Rep. Norma Torres Wants More Funding, Improved Conditions for ONT Air Traffic Controllers
A Southern California congressmember pressed the Federal Aviation Administration’s administrator Tuesday for more federal investment at Ontario International Airport and asked the agency to withdraw a proposed rule she says would infringe on state labor laws and worker protections for pilots and flight attendants.
The FAA, however, has the authority to override state meal and rest break laws for flight crews, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said during Tuesday morning’s House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee oversight hearing.
Democratic Rep. Norma Torres, whose Inland Empire-based district includes Ontario, spoke to Bedford as a subcommittee member, asking the FAA to better support air traffic controllers at ONT by improving pay and resources.
Torres argued that the FAA’s current classification of ONT’s air traffic control facility needs an upgrade. ONT’s air traffic control is classified as Level 5.
ONT spokesperson Steve Lambert said by email Wednesday afternoon that the FAA assigns air traffic control facilities levels based on traffic volume and complexity.
“They have a standard and specific level-analysis process. They rank them from Level 4 to 12. Controllers who work at higher-level facilities get more pay,” Lambert said.
Torres also raised concerns about an FAA plan that would lower ONT’s staffing target from 21 fully certified controllers to 15.
The congressmember’s staff did not immediately respond to questions about the number of air traffic controllers currently on duty at the airport and how many more are needed.
Over the past decade, ONT has supported more than 24,000 jobs and contributed $5 billion to the regional economy, according to Torres.
“The classification does not reflect the operational complexity of the airspace, which includes 24-hour operations, complicated overnight traffic and cargo demands, and leaves our air traffic controllers with less pay, less training dollars and lower priority for technology upgrades,” Torres said.
Torres also said that reclassification from Level 5 could also improve the ONT staffing situation.
“Those levels are collectively bargained,” Bedford responded.
“The last time they were collectively bargained was just as the Biden administration was leaving, so that was December of 2024. The contract was amended, and those levels were reassessed,” he said.
Torres said that “it didn’t make sense” how ONT’s strong economic engine would have less staff than the Laverne Brackett Field airport.
“The level sets the pay; it doesn’t set the staffing. I’ll take a look at that,” Bedford said.
Torres has also asked the FAA to withdraw the proposed rule she argues overrides state and local meal and rest break laws. Bedford said, however, that the agency has the authority to regulate crew duty time limits and mandatory crew rest. But Torres argued that multiple court rulings and Supreme Court precedents make it clear that the FAA lacks the authority to overrule state and local laws.
“Congress intentionally did not grant this authority under the FAA reauthorization or other laws, but despite this, the FAA recently proposed a rule allowing the FAA to overrule and preempt any state and local meal and rest break laws, limiting flight crews or flight attendants’ ability to be well rested,” Torres said.
Torres asked Bedford if there was anything he could do to ensure that the FAA abides by local state laws rather than “preempting them.”
Bedford said he trusts the FAA’s legal team behind the proposed rule to “assert our authorities” and that there is “purpose behind it.”
“We’re concerned when we see state law preempt what our regulatory authorities require,” Bedford said. “That’s where we feel like we have to throw the flag on that. And if that ultimately requires a court of higher jurisdiction to arbitrate that dispute, so be it.”
The FAA administrator also said the FAA has the authority to regulate crew duty time limits and mandatory crew rest, and “that’s what we’re protecting,” Bedford said.
“The courts did not agree with that yet,” Torres said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, an FAA spokesperson could not be reached for further comment on Torres’s concerns.
In response to Torres’ arguments, Lambert said by email that the airport appreciates the congressmember’s continued support for the investments and resources needed to ensure the “safe, efficient operation of our nation’s aviation system.”
“Air traffic controllers at ONT are Federal Aviation Administration employees, so matters involving their staffing, compensation and working conditions fall under the FAA’s jurisdiction,” Lambert said.
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