National Association of Air Traffic Specialists - FAQ for the upcoming vote *NEW INFO*

FAQ for the upcoming vote *NEW INFO*

Sunday, 18 June 2006

FAQ

Some frequently asked questions for the upcoming election are answered.

Frequently asked Questions

1. Lockheed Briefings have indicated that if I vote in the Union, they will have a closed shop and I will be charged Union dues whether I want to join the Union or not. Is this true?
Answer : NAATS has always operated as an open shop when they represented only Federal employees. This means that employees have had the benefit of Union representation and negotiated agreement whether or not they were dues paying members. As Lockheed has indicated, there are closed shops within the private sector world. What Lockheed neglects to tell you is that there are also open shops in the private sector. NAATS is now and will always operate as an Open shop.
Employees that live in "right to work" states cannot be compelled to support any union that operate in their state. Most of the Legacy sites and Hubs are located in "Right to work" states. If NAATS tried to do what Lockheed suggests than a very unfair and unworkable situation would develop in non "right to work states". Making some employees pay more for service than other employees simply because of where they work and live is not something NAATS will ever support.

2. At my Lockheed briefing the management reps said that NAATS will charge me an initiation fees that cost hundreds of dollars. Is this true?
Answer : NAATS does not now, nor do they ever plan to charge initiation fees.

3. I am a FERS employee that was just a few years short of qualifying for my retirement when Lockheed took over for the FAA. I have been paying more into my retirement than other Government employees, and if I am able to seek another government job later on I will never recoup the extra money I contributed to my retirement. Is NAATS doing anything about this?
Answer : NAATS continues to work the 1.7% issue in Congress. In Kate's last update she has reported on the significant progress our NAGE rep has made with Rep. Oberstar's office and about Kate's scheduled meeting this week in D.C. on this very issue. NAATS members have been abandoned by the FAA in this issue. NAATS is the ONLY organization that continues to advocate for the employees that have had to accept either limited or no retirements.
Lockheed representative Dan Corrain was asked point blank at one of his mandatory meetings if Lockheed would consider appealing to congress on behalf of the employees in Flight Service that were unfairly denied their retirements. Dan response was " I don't believe Congress even cares about this". He then said "Lockheed would not be interested in doing this". Dan apparently hasn't spoken to Rep Oberstar.
If NAATS ceases to exist, there is not any organization on earth that will advocate on our behalf on this essential issue.

4. Lockhheed has stated at their briefings to us that all they want is one year to show what they can do. Why not let that happen?
Answer: One year is an eternity in a transition like this. Think back for a minute to July of last year and recall all the things that are different now. What type of schedule are you working now compared to then? How many of your co workers have left to seek employment elsewhere or just retire? What is different about how your job is now done? Many of our people have had to move their families all over the country and others are gearing up to do the same next year? What type of input have you had into any of these processes? Can anyone say security “B”? It has already been 8 months into the Lockheed transition and NAATS has had to use all of it’s time and effort just getting recognized. If this process is given another year without any input from us, the employees who actually do the job, there is no telling where we may end up. Many of the foibles that have occurred during this changeover are a direct result of bad information by the folks that are advising Lockheed. Ex-FAA managers that have not done this job in over a decade are getting way too much access. It is time for NAATS to get a seat at the table and have direct input into our job process. Lastly, the assertion that NAATS or any other Union can just waltz in here in a year and start representing us, is misleading. NAATS is the Successor Union and by all legal rights has a right to be here. Lockheed has fought this from the beginning, and has only begrudgingly agreed to our voting. The real goal here is to delay and hope that in a year that the foundation of this career field is so cemented that we will need a jackhammer to break through.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 01 August 2006 )