Truly curious. Does anyone have an actual thought on what could be a realistic raise that could be negotiated? I’d love 50% but I’m also a realist. Love to hear anyone who is smarter than me that could give me a number pointing to history as to why!
It is important to classify pay improvement into 3 different options that all can have an "and/or" applied to them: the June length of service raise and/or a one-time retention bonus and/or a one-time retention raise. All 3 in any combination are possible, plausible, and have precedent.
I will be referencing the Purple Book CBA, since that is currently being negotiated and has similar language to the Slate Book.
Length of Service Raise
The 1.6% length of service raise in June (Article 108, Section 3.b) was meant to solve BUEs never needing to deal with the “Within Grade Increases (WGIs)” like the rest of the federal workforce, but the length of service raises have never been close to comparable to that system. It takes a “standard” federal employee approximately 16 years to start at Step 1 of their pay band and progress to the top (Step 10). This 16 year timeline does not include “Quality Step Increases (QSIs)” which are awarded frequently and can shorten that 16 year timeline substantially for a federal employee: one QSI alone can shorten the timeline by up to 3 years, multiple QSIs for an employee are not uncommon in federal service, and QSIs do not negate the normal progression of WGIs. It is not uncommon for a federal employee to be at the top of their pay band in less than 10 years due to QSIs stacking on top of WGIs.
Our annual 1.6% “length of service” raise means that it takes us almost 19 years in the same pay band. Unless you are able to luck into the enroute “golden ticket” at the beginning of your career, you are doomed to spend - at minimum - several years climbing facility levels until you get to your final facility. And it isn’t until you are at your final facility when that 19 year timer starts; that effectively guarantees you will never see the top of your pay band in your career.
The June raise needs to be 2.5% at minimum but optimally it should be higher (closer to ~3.2% in my opinion). At 2.5% it would still take approximately 13 years in the same pay band to reach the top; that barely beats a “standard” federal employee who never sees a QSI in their career. My personal preference at 3.2% puts that timeline closer to 10 years. Most BUEs in the terminal track are defined by when they can transfer from their first facility, and usually there is at least one middle facility before they reach their “dream facility.” A 10 year progression timeline helps to account for those where transfers may disrupt the first half of someone’s career progression. Considering the information above, I feel that 3.2% isn't an unreasonable ask from a realistic perspective.
Retention Bonuses and Raises
There are already clauses (Article 108, Sections 4 & 5) in the CBA for one time retention bonus & raise that occurred with the Purple Book implementation in June of 2013: one was a 1.5% lump-sum bonus and the other was a one-time 8.2% raise for those receiving Interim Incentive Pay. OPM has specific guidelines/language already in place for “easy” and immediate implementation of retention bonuses up to 25% (and up to 50% with head of agency approval) and similar for retention raises as well. Pointing to significant portions of workers in the aviation industry seeing 30-50% raises (pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, and gate employees seeing raises in this ballpark), I feel there should be a sizable and reasonable window for NATCA to ask for something similar and negotiate down to something more "reasonable" for all involved.
So it is both realistic and
theoretically possible to gain a 25% one-time bonus and a 25% one-time raise without any special approval, per the OPM. That ceiling becomes 50% for both with either Whitaker's or Buttigieg's approval (I believe the OPM language says it is Agency head, but it might be Departmental head that needs to approve anything over 25%). I
absolutely don't believe 50%, or even 25% for that matter, is realistic for the FAA to agree to in negotiations, but it's the starting point to negotiate down from.
Personal Spin
My personal standpoint is that the Length of Service is a
must-fix, and the other two options are a grab bag of either or both. My dream scenario where the "most labor friendly administration in history" plays their part and NATCA somehow becomes competent at the negotiating table would see the June Length of Service fixed to 3%, a one-time bonus equal to two pay-periods (~7.7%), and a one-time raise of similar measure; and an additional clause attached to the retention bonus that it would occur again in the event of any extension. Hey, if the FAA doesn't want to waste their resources negotiating, then kick the can and give me an auto-trigger bonus every 2-3 years.
This is why it is vital for all Slate Book people to be vocal and conspicuously paying attention to Purple & Light Blue negotiations. Whatever the Purple Book is able to win in negotiations will likely either be carbon copied to the Slate or (hopefully) improved upon as the new version of the Purple Book would set the ground floor for the new Slate Book.
