Origin of the Information Regarding the Possibility of a RIF

At one of the ATCT facility, one of the Air Traffic Assistant was hired under the restriction of not to exceed (NTE) five years. When the employee asked Management why only five years, Management responded that the FAA was planning to conduct a reduction-in-force (RIF) in the distant future.

Again, the possibility of a RIF is unofficial or confirmed.

Internet News

The Union has received several complaints from the bargaining unit employees advising that they were upset that the first communiqué from the Union for year 2009 was a Fourth of July message.

The Fourth of July message being the first communiqué from the Union is incorrect. For the year 2009, the Union generally has been using the Blogger venue instead of the Internet News venue to update bargaining unit members. Using the Blogger venue is less time consuming, and more expedient.

Address Pay Issue with Secretary of Transportation

Instead of receiving a face-to-face explanation on how the Agency conducted the inappropriate career level review, the Union will address the pay issue (dispute) directly with the Secretary of Transportation. Hopefully, Secretary LaHood would be more receptive to our plight.

Air Controllers, U.S. Ask Panel to Settle Pay Fight

The following update was written by John Hughes on Bloomberg.com.

July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Air-traffic controllers and the U.S. government took a three-year labor dispute to a panel that will issue a binding decision within 30 days.

The conflict over pay has frustrated efforts by President Barack Obama’s administration to deliver on a campaign promise to restore controller morale. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has called resolving the issue his “No. 1 priority.”

“The process is going very well,” Jill Zuckman, LaHood’s spokeswoman, said in an e-mail yesterday. The sides reached “agreement on a lengthy list of articles and work rules. The issues that could not be agreed upon have been turned over to mediators, who will have 30 days to render a decision.” The Federal Aviation Administration is part of LaHood’s department.

Both sides presented proposals July 6 to the three-member panel, led by former FAA chief Jane Garvey, according to an Obama administration official. The primary differences between the sides are economic, said the official, who declined to be identified because the talks are private.

Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, declined to comment, according to his spokesman, Doug Church.

Forrey said June 29 on his re-election campaign Web site that three differences remained between the sides -- pay, annual leave and regional-national officer representation. The two sides have agreed on more than 100 contract issues, he said then.

Reining in Wages

The nation’s 15,000 controllers have been at odds with the government since President George W. Bush’s administration imposed work and pay rules in 2006. The move cut controller starting pay 30 percent and was to save the government $1.9 billion over five years, the FAA said at the time.

Bush’s FAA said when it imposed the contract that it was trying to rein in wages that had become excessive under a contract agreement reached during President Bill Clinton’s administration in 1998, when Garvey was FAA administrator. Bush’s FAA said in 2005 that controller wages had risen 74 percent in seven years.

Controllers earn $50,000 by the end of their first year and $94,000 after five years, excluding benefits, the FAA said in a September fact sheet. The top-earning one third of controllers make at least $168,000, excluding benefits, and including overtime and other types of additional pay, the FAA said.

The workers have said the Bush rules exacerbated retirements among a group of controllers who replaced workers fired by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 in a labor dispute. Controllers under federal law aren’t allowed to strike.

‘Playing Hardball’

That Garvey couldn’t guide the union to a voluntary pay deal shows it “is playing hardball,” said Robert Poole, director of transportation studies at the Reason Foundation, which advocates free markets and limited government.

“She apparently could not get them to accept the economic and fiscal reality that the FAA has limited resources and just can’t give them the moon,” Poole said.

In addition to Garvey, the three-person panel charged with settling the remaining issues is made up of mediators Richard Bloch and Dana Eischen. The panel’s decision on those issues will be binding and not subject to a ratification vote by controllers.

The mediation talks began May 18. Both parties had agreed to a binding resolution of any issues not resolved in mediation sessions, according to a May 19 FAA statement. The parties aren’t barred from reaching a voluntary agreement while the panel is deliberating.

Career Level Review

Some of this information is hindsight, nevertheless, the FAA’s official position regarding career level review, pay band, and salary assignment is that bargaining unit employees are properly banded in pay band “F”, and were also previously properly graded as FG-7 employees under the old pay system.

Based on previously conducted job audits, and one inappropriately conducted career level review, since the 1980’s, the Agency’s unreceptive position is that bargaining unit employees are not entitled to an upgrade or increase in salary.

As part of the career level review process, many employees in the bargaining unit presented outstanding arguments and extremely weighty information to support a pay band upgrade; however, these efforts were to no avail. The Agency never had any attention of approving an upgrade or an increase in salary for 2154, Air Traffic Assistant employees, except for the annually approve increases by the FAA Administrator within the pay band system.

At the present, the Agency is willing to provide an explanation on how they conducted the career level review, but will not reopen Article 51 for renegotiations. The Union initially was receptive to receiving an explanation; however, the result will still be the same, no salary increase for bargaining unit employees. Additionally, if the Agency is forced to re-conduct another career level review, the result will still be the same, no salary increase for bargaining unit employees.

The inappropriately conducted career level review is a dilemma and difficult to address; however, the Union will very shortly be moving this issue to the forefront with the Agency. Please stayed tune for further information.

Possible Reduction-in-Force (RIF)

The Union has received unofficial information that the Agency may be planning to conduct a reduction-in-force (RIF) in the distant future affecting some bargaining unit employees in the terminal option. Again, this information is unofficial; however, the Agency recently has started to hire new bargaining unit employees in some of the air traffic control towers not to exceed (NTE) five years. The reason for this NTE employment is unknown at this time. The Union is looking into this matter.

Miami (ZMA) ULP

After a six months endeavor, as a result of the filed ULP, the Union has successfully prevented Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center from relocating the PIT position from the Traffic Management Unit (TMU) to the Flight Data Communications Section (FDCS).

The Union would like to express it’s gratitude to the bargaining unit employees at ZMA FDCS for providing statements and assistance, their support is the main reason why the Union was able to address this matter to a successful conclusion.

Computer Outage (Website/Blogger Updates)

Due to a major computer malfunction, for the past three months, the Union has been unable to provide communiqués (website/blogger updates) to bargaining unit employees. We apologize for any inconvenience this outage may have caused. The Union is now moving at a rapid pace to update bargaining unit employees.