As the FAA and NATCA continue their acrimonious contract talks and debate over staffing, funding, safety priorities, equipment, pay rates and just about everything else, the controllers union last week announced that four Democratic senators are introducing a bill that would prevent the FAA from unilaterally imposing a “last, best offer.” NATCA President John Carr wrote to FAA Administrator Marion Blakey that he hopes the move will encourage her to stop making “misleading statements” and trying to “drive our negotiations to impasse.” The bill is sponsored by Senators Barack Obama (Ill.), Patty Murray (Wash.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), and Daniel Inouye (Hawaii). Carr says the FAA’s apparent goal is to drive the talks to impasse and impose a contract, “gutting established principles of collective bargaining.”
Legislation Would Change FAA/NATCA Negotiating Rules
Key Takeaways:
- Contentious contract negotiations are ongoing between the FAA and the air traffic controllers' union (NATCA) over staffing, pay, and other key issues.
- NATCA announced a bill, supported by four Democratic senators including Barack Obama, designed to prevent the FAA from unilaterally imposing a "last, best offer."
- NATCA's president accuses the FAA of deliberately attempting to drive negotiations to an impasse to impose a contract that undermines collective bargaining principles.
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