Recommendation for Ratification

My Union Brothers and Sisters:

In a few days a Notification of Ratification of Election will be posted on the website. If there are no logistical difficulties, the Union is planning to conduct the ratification election during the week of February 5, 2007, via the Internet; the election period would be five (5) days. Additional details will be provided in the election notification.

Copies of the tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between NAGE Local R3-10 and the FAA have been e-mailed to dues paying members. If you are a dues paying member, and have not received a copy, please contact the Union at nagelocalr310@aol.com.

As you know, these contract negotiations were not easy, but the outcome reaffirms the value of the collective bargaining process. The Parties were able to reach a tentative agreement.

Under the new contract, the majority of 2004 CBA articles were carryover without any changes. Out of eighty-one articles, nineteen articles were amended, most with minor changes. Additionally, in order to avoid having to negotiate a new CBA during the same period, in which two major unions (NATCA & PASS) would be negotiating theirs, the duration period in Article 81 has been extended to six years. This extension would allow future CBA negations to be conducted after the two major unions in the FAA have completed theirs. The conduct of arguments would greatly be enhanced.

Article 51 is the Conversion to FAA Core Compensation Plan/Performance provision. Under this article, all employees at Grade GS-7 will be converted to Pay Band F. For the first SCI payout under this Agreement all eligible employees will receive a Superior Contribution Increase (SCI) of .6 per cent. For the administration of SCI, employees in the NAGE Local R3-10 bargaining unit will be considered in separate pool from other FAA employees. Employees may request reviews of career level determinations in accordance with Human Resources Policy Manual (HRPM) 2.3.C. If such a review is requested no later than 3 months after implementation of this Agreement, it will be completed before September 30, 2007 or within 6 months of employee’s conversion to the FAA Core Compensation System, whichever is later. According to HRPM 2.3.C, Section 5, a formal opinion review when rendered, is binding and must be implemented.

Trepidation - this article not having any extra monetary benefits is extremely disappointing. However, this provision is the utmost the FAA is willing to accept/provide/agree. Most importantly, it is time for our bargaining unit employees to convert into the core compensation pay system. As result of the FAA Administrator’s band increases (2), the majority of our bargaining unit employees are losing money by remaining in the general schedule pay system. The 2007 base salary for GS-7, Step 10 (excluding locality) is $41,262. The maximum pay band (excluding locality) for Pay Band F in the 2007 Core Compensation Plan Pay Bands is $48, 500. $7,238 higher than GS-7, Step 10, therefore, upon conversion into the core compensation system, Step 10 employees will once more resume receiving pay raises. Furthermore, employees would be entitled to the extra 1 per cent raise the FAA Administrator has been approving for core compensation employees.

The Executive Board of NAGE Local R3-10 is strongly and fervently recommending that the members vote to ratify the tentative CBA. The 2004 CBA expires on February 25, 2007, and it would be extremely detrimental for our bargaining unit members not to have a CBA in place by the expiration date. A vote for ratification will continue the contractual protection of our bargaining unit employees’ rights, and ensure the continuation of the collective bargaining process for NAGE Local R3-10, our Union.

We urge all dues paying members to vote in the upcoming ratification election.

In solidarity,

Rufino Sanchez, Jr.
President, NAGE Local R3-10