The War Of The Words Continues...

The FAA has updated their position in a national media battle over public perception of the issues involved in the FAA v NATCA dispute. Read On...

FAA Statement 

The nation's air traffic controllers eligible for retirement would lose over $700 million in wages and pension payments by retiring immediately — as their union warns they may do — rather than working under a revised contract that guarantees their current salary and benefits, as well as annual locality increases and performance pay, according to Marion Blakey, Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Blakey called the warnings “a public relations tactic that makes no economic sense.” The FAA’s current proposal was developed in order to retain its veteran workforce by protecting current pay, benefits, and over 80 percent of premium pay. The controllers' union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), has predicted mass retirements despite the fact that the FAA’s proposal would  raise average cash compensation from $128,500 to $139,900 over five years.  

Over the first three years the cumulative net loss if all eligible controllers retire early is $563 million. In addition those same controllers would choose to forego $144 million in annuity payments over the next 22 years.  

An air traffic controller who retires with 30 years of service and who averaged $122,000 annually over his or her 3 highest earning years could receive an annual pension payment of between $53,000 and $68,000 but would leave from $130,000 to $160,000 in potential earnings on the table over two years by retiring immediately. He or she would also stand to lose nearly $5000 per year in future pension — money that could be guaranteed by working two more years.   

Under the current contract, controllers have received a 75 percent increase in pay since 1998. Because the two sides were unable to reach a voluntary agreement, the FAA has submitted the government’s and the union’s best and last final offers to Congress, which has until June 5 to consider the matter. If Congress takes no action, the FAA will be in a position to implement its final proposal, which provides pay increases for existing controllers, a long-term competitive pay scale for new hires, and more flexibility for the agency to manage staffing.  

FMI: www.faa.gov