Air traffic controllers at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport began to solicit passenger support Monday for what they say is an unfair contract that could lead to fewer air traffic controllers guiding planes over Baltimore.
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, however, said the claims being made by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association ? the union that represents air traffic controllers nationwide ? are false. The union is trying to divert public attention away from what the FAA believes was a fair contract that considered the best interests of the traffic controllers and taxpayers, the administration says.
“I wish ? the union negotiating team would have put as much determination and will to reach a voluntary agreement at the negotiating table as they seem to be using in spreading propaganda and falsehoods to the traveling public and the taxpayer,” said Geoff Basye, an FAA spokesman. “They?re grasping at straws, trying to focus the attention of the public away from the core issue at hand.”
John Dunkerly, a BWI tower controller and union representative, said the FAA?s “last, best offer,” which was sent to Congress for approval, proposes a 25 percent pay cut during the next five years. He said the cuts will force many air traffic controllers into retirement because retirement packages are based on an employee?s highest three years of salary. If Congress does not step in and reject the contract, the “last, best offer” will be approved in 60 days, Dunkerly said.
He added that the FAA is presenting the pay cut as a five-year pay freeze on base pay that he said applies to all other premium and differential pay, such as overtime, night work and incentive pay.
“When you take into consideration the pay freeze and the cuts, then it equates to a 25 decrease in pay,” he said.
Dunkerly said that under the proposed contract, base pay for incoming air traffic controllers would also drop from the current $79,100 to $54,100.
“We feel that it?s a push from the Bush administration,” he said. “We feel that the FAA administration wants to cut our pay and reduce staffing so they can hire more controllers at a lower rate.”
The FAA?s Basye said that during nine months of negotiations, the administration never proposed a pay cut or pay freeze for existing workers, and that controllers have seen a 75 percent salary increase since 1998. He said the FAA budget for controller salaries has gone from $1.4 billion in 1998 to $2.4 billion today.
To help win public support, air traffic controllers Monday distributed leaflets to passengers outlining their stance on the proposed contract. The leaflets ask the public to call 877-FAIR-FAA, or go to www.fairfaa.com, which would put them in touch with elected officials asking them to pledge support to the union.
