AGREEMENT between the
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AIR TRAFFIC
SPECIALISTS (NAATS) and the
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA)
on
RECLASSIFICATION, COMPENSATION and OTHER BENEFITS
This
document has been prepared on your behalf and will be presented to management on or about,
the middle of March. I know it is very important to you, and you expect to know the
general content contained within this Agreement. The contract negotiations to date have
not represented any real serious intent by either side to persuade the other side of the
importance attaching to their proposal. I would characterize the exchanges so far as more
of a “feeling” each other out. Are
there any burning issues? Does there exist “imperatives” or “can’t
live without?” That may well change with this document. It is constructed in such a
way as to allow for as far reaching changes as we can contemplate or simply maintain a
status quo into the future.
As of this writing I also
need to explain that it will not be in our collective best interests to continue to share,
in wide publication print, some of the specifics, or particulars items of the contract
negotiation I have been trying to do so far. The reason for this is simply that you
can’t conduct an effective contract negotiation when only one side is willing to
share information. Therefore, since you know the management team has not shared with the
rest of their management personnel, and they have no intention of doing that in the near
future, and are enjoying reading what NAATS is doing or about to do, this can’t
continue, can it? It is not about secrecy as much as it is about another topic. That topic
is called interest based bargaining. You will remember we requested this approach over two
years ago as the date to begin negotiations approached. They rejected this approach, it
seemed at the time simply because they had never done it that way before, why start now?
In any event, we are way past that pivotal point and NAATS needs to insure we maintain an
environment in which security and openness together thrive to allow the team to vigorously
debate the issues within the privacy necessary to insure the management team does not
enjoy an unfair advantage.
It is my intent that you
will continue to receive valuable updates as we progress into future negotiation sessions.
I committed to keep you as up-to-date as I possibly could and will fulfill that
commitment. I felt it necessary to share with you that the previous level of specificity
may be somewhat downgraded. It is in our collective best interest’s to insure the
contract negotiation team can operate in an environment in which they can brainstorm,
develop, debate and negotiate on your behalf the very best possible deal for all of us.
More to come.
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