Unionized workers in the FAA’s Flight Standards and Aircraft Certification organizations will be getting a $5,000 cash bonus and be allowed to continue spending only two days a week in the office. According to Federal News Network, negotiators for the 11,000 members of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union said this week they’ve reached a tentative deal with the FAA after two years of negotiations. It has yet to be ratified and will also have to go through a legal review to make sure it fits within federal labor relations rules, but PASS President Dave Spero told the Federal News Network he expects the process to lead to a final deal.
PASS represents aviation safety inspectors and technicians. The work-from-home provisions seemed to be the sticking point. The new deal doesn’t guarantee a set schedule for office visits but instead makes it more difficult for the agency to deny requests for remote work. In an email to the workers late last year the FAA threw in the towel in its effort to make them come into work at least three days a week. “All agreed that building and maintaining a high-performing workforce of dedicated employees and having FAA continue to be a great place to work remain our top priorities,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker and other brass said in the email.
