FederalDaily.com > FAA and NATCA Return to Bargaining Table

FederalDaily - April 20, 2006

FAA and NATCA Return to Bargaining Table

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) accepted what it views as an offer from Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to reconvene collective bargaining contract talks, the union said on Tuesday. Just days ago, both sides appeared to be at an impasse, with the FAA submitting it’s “best and final” contract proposal to Congress for review on April 14. But now, according to a NATCA press release, the union hopes to progress towards a mutual agreement. On April 17, NATCA says, an FAA official was publicly quoted as stating, “We welcome the opportunity to go back to the bargaining table.” NATCA President John Carr said he is confident that both sides can retract their final offers and resume bargaining. Recently, Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Barrack Obama, D-Ill., urged both sides to end the impasse and continue the talks.

Generous Benefits for Public Sector Hard to Maintain

The gap between private and public sector benefits is growing, and revised accounting rules for government agencies could force far-reaching changes to benefits for public employees, according to a recent study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, noted an increase in pressure to reform public sector benefit costs to conform to shrinking budgets, but no significant changes have occurred. Laurie Felland, an HSC researcher and coauthor of the report, said, “Generally public employers avoided shifting higher health costs to workers, but some workers paid to keep their generous health benefits by forgoing wage increases.” New requirements from the Government Accounting Standards Board could increase the pressure to cut benefits costs, the study said, by requiring government entities to properly record long-term liabilities associated with the costs of health benefits for retirees.

Union Criticizes ATF Telework Plan

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has failed to devise a fair teleworking policy for its employees that conforms to federal guidelines, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said April 18. According to NTEU, ATF’s “best and final” telework proposal would only allow 9 out of 900 employees to telework and prevent employees from participating more than 50 percent of the time. NTEU President Colleen Kelley called the plan a “disgrace,” adding, “It is an insult to the hard-working ATF employees, many of whom travel over three hours to commute to and from work.” Some employees, she said, may have to relocate or resign if a viable telework solution is not made available. According to NTEU, ATF duties currently performed in Washington, D.C., are being moved to West Virginia, making telework arrangements more important.

Online Mental Health Screening for Military

Servicemembers and their families can obtain mental health self-assessments or screenings through a Web site that was brought online in January. The site is co-sponsored by the Department of Defense (DoD) and Screening for Mental Health Inc., a nonprofit organization, said Air Force Col. Joyce Adkins, a psychologist with the Force Health Protection and Readiness directorate at the DoD’s Health Affairs office. The Web site provides an online mental health screening program that is free and anonymous. People can choose to take tests for depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol, generalized anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. People logged onto the site are asked to answer a series of questions. The program “grades” the completed survey, Adkins said, and gives people an evaluation of their present mental health and provides assistance resources, if deemed necessary. To visit the site, go to www.militarymentalhealth.org.