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I have never been more proud to be affiliated with this Union than last week at NATCA in Washington. Before I get in to that, first a bit of background;
We all know the antagonistic environment the FAA has created with its own workers in recent years. The break-rooms across the country are replete with the stories of disciplinary action being taken for the slightest of issues, wholesale changes in workplace procedures, TTD’s and QAR’s run amok etc. all highlighting the Agency’s growing disdain and sometimes loathing of it’s own workforce. Even more alarming to some is how nobody is exempt from this anymore. Although the level of misery is more advanced at some locations than others as this new “culture change” makes its way across the FAA inventory of facilities, it seems that even keeping your head down and your nose clean is no defense against this across-the-board paradigm. These policies are an equal opportunity assault which does not discriminate based on location, actual job performance or work history.
Ramping up the apprehension quotient for many more is the Agency’s increasingly prevalent failures to remember its own purpose. Even as the FAA becomes further skilled at taking the low road with its employees it is developing new talents at taking the “low-thought” road regarding its very mission. With unfunded, mismanaged and/or misguided handling of modernization, staffing, safety procedures, aviation community interaction, consultation with its own subject matter experts and nuts and bolts support for its field facilities, it appears the FAA has forgotten the very reasons for its existence. We used to have objections to the Agency thought processes on how to best accomplish its long standing safety mission, but now that mission seems to be morphing exclusively in to “how not to spend money”. An ideology driven methodology that is almost solely based on price is a poor plan indeed for dealing with the sacred trust of protecting the lives of the system users, the integrity of the NAS as a whole and, by inference, the economy which so critically depends on its continuous function. The Agency’s aggressive approach to ignoring its own responsibilities, ignoring its own internal and external experts, ignoring its own experience and history and taking a myopic price tag only approach to decision making is both foolish and dangerous. Focusing on price alone will never allow one to identify something’s value. I only hope we can right this ship before people die as a result.
Have you ever sat down and read all of the FAA/NATCA collective bargaining agreement … the contract? It addresses the worries mentioned above and more. And because of FAA personnel reform in the late 90’s, it’s what gives you many of the rights that other government employees who weren’t get automatically. So these contract negotiations, and our ability to negotiate on something resembling a level playing field, are absolutely crucial to both your position as an employee and a dedicated, committed proponent of aviation safety.
So we started out by selecting an outstanding contract team. The FAA started out by unleashing a multi-state press extravaganza at taxpayer expense to try and convince the world they didn’t have enough taxpayer dollars to spend. They figured that no employee organization could effectively combat an onslaught of mischaracterizations, half truths and outright falsehoods backed up by the assumed mantle of authority and accuracy from a government agency. They had more influence and more resources to bring to bear and figured they’d roll over us. And with a hostile White House and Republican controlled Congress they felt pretty good. But that was the first inning of the game, as John Carr said, and we have battled them to a tie game in the press and on Capitol Hill. So welcome to the fifth inning at NATCA in Washington.
Our grassroots activists took to the hill armed with provable facts to counter the agency’s outrageous claims, personal stories and expertise that can only be conveyed by the folks on the front lines. They asked for support of Barack Obama’s Senate bill and the soon to be dropped Republican companion bill in the House, both of which would restore bargaining fairness. Then a funny thing happened. Large numbers of Republicans, especially in the House, were shocked by the facts and appalled at the Agency’s behavior. The 350 or so activists acting on your behalf from all over the country started making clear headway with the majority party against all odds. I can’t say enough about their performance and will dedicate most of my next update to it.
But what we need now is help from the rest of you. NATCA has had an impressive record of winning for you and haven’t often needed the help of its members to do so. In fact many of you have become complacent based on those wonderful victories. But these are different times and to dwell on the past with this is to die in the present. We will be calling on all of you to help with this legislation very soon. Right now we need the residents of Nebraska to call the office Senator Chuck Hagel at 202-224-4224 and ask that he cosign on to the Obama bill (S2201). We need all residents of Missouri to call Senator Jim Talent’s office at 202-224-6154 and ask the same. Both of these Senators are very close to helping us, they already know the issue, but they need to hear from YOU their constituents. Pick up the phone and call now … it’s easy, painless, and appropriate and should take less than two minutes. This will make the difference between a fairly negotiated contract or the FAA imposing whatever it likes on you.
I got delayed in writing this update because of the Super Bowl so I’ll end it right here. CALL NOW!! For your dancing and dining pleasure, the short article below is worth reading and you’ve just gotta' see the quotes from Marion Blakey. I think they say it all.
Call or write with any questions whatsoever.
Grant Anderson 417-894-6887
WSJ: Washington Wire (emphasis added) Far Apart: As tense contract talks continue, Federal Aviation Administration head Marion Blakey told reporters that the FAA would have offered the controllers even less than it did if it thought the agency would wind up in binding arbitration, as called for in a Senate bill. The FAA's current offer cuts pay significantly for new controllers and somewhat for existing controllers. "If we knew we were going to binding arbitration, we would not have made a fair proposal," Ms. Blakey said. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association called the existing FAA proposal anything but fair. Some 300 air traffic controllers are in Washington this week to lobby Congress to pass a bill that would require binding arbitration if sides can't reach deal. Under current law, any impasse would go to Congress, which would have 60 days to act. If it doesn't do so, the FAA could impose its last offer on the union. In talking points for the Hill, the FAA says senators should decline to even hold hearings on the matter. The NATCA-backed bill requiring mediation is backed by Democrats Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois, Patty Murray of Washington state, and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, but unless Republican support emerges, it might never get off the ground. --Laura Meckler
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