Does anyone see a situation where the slate book gets better conditions than the purple book? Since after all we are the controllers. My guess is the FAA does not care.
In a world where NATCA knows what they're doing, a 2026 Slate Book
should absolutely be better than a 2024 Purple Book. That's how collective bargain should work.
For the most part, the FAA doesn't care significantly about the CBAs because there isn't much special about them. If you cross-referenced everything in the CBA up against standard employee benefits that all other federal employees get, there isn't that much that separates NATCA BUEs from other federal BUEs and most of what's different in the CBA pertains to NATCA inner-workings and not rank and file benefits.
The things that comprise 97% of our working lives like leave, pay raises, and transfers are either boiler-plate federal employee benefits or
worse than average federal employee benefits.
We get standard fed employee leave accrual. Many "professional" designated fed employee positions (
not talking about executive schedule positions) get 8 hours of leave accrual per pay period
immediately upon hire and can have a 90 day/720hr leave accrual cap instead of our 30 day/240hr cap. They can also get excused absence for things like bereavement instead of "being allowed" to use sick leave.
We get below-standard (albeit contractually guaranteed) fixed pay raises in June where fed employees can get
significantly more than that.
We get NCEPT. Normal fed employees get competitive service GS transfers and preferential hiring in USAjobs.
Normal fed employees can (theoretically) get yearly 25% retention bonuses and 25% pay raises.
Normal fed employees can get tuition reimbursement.
So anyone who tries to tell you that the FAA wants to fight tooth and nail to take away NATCA's hard-won benefits from you is either full of shit and doesn't know it, is full of shit and brainwashed into thinking it's true, or is full of shit and is an A114 scammer.
But, hey, NATCA made it so you can dress and smell like a Skid Row hobo at work if you want. 🤷🏻♂️🙄
I plan on buying rent and groceries. Maybe I can finally splurge on mayo for my sandwiches!
We used to talk about PCs back in the day on here; the fact you've moved on from the PC gamer staple of Hot Pockets and Mountain Dew to fAnCy sAnDwIcHeS leads me to believe you're already making too much money 😂. Stay humble!
