Rogue5
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http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/06/washington/06control.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
June 6, 2006
F.A.A. Sets Wage Scale After Impasse on Contract
By MATTHEW L. WALD
WASHINGTON, June 5 — The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that it was imposing new pay scales on its 15,000 unionized air traffic controllers, 60 days after it declared an impasse in contract talks.
The agency has the right to impose a contract it proposed to the union under a 1996 law, unless Congress intervenes within 60 days of the deadlock. But the F.A.A. could be forced to resume bargaining with the union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, if Congress votes to eliminate the deadline; a vote in the House is expected this week.
According to the agency, the new pay scale will save $1.9 billion over five years. New hires will earn about $93,000 after five years, 30 percent less than under the existing scale.
In a national advertising campaign aimed at Congress, the union has been predicting that many members who are eligible to retire will do so in the face of pay cuts, reducing the capacity of the aviation system. The agency countered that no one's pay was being cut, although increases would be smaller than under the existing contract.
Marion C. Blakey, the F.A.A. administrator, has said that her agency's income, based partly on ticket taxes, has fallen just as the airlines' revenues have, and that the agency cannot afford the old pay scales. Ms. Blakey has also argued that labor expenses are so high that the agency cannot pay for modernizing its equipment.
Under the new scales, incentive pay given in "hard to staff" locations will be eliminated over five years, eventually saving about $30 million a year, according to Geoffrey Basye, an agency spokesman. About a quarter of that is paid to controllers in the New York area, according to Mr. Basye, who said the incentive amounted to about $5,000 a year per person. He also said other pay increases would make up for that loss.
The controller work force is on the edge of a huge transition. In 1981, a previous union went on strike, and Ronald Reagan, then the president, fired thousands of controllers. Their replacements were mostly young, and many had military service, which can be credited toward retirement. Now, 25 years later, many are approaching the mandatory retirement age, 56. According to the union, 3,000 are eligible immediately.
John S. Carr, the union president, had argued that controllers could retire and receive a pension equal to 60 percent of their pay, which would grow faster than pay for active controllers under the new contract. The F.A.A. has said it does not believe that controllers will leave early, and has pointed out that their compensation, including salary and benefits, comes to over $170,000 a year, up more than 75 percent since 1998.
The contract being replaced was negotiated when Democrats controlled the Transportation Department. It was renewed by Ms. Blakey, a Republican, when she took office.
One aspect of prior agreements that the F.A.A. has allowed to expire is minimum staffing levels. According to officials, the agency will soon unilaterally set new levels based on changes in traffic and technology.
June 6, 2006
F.A.A. Sets Wage Scale After Impasse on Contract
By MATTHEW L. WALD
WASHINGTON, June 5 — The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday that it was imposing new pay scales on its 15,000 unionized air traffic controllers, 60 days after it declared an impasse in contract talks.
The agency has the right to impose a contract it proposed to the union under a 1996 law, unless Congress intervenes within 60 days of the deadlock. But the F.A.A. could be forced to resume bargaining with the union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, if Congress votes to eliminate the deadline; a vote in the House is expected this week.
According to the agency, the new pay scale will save $1.9 billion over five years. New hires will earn about $93,000 after five years, 30 percent less than under the existing scale.
In a national advertising campaign aimed at Congress, the union has been predicting that many members who are eligible to retire will do so in the face of pay cuts, reducing the capacity of the aviation system. The agency countered that no one's pay was being cut, although increases would be smaller than under the existing contract.
Marion C. Blakey, the F.A.A. administrator, has said that her agency's income, based partly on ticket taxes, has fallen just as the airlines' revenues have, and that the agency cannot afford the old pay scales. Ms. Blakey has also argued that labor expenses are so high that the agency cannot pay for modernizing its equipment.
Under the new scales, incentive pay given in "hard to staff" locations will be eliminated over five years, eventually saving about $30 million a year, according to Geoffrey Basye, an agency spokesman. About a quarter of that is paid to controllers in the New York area, according to Mr. Basye, who said the incentive amounted to about $5,000 a year per person. He also said other pay increases would make up for that loss.
The controller work force is on the edge of a huge transition. In 1981, a previous union went on strike, and Ronald Reagan, then the president, fired thousands of controllers. Their replacements were mostly young, and many had military service, which can be credited toward retirement. Now, 25 years later, many are approaching the mandatory retirement age, 56. According to the union, 3,000 are eligible immediately.
John S. Carr, the union president, had argued that controllers could retire and receive a pension equal to 60 percent of their pay, which would grow faster than pay for active controllers under the new contract. The F.A.A. has said it does not believe that controllers will leave early, and has pointed out that their compensation, including salary and benefits, comes to over $170,000 a year, up more than 75 percent since 1998.
The contract being replaced was negotiated when Democrats controlled the Transportation Department. It was renewed by Ms. Blakey, a Republican, when she took office.
One aspect of prior agreements that the F.A.A. has allowed to expire is minimum staffing levels. According to officials, the agency will soon unilaterally set new levels based on changes in traffic and technology.
