The FAA's Take

On the eve of next week's opening of contract negotiations with the air traffic controllers union, the US Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Wednesday said that fundamental changes are needed in the contract if the agency is to afford new systems and inspectors to improve safety and to modernize the air traffic control system to reduce delays and congestion. The agency called on the union to join the FAA in achieving a balanced labor agreement that allows the agency to finance the air traffic control system going forward while still providing a fair compensation package to its professional controllers –- already among the highest paid civil servants.

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey today outlined the results of a comprehensive review of the existing labor contract, originally signed in 1998, and outlined the approach her agency would take during next week's start of labor negotiations with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). Blakey called on both sides to quickly reach an agreement that compensates controllers like other safety professionals and provides the flexibility needed to address changing air travel patterns.

"We want to reach an agreement that balances the needs of air traffic controllers with the need for the kind of technology and new capacity that will keep travelers moving safely," said Blakey. "We cannot afford an agreement like 1998 that saddled the FAA with excessive costs, archaic work rules, and restrictions on our ability to modernize the system." 

Blakey expressed optimism that the air traffic controllers share the agency's desire to seek fair and quick resolution to the contract talks. 

"We are looking forward to sitting down and talking in a professional and reasonable manner," said Blakey. "And throughout, we know we can count on our controllers as dedicated professionals to continue to carry out their important public safety and security mission."

Contract negotiations come during a critical time for the FAA and the aviation industry, both of which are attempting to reduce costs and transform their operations to meet ever-increasing consumer demand with limited revenue -- in the FAA's case, a declining Aviation Trust Fund.

Currently, labor costs account for 80-percent of the FAA's operating budget. The first three years of the 1998 labor contract actually cost the FAA an additional $1 billion, or five times the initial projected cost. While the overall number of controllers remained flat since the 1998 contract, total controller compensation ballooned from $1.4 billion to nearly $2.4 billion, a 68% increase.  This rate is more than double the wage increases for private industry, airline pilots, other FAA employees and civil servants.   Over the life of the contract, the gap between controller salaries and salaries for other FAA unionized employees tripled. In 2005, average controller compensation (including salary, premium pay, and benefits) will be $165,000, and some 1,300 controllers, nearly 10% of the controller workforce, will enjoy compensation packages exceeding $200,000 a year.

The 1998 agreement also tied the agency's hands in its daily operations of the air traffic control system, resulting in inefficient work schedules and overstaffing at many locations. As a result, in some locations controllers manage traffic less than 5 hours a day. The FAA will be seeking a labor contract restoring basic management rights that will allow for more flexible and efficient use of its workforce and the rapid introduction of new air traffic safety technologies without protracted, cost-consuming procedures.

The labor provisions in the current agreement have also 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.

In December 2003, the FAA and air traffic controllers union signed a two-year extension of the 1998 agreement. The extension provided the agency with cost savings through the elimination of expensive local agreements. The current contract will expire in September 2005.

FMI: www.natca.org, www.faa.gov