Brothers and Sisters:
As you are aware by now, PASS decided to extend the current ATO collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with some modifications for the next five years. The purpose of this message is to provide the reasons for why that decision was made and why I believe it is in your best interest.
The most important reason is that I believe this protects you. This decision was not taken lightly and made after discussions and consultation with the contract team which provided helpful insight that guided me in this direction.
The current political climate makes this a very difficult time to be bargaining. Federal employees are under assault from every direction with attacks on such things as retirement and union official time. The uncertainty created by the current administration (some might even call it chaos) has impacted the FAA. Numerous FAA management officials have indicated that the Department of Transportation (DOT) is overseeing and evaluating the FAA’s every move, particularly regarding the negotiation and/or extension of CBAs with the various FAA unions. All the while we are fighting to save your careers from privatization, which is being pushed by the president and the DOT Secretary. This makes privatization more of a threat than ever. All other FAA unions extended their contracts because of this toxic environment.
The effect of all this is that the FAA is taking extremely rigid positions regarding union contracts. The agency’s position has been that no new CBA can cost more than the cost of the current one. By this, the FAA meant that any raises or costs associated with a CBA cannot increase with a new CBA. According to the FAA, pay items, such as sick leave buy back and the 4.75 percent addition to employees in the H band, are not counted toward cost because they have already expired. Any additional increases would have to be accepted by DOT. The agency also took a firm line against softening the pay cap for those above the band minimum since this would also increase costs. We attempted to convince the agency that these supposed costs could be viewed differently or offset in ways that did not harm employees, but the agency refused to budge.
It is also important to understand that while we limited the number of contract articles on the table, important work rules, such as watch schedules and overtime, were open for bargaining and the agency was proposing significant changes to them. For example, the agency wanted to change the watch schedule article to allow the changing of employee hours so that it could have more flexibility and pay less overtime. We refused to allow that to happen. At the same time, as an extra bonus for extending, we were able to convince the agency to guarantee in-position increases. Under the current contract, the FAA gave increases to about 1 percent of the bargaining unit. The new agreement locks in that these increases each fiscal year must be given to 5 percent of all PASS-represented bargaining unit employees. This means that up to 1,600 employees, or 25 percent of our workforce, will receive in-position increases throughout the life of the contract. That is not only important but will also assist in correcting pay disparities. We will establish a workgroup to facilitate the process for educating employees regarding this process.
I know pay is very important to you and many of you told us in the contract survey that went out last fall that you had issues with the pay system. You also told us you wanted to maintain the current work rules. I was not going to allow the agency take away your work rules, especially when the FAA refused to meet our major concerns on pay. I believe we a have good contract overall that guarantees such things as: alternative work schedules; comp time for working overtime; various types of premium pay such as NIC and EIC pay; a strong watch schedule process; safety representatives; and many other benefits. We went to the bargaining table to push the agency as far as we could under this environment but bargaining is more than just asking for things. Since the agency refused to move, a judgement call had to be made.
The current CBA states that the January presidential increase and June 1.6 percent are for years 2013 through 2017. If we don’t have an agreement, the FAA believes that these pay increases do not continue even if we are still bargaining after 2017. We may find ourselves in a dispute over the agency’s interpretation. Going to impasse could very well mean the new contract does not get resolved until next year. I did not want to jeopardize your pay increase. Extending the contract guarantees that you will receive your January increase, which we estimate conservatively at 1.35 percent for 2018. The extension also guarantees an 8 percent increase for the term (1.6 percent every June). This means all employees who are in the band would receive approximately 15 percent in base pay increases over the life of the CBA.
This agreement is not ideal. It does not fix what many members perceive is wrong with the pay system. But, it must be recognized that it preserves your work rules, your January and June increases, and locks in additional increases to the entire bargaining unit. It should also be noted that going for more than this now could put PASS in the headlights with the current administration, which could harm us in the fight against privatization.
Accordingly, I believe this agreement is in the best interest for the bargaining unit as a whole. This is why I recommend you ratify the extension and let’s move forward together. Your ballot package will be mailed out first class early next week. Please contact the national office if you do not receive it.
Many battles remain in front of us and we need stability so we can fight as one.
In Solidarity,
Mike Perrone
National President
