Win, Lose or Draw ?

Everyone is still looking at the proposed NATCA contract with the FAA and wondering which way to vote. Due to the arbitration, it will be especially confusing. You see, the subjects that went to arbitration (including pay) are a done deal. The vote for the contract (either Yea or Nay) will have no bearing on the arbitration award. That is the reason it is called binding arbitration. The only thing NATCA members get to vote on now are the working conditions and whatnot spelled out in the rest of the contract proposal.

For a better analysis than I would ever be able to give you on that, go read John Carr’s (R-rated) CONTRACT AND MEDIATION EVALUATION.

”The articles of the collective bargaining agreement you are voting on are fantastic. I should know: the team I was on in 1996-1998 and the team I sent to the table in 2005-2006 wrote most of them. “

While you’re there, you’ll want to read John’s take on the “where-do-we-go-from-here” question. You might be surprised.

”I would suspend the PAC immediately. I would then prepare a motion for consideration at convention in Hawaii to add X% to NATCA dues for the SOLE, EXPRESS PURPOSE of marketing, messaging, public relations, community service, charity and other activities designed to properly place air traffic controllers in their peer groups. This money would be used to build a more professional, cohesive and respected profession, immune to the types of public relations attacks of the last three years. I would spend the money to butress the existing public opinion of air traffic controllers as valued safety professionals. I would keep all NATCA professions in the public eye, whether standing guard in a tower during a storm or presenting Jerry Lewis with a big check at his convention. “

That is from the guy that really got the PAC (Political Action Committee) growing. I’ve always hated the thing but I recognize that it is the way business is conducted in Washington. Having said that, John’s position doesn’t surprise me at all. For those with long memories, it matches much that was in his first campaign for president of NATCA. I know because I was helping a guy run against John. His name was Lee Riley and much of what John was saying was the platform Lee had run on in the election before that one. As I told Lee at the time, “John is stealing your platform.”

I’m sure Lee got many of his ideas from someone else . But he sure was original in when and how he put them together because most folks just thought they were “out there”. I saw a commercial on TV not too long ago with some kid playing with a toy airplane -- at a toy airport. Lee Riley immediately popped into my head because I remember another idea he told me about. Lee would have had a NATCA logo on the side of the Tower -- and the box it came in. Literally.

Fisher-Price Transportation System GeoAir High-Flyin' Airport



He envisioned endorsement deals for NATCA that covered everything from aspirin to binoculars. Most people didn’t get it. They couldn’t understand how much revenue it would generate and how much influence that would give NATCA. Too bad. NATCA could have had its own companion video game to Microsoft Flight Sim X-Gold.

You might wonder what a commercial klutz such as myself (hey, I just linked ads for a children’s play set and a Microsoft product in an ATC blog) would be doing involved with a guy that thinks like this. It’s easy. To get endorsement deals NATCA would need a squeaky-clean image. And for controllers, that means an unimpeachable commitment to safety.

I don’t think having NATCA’s fate (not controllers themselves but the organization) tied more directly to safety would be such a bad thing. Ultimately, it is linked anyway. Or at least I’ve always thought so. The dollar signs seem to help people see it a little easier.

But getting back to the contract, did NATCA win or lose ? Or was it a draw ? For the issue that NATCA fought the hardest over -- defeating the “B scale” for new hires -- it looks like a win. If you look to the future though, it looks like a loss. Prior to the imposed work rules, controller pay maxed out at $144k. Now, with the arbitration award, the maximum is $114k. (That’s a generalization but it’s as close as I can get in 5,000 words or less.)

It’s hard to think of a $30,000-a-year hit -- especially after a 3 year fight -- as a win. I’m sure -- at first glance -- many in the American public will think it’s a win for themselves. Perhaps it is. If the FAA can still attract the talent it needs -- talent with the proper dedication to safety -- then it will be a win. Or, it could be the beginning of a trend that is a “recipe for an accident”.

Don Brown
August 17, 2009