Strategy To Convince FAA To Return To The Bargaining Table

Aero-News has learned that Tom Brantley, national president of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS, AFL-CIO), has sent the FAA's contract proposal for the union's employees in the FAA's Air Traffic Organization (ATO) out for a vote.

As Brantley says below, in his unedited comments, that is most emphatically NOT an endorsement of the FAA's proposal. Instead, Brantley states sending the contract for a vote is a way to get the FAA to return to the bargaining table once the contract is rejected -- instead of risking a final binding contract to be forced upon ATO employees.

Earlier today, PASS accepted the FAA’s contract proposal for PASS Air Traffic Organization technical employees.

As the PASS bargaining team made clear to the FAA, PASS took that action not because it thinks the FAA offer is fair or reasonable, but to give the working members who keep the air traffic system functioning safely an opportunity to speak their own minds.

With the FAA showing no signs of negotiating in good faith, it is now up to PASS members to tell the FAA whether they think the agency’s offer is acceptable. Even though PASS made every effort to negotiate with the FAA, the union could not continue on that path knowing that the FAA would simply declare impasse and then, through its misinterpretation of current law, send its final proposal to Congress and, after 60 days, declare its proposal to be a binding contract.

That course would give the employees no voice. Accepting the agreement and allowing PASS members to vote on the offer delivers a message to the FAA that PASS will not be intimidated into an unfair and demeaning contract. Members will have the opportunity to vote on the contract through a ratification process.

I am confident that PASS members will vote down the contract offer, which will send PASS and the FAA back to the bargaining table. Hopefully, the FAA will learn a lesson and approach the next round of negotiations with the intention of actually negotiating in good faith and securing a contract that is beneficial to all parties involved.

PASS represents more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform analyses of the aviation systems.

FMI: www.passnational.org, www.ato.faa.gov