PUYALLUP, Wash – The Northwest Aviation Conference is expanding to include a day for business and career sessions. Teaming with Pierce County Airport, Horizon Air, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Workforce Central, General Aviation News, Seaplane Pilots Assoc., King County Airport, Washington State Department of Transportation, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, FAA, Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) and a multitude of businesses, aviation colleges, technical facilities and government agencies, the Aviation Business & Career Forum is the cumulative brainstorming of over fifty-five presenters from all aspects of the industry.
The business sessions will cover topics such as marketing strategies, succession, hiring, tax incentives and include a track dedicated to topics affecting airports.
The career tracks include hand’s on advise on all aspects of the industry – from pilots, mechanics to airport support.
“As an aviation non-profit, we are very concerned about the future of this industry,” say Jamelle Garcia, Executive Director of the Washington Aviation Association, “Our conference attendees are getting older. Hosting this added day is a wonderful opportunity to reach out to young people and also provide resources to those already in the industry who need a boost to get to the next level. There are alarming workforce shortages in aviation, unless we become proactive, the situation will become severe.”
The career seminars will include panels with active duty pilots including airline, coast guard, Washington State Patrol, float pilots as well as provide information from industry leaders such as Horizon Airlines, colleges and airports.
“This is a bridge between students and professionals. This access to real pilots and aviation professionals and their experiences is highly beneficial to students who are trying to discover their place in aviation,” comments Anthony Remboldt, Director of Aviation Training at Walla Walla University, “It will provide insight for students and the general public into the diverse world of aviation, and throw off the idea that commercial aviation always means working for the airlines.”
Rachel Hansen, organizer of the conference is thrilled with the response this event is getting in its first year. “The airports really appreciate this opportunity to share resources,” said Hansen regarding the business tracks. “It’s so exciting to see the diversity in who is responding,” in reference to the career sessions.
The Aviation Business and Career Forum will be hosted, Friday, February 22 at the Showplex, Western Washington Fairgrounds. Cost is $35 per person including lunch and admission to the conference Saturday and Sunday. Get full details and register online at www.washington-aviation.org/forum.html or call Rachel toll free at 866-922-7469. Parking is free. Doors open at 8:00 am. This event is held before the annual Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show.
Anyone considering a career as an Air Traffic Controller, consider this. The FAA is notorious for cheating employees out of career progression (since the 1981 strike, where 11,000 young people were hired within a few short years, meaning there have been very few retirements in the 25 years after) and cheating them out of wages, where, as an example, both the Union and FAA are responsible for CAUSING 165 controllers to be delayed in moving to higher-level facilities by 14 months (the NATCA Union reported to a Federal Court that the FAA failed to do a cost analysis prior to contracting out the Level One towers), and halfway through the 14-month delay made an ILLEGAL agreement to put them at the bottom of the new pay band at the new facilities, instead of the position in the pay band they would have been put at if they had moved on time, in other words giving them only 50% to 60% of the raise they would have been given if they had moved as scheduled, and as compared with other IDENTICAL employees who had moved in the first three years of the program (only fourth-year employees were delayed in moving). The FAA has taken four GS(FG)-10, step 10, controllers, IDENTICAL employees, sent them to the SAME control tower, put three near the top of the new pay band, and the fourth at the bottom of the pay band, violating the fourth person’s RIGHT to EQUAL treatment, and their own Union President agreed with it. He (Mike McNally) later admitted that he didn’t realize the agreement would cause disparate treatment of identical employees and called it an “administrative error”, however, subsequent Union Presidents and FAA management have refused to correct it. This cheated one of the delayed controllers out of $20,700 per year for 3.5 years working at the Boeing Field control tower in Seattle, until he was forced to resign to access his retirement fund to pay for legal action, and hasn’t been able to be rehired since (secondary retaliation). “Is your flight being handled by a disgruntled, cheated Air Traffic Controller?”.