National Association of Air Traffic Specialists

Aviation Safety is Our Business

Bulletin #20

From

Don McLennan

It has been a while since the last bulletin update. Quite frankly not very much has happened. The chief negotiators had hoped that dividing the main contract teams into smaller, and hopefully more empowered workgroups, the stalemate that exists between the two primary teams might be reduced to more manageable positions. However, the experience of most sub-workgroup members has been to experience a very intransigent FAA position and little to no headway was made. This means the FAA and NAATS are now at impasse and must agree on soliciting the help of a federal mediator through the Federal Mediator Conciliation Service. Our NAATS head negotiator has gotten that ball rolling and is optimistic we could see some movement as early as the middle of October, or hopefully no later than early November. This is a very important step in the negotiation process. It is important that our members understand the ramifications of what might happen next.

If the mediator is successful in getting the two sides to modify their positions and enable them to come closer together, then there is hope that an agreement may still be reached and an agreement ultimately extended to the membership for a ratification vote. However, if the two sides are unable to narrow their differences to this point, then a new process to the FAA will unfold. When Congress allowed the FAA to come out from under the protections afforded all employees in Chapter 71 we forfeited the right to take contract negotiations to an arbitrator if we should be unsuccessful at impasse resolution. The new procedure is for both contract teams to brief the Administrator on their respective positions and then the Administrator takes those issues to Congress for resolution. The Congress will have 60 days within which to act. If there is no resolution by Congress, the entire package reverts back to the Administrator for whatever implementation she would feel is justified. The new law greatly increases the power and authority of the FAA Administrator in resolving labor-management disputes.

What does this mean to us? Here are two very different possibilities for your consideration. The most negative would be that the system fails us at every step and, eventually, the Administrator implements a new pay system for our bargaining unit based on having reached no agreements what-so-ever, with no increases in compensation or agreement on work rules. On the other side of the coin the two teams could amazingly come together at mediation, resolve their differences and the membership would have a ratification issue to vote on. I will try and continue to develop more perspective for you in subsequent bulletins since there is little else to report right now. I mostly just wanted you to be aware of the current status of contract negotiations.

Back to Bulletin List.

Walter W. Pike, President

This page was last updated on 27 September, 2000