FAA controllers gain support for bill on labor contract disputes

Air traffic controllers received increased, bipartisan support Wednesday for legislation that would step up pressure on the Federal Aviation Administration to complete heated contract negotiations.

Thirty-one congressmen signed onto a new House bill, introduced by Reps. Sue Kelly, R-N.Y., and Jerry Costello, D-Ill., requiring unresolved negotiations to be sent to binding arbitration unless Congress intervenes. This would block the agency's ability to bypass negotiations by declaring an impasse.

The House bill is identical to one introduced in late January in the Senate.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association and the FAA have been locked in contentious negotiations over wages and benefits since last July. The FAA is a rare agency in that its employee unions have the ability to negotiate pay, and its controllers are among the highest paid workers in the federal government.

NATCA is afraid the FAA will use its ability to declare an impasse and unilaterally send a contract offer to Congress. Congress then would have 60 days to intercede, but if that time passes without action, the FAA offer would become final.

The proposed legislation would require Congress to specifically enact a bill approving the FAA's contract offer within 60 days. If Congress does not do so, the contract would go to binding arbitration.

When Barack Obama, D-Ill., introduced the Senate bill (S. 2201), four Democrats signed onto it. There are now 16 senators listed as co-sponsors, all Democrats.

The House version includes 12 Republican co-sponsors in addition to Kelly.

"We're grateful for the bipartisan leadership of these representatives," said John Carr, president of NATCA. "This bill would propose a small change in the law, but it would make a big difference by restoring fairness and true accountability to the negotiation process."

When Obama signaled that he would introduce the Senate bill, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey denied any attempt to sidestep contract negotiations.

"I want to assure you that agency negotiators are working very hard, in good faith, to obtain an agreement with NATCA," Blakey wrote in a Jan. 13 letter to Obama. "It has always been -- and remains -- my strong preference to resolve our contract issues on a voluntary basis."

NATCA spokesman Doug Church said the two sides right now are continuing talks in Seattle, and have completed more than 100 of the 150 issues in dispute. They have not, Church said, agreed on salary, the most contentious issue.

FAA spokesman Greg Martin said the agency is continuing to work hard to come to a voluntary agreement, although the major hurdles regarding compensation still have significant divides.