Air Traffic Controllers Ratify Contract After Three-Year Battle with Bush FAA
A three-year battle for workplace justice came to a successful conclusion yesterday when the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) announced controllers had ratified a new three-year contract with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
NATCA says the new pact throws out the Bush-era FAA’s 2006 imposed work and pay rules and restores fairness and stability to the collective bargaining process. The overwhelmingly approved contract takes effect Oct. 1. The contract covers a set of new work rules that both NATCA and the FAA agreed to at the negotiating table earlier this year. Other contract articles, including pay, were decided through a binding arbitration this summer.
NATCA President Patrick Forrey calls the new agreement
a testament to our membership that they have endured the worst time in our union’s history, working towards and holding out for a contract that was negotiated in a fair process and agreed to by the parties.
Air Traffic Controllers Reach Tentative Agreement with FAA
Three months after the Obama administration opened the door for mediation in contract negotiations between the Air Traffic Controllers (NATCA) and the Federal Aviation Administration, the two sides reached a landmark tentative agreement late last week.
In May, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the Obama administration was appointing mediators to settle the dispute.
In 2006, the Bush administration’s FAA rejected NATCA’s call for mediation to settle a contract and walked away from the bargaining table. The agency then imposed a set of work rules and wage cuts that have driven controllers out of the towers. Because of the deplorable work environment, more than 2,600 controllers have left the FAA, creating a shortage of experienced controllers and threatening aviation safety.
The FAA under Bush rejected all calls to resume negotiations and threatened to veto any legislation that required the agency to sit down and bargain with the union.
Hang Up and Fly—Tell Senate to Back In-Flight Cell Phone Ban
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If you get a chance, take a minute and do your part for airline safety and passenger sanity. The Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) ) is urging the U.S. Senate to maintain the ban on in-flight cell phone use. Click here to send your senators a message.
The ban was included in the House-passed version of the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill (H.R. 915) in May. The Senate is expected to act this summer. The union says:
“Cell phone usage in the cabin would create a new security risk, compromise flight attendants job of safely executing an emergency evacuation, and ability to maintain order within the cabin amongst cabin noise and tension.”
Trio of Unionists Confirmed for Obama Administration Posts
Three former union members and leaders—with the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) and Seafarers (SIU)—won U.S. Senate conformation last week for top posts in the Obama administration. All three were approved by voice vote.
Capt. Randy Babbitt, a 25-year veteran of commercial airline and a former two-term ALPA president, will steer the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
ALPA President Capt. John Prater says:
Babbitt’s experience as an airline pilot, union president, aviation consultant and member of numerous government and industry advisory committees will serve him well as he leads our industry.
Obama Puts Air Safety Back in the Passenger Seat
For the first time in more than three years, the nation’s National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has been cleared to land a fair contract with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Yesterday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the Obama administration was appointing mediators to settle the dispute.
In 2006, the Bush administration’s FAA rejected NATCA’s call for mediation to settle a contract and walked away from the bargaining table. The agency then imposed a set of work rules and wage cuts that have driven controllers out of the towers. Because of the deplorable work environment, more than 2,600 controllers have left the FAA, creating a shortage of experienced controllers and threatening aviation safety.
Former Pilots President Nominated to Head Federal Aviation Administration
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Capt. Randy Babbitt, who spent 25 years in the cockpit beginning with Eastern Airlines and served two terms as president of the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), was nominated last week by President Obama to take over the controls of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Current ALPA President Capt. John Prater says he is confident that as FAA administrator, Babbitt will develop a flight plan to
guide the FAA into the future….Capt. Babbitt’s decisive leadership will position the FAA to take aggressive action to modernize our country’s antiquated airspace in the face of air traffic demand that is sure to escalate as the economy improves.
The White House announcement of his appointment said Babbitt is a
nationally recognized leader in the field of aviation safety and policy, and labor relations with almost 40 years of experience in the industry.
FAA Fails to Reach Performance Goals for 2008
With a record number of air traffic controllers retiring early or simply leaving the towers and radar facilities after the Federal Aviation Administration unilaterally imposed new work rules and pay cuts in 2006, trainees make up more than one-quarter of the controller workforce.
That, says the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), is at the heart of critical safety shortcomings in the FAA.
Burdened by an increasingly inexperienced workforce and a continuation of failed staffing and labor relations policies, the FAA has admitted that not only did it fail in fiscal year 2008 to meet its own performance goals for one of its most critical safety issues—incidents involving planes getting too close—but the agency is off to a poor start to the new fiscal year as well.
