It has been almost four months since PASS started negotiations for the next AVS collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and below is an update on the process.
We began our sessions with the FAA in February and have met on a scheduled basis over the following months. These meetings have been conducted in a hybrid environment: the agency joins virtually and the PASS team is gathered in person at the national office. After meeting virtually multiple times, the teams met in person at the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) the week of April 25 and received Interest-Based Bargaining (IBB) training provided by the FLRA. The IBB training and exercises provided a valuable opportunity for everyone to learn and use additional tools to discuss interests (as opposed to positions) and allows the development of joint proposals that satisfy the interests of both parties.
The negotiations are progressing slowly, deliberately and methodically—all by design. This process is hard. We continue to exchange proposals using traditional bargaining methods and apply IBB techniques where appropriate. Normally, when we exchange these proposals, we meet to present our changes and discuss the intent of the language proposed and answer questions based on the language provided. When necessary, we jointly recruit the appropriate subject matter experts to supplement our understanding of a particular topic or issue. And then we wait; it takes time for either party to develop an appropriate response to proposed language. In general, the FAA needs to spend more time considering proposals to determine if there is any cost, and how it might be able to implement requirements across a nationwide workforce. The PASS bargaining team (which includes PASS legal staff) typically discusses and debates our next proposals as a group. Sometimes, developing new counter-proposals requires research into other CBAs, policies, case law, etc. We ensure the entire team is focused and aligned on the intent of the proposed language and discuss possible unintended consequences. Nothing is shared with the agency until the entire team supports the proposals.
National President Dave Spero has sat in on some of our sessions and he has told me how well he thinks the team is working on your behalf.
We have reached tentative agreement on over 60 articles but that’s not the end of the story. We have already reopened several articles tentatively agreed upon (TAU) based on impacted language in other articles. The total number of TAU articles is a good measure of progress, but it may inaccurately portray the complete story of how close we are to completion. Many of these articles were ones we agreed to carry over from the current CBA; arose from simple grammatical changes; changes based on updates to law or HRPM; or were amended to reflect a current initiative to use gender neutral language throughout the CBA. There are many articles still on the table for discussion, including changes to current articles that may lead to multiple bargaining sessions and several new articles that will take time to develop and explore prior to reaching possible agreement. There are a number of articles where the parties have exchanged numerous proposals and are close to being able to TAU. It is not entirely clear how close we are to being able to TAU an article until the FAA responds with a counter-proposal.
I want to set realistic expectations of the timeline, but I can’t provide any firm date as to when we will complete bargaining as much of the deadlines are dependent on the progress made in each session and some weeks are more productive than others. The schedule has us meeting frequently through the end of July, including numerous in-person sessions. We’ll have a better idea at the end of the summer as to how much further we must go but the entire bargaining team is committed for the long haul, armed with the knowledge that the battle will be hard and occasionally rough. At the conclusion of each of these sessions, we are worn out, mentally fatigued, and ready to rest but we pick up the mantle once again each day because we are determined to produce a CBA that will benefit our workforce and will be a solid resource for the bargaining unit employees we represent.
Region IV represents many employees with unique specialties and experiences in AVS including AFB, OSS, GASA, ACSA and AIR (MIDO). To remind us of this fact, written next to a few key priorities we want to achieve, there’s a mantra displayed on the wall for the bargaining team to see: PASS ‘FOUR’ ALL! Our eye is on the prize, and our goal is a document that builds upon the success of our current CBA, strengthens the protections we already have established, clarifies existing language and seeks additional benefits not yet in the CBA.
If there is something we haven’t addressed here, please email us.
Be safe; stay well!
Ben (& the Region IV Team)
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