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Federal Aviation Administration Begins Contract Talks With Air Traffic Controllers Union

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

The Federal Aviation Administration has begun negotiations for a new contract with a union representing 14,500 air traffic controllers nationwide.

Contract talks with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association come while the FAA is facing the economic challenges of attempting to reduce costs to meet increasing consumer demand with limited revenues, said Richard Rodine, deputy director of the FAA's Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City.

We are seeking a solution that is fair to controllers, fair to taxpayers and fair to the flying public, Rodine said on Tuesday.

The FAA is seeking a contract that allows the agency to ensure safety, cut flight delays and reduce airport congestion, he said.

The negotiations are important to the FAA because labor costs account for 80 percent of the operating budget, Rodine said.

Average controller compensation in 2005 will be $165,000, which includes salary, premium pay and benefits. Annual compensation packages for 1,300 controllers will exceed $200,000.

The FAA has 27 controllers and five supervisor-controllers at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. The average base salary for controllers in Oklahoma City is $107,000, which does not include premium pay and benefits.

The current labor contract was negotiated in 1998 and extended for two years in 2003. The contract will expire in September.

We cannot afford an agreement like the one made in 1998 that saddled the FAA with excessive costs, archaic work rules and restrictions on our ability to modernize the system, Rodine said.

Total controller compensation increased 68 percent to $2.4 billion from $1.4 billion in 1998, when the current contract began, according to the FAA.

The gap between controller salaries and salaries for other FAA unionized employees tripled during the current contract, Rodine said.

The 1998 agreement also tied the agency's hands in its daily operations of the air traffic control system, he said. The FAA seeks a labor contract that restores basic management rights to allow for more flexible and efficient use of its work force and the rapid introduction of new air traffic safety technologies without protracted, cost-consuming procedures.

Provisions in the current agreement delayed the introduction of certain new air traffic control systems and restricted the FAA's ability to staff its facilities to meet changes in air traffic volumes and patterns, Rodine said.

In Washington, D.C., John Carr, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said Rodine held one of more than 20 FAA news conferences across the nation as part of a coordinated media assault on his union.

Carr told Associated Press the media campaign seeks to justify an ill-advised plan that would lead to fewer controllers guiding more planes.

Carr said modernization is a top goal of the controllers association, but the FAA has shunned investing in technology that would keep the system safe and efficient.

America's 14,500 air traffic controllers aren't interested in political fights and we don't like conducting negotiations in the press, Carr said. We're dedicated to the safety of the traveling public and we believe that's what these negotiations are all about.

Rodine said he does not expect a work stoppage.

Our air traffic controllers are dedicated and professional public servants, he said. Throughout contract negotiations, we will keep our eyes focused squarely on our mission of keeping planes moving safely and efficiently and providing quality training.

The FAA expects to hire 12,500 air traffic controllers over the next 10 years, all to be trained at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City. The controllers will be needed because of an increase in air traffic nationwide and an expected wave of retirements, Rodine said.

In June, the FAA dedicated three new advanced air traffic controller training simulation laboratories at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center. The simulators double the training capacity and provide a realistic tower environment.

The FAA Academy also trains technicians and engineers who maintain the radars and electronics of the national airspace, and the safety inspectors who oversee air crew procedures, aircraft maintenance and airport activities.

Source: Journal Record - Oklahoma City

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