You are either:
This is what I have heard as well. Basically try to protect us in the event Trump is elected, but be allowed to open the contract if Biden wins. I'm not really seeing the downside here. We WILL lose pay and/or benefits and most likely Union representation rights if we open under Trump. I quite frankly don't see us gaining much of anything under Biden, but we won't get rolled up by EOs either.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. Having the same contract for 13 years, over half of my career is unacceptable especially because the contract now is lackluster.
If a facility is someones dream facility then the level wouldn’t matter, would it?
No one's going to say no to more money
I know for a fact they’ll have to open the books if the book runs out.
Sounded to me like NATCA retained the option to open it. But, I haven't seen any text yet.
Been at a lvl 5 up down, 9 tower only, and 12 tower.... by far, not even remotely close the 12 has more emergency aircraft.
Let's not forgot how we got here in the first place. The last extension put us in the position to need this protection. I may have missed it, but I still have not seen the reason they extended the contract into the next presidential term instead of a shorter extension. That is what I cannot understand.
The more difficult part is probably not having a standalone cic or sup in the operation so you and maybe one other person have to do everything. Strictly speaking from my experience at a tower only. Up/down is probably different.
They said it was because they feared trump would win again so they were already in talks of extending before he contract was even up. Then Biden got in and we were too embarrassed to go back on that and open negotiations. Supposedly. Pretty pathetic.
This- 12's have emergencies almost daily. You never hear about them because 99% of them land and go to the gate and nothing happens. But with that kind of volume, you're seeing mechanical failures, bird strikes, medical emergencies, unruly passengers, etc several times per week.
Aviation industry Salary Increases in the last few years:
Did we ever get firm information about the liedos FSS raise?
Yes, sure the 5 and 9 could be busy or hard. However, the 12 is like that consistently. Thats the difference, just the pure volume that is there every day of the year.
We need a mindset change about this profession. We are here for safety and safety at every facility is equally as important. I’m not opposed to paying the busiest facilities more but the range of payments should be much narrower. With the lower facilities making a lot more. I think that gives us a much better negotiating foundation to be very vocal about safety from coast to coast in big towns and small. About how a controller in a tiny town is just as highly trained and capable as a controller at ATL.
