety possible.”

Although the report never questioned the quality of repair stations’ work or raised safety concerns, the OIG cited examples of technical violations of the FAA’s policies, suggesting enhanced agency oversight would improve compliance. ARSA is concerned that an investigation intended to examine problems with regulators focuses, though fleetingly, on repair station conduct. “The OIG’s explicit role is to audit for the efficient and effective use of agency resources and investigate waste, fraud and abuse,” ARSA Executive Director Sarah MacLeod said. “In its auditing role, the OIG should be reviewing the FAA’s ability to make, interpret and enforce its rules.”

“It’s ironic that the OIG questions the methodology of the findings of past FAA inspections yet assumes the validity of its own audits without giving the repair station community a chance to rebut,” MacLeod said.

ARSA hopes the report will motivate the FAA to make the changes necessary to improve the quality of its industry oversight. “Our association has long urged the FAA to move to a standardized approach to repair station oversight and target inspections based on risk assessments to use limited resources more efficiently,” MacLeod said. “ARSA looks forward to working with Congress and the FAA to address the issues raised in the report, improve the quality of oversight, and achieve our common goal of the safest, most efficient civil aviation system in the world.”

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ARSA is an Alexandria, Virginia-based trade association that represents aviation maintenance and manufacturing companies. Founded in 1984, the association has a distinguished record of advocating for repair stations, providing regulatory compliance assistance to the industry, and representing repair stations on Capitol Hill and in the media.

Contact: Josh Pudnos 703 739 9543

The reallocation will allow the FAA to prevent further furloughs of air traffic controllers (through the end of the fiscal year). It is also anticipated that the increased operations account funding will stop the closure of contract air traffic control towers.

“ARSA continues to believe that Congress must give the FAA the resources to fulfill its congressionally mandated activities,” said Daniel Fisher, ARSA Vice President of Legislative Affairs. “When lawmakers don’t allow the FAA to carry out its basic functions the entire aviation industry suffers. While the legislation averts air traffic delays now, it is not a long-term solution to the FAA’s fiscal challenges.”

Many have praised the Democrat for launching several transportation initiatives as mayor, including the Charlotte Streetcar Project, the Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility connecting freight from Charlotte to global ports, and the construction of a third runway at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.

ARSA looks forward to learning more about Foxx during his upcoming U.S. Senate confirmation hearings. Stay tuned as the story progresses.

ARSA’s offering weekly webinars with experts from Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein  to address a variety of business and compliance issues confronting the aviation industry. Instructors will work off a PowerPoint presentation which will be provided to participants.

Click here for more information.