FAA & union still differ on pay, workday

The FAA’s air traffic controller contract proposal maintains the average base pay of current controllers ($166,000), which the agency said is a 74-percent increase since the 1998 contract. The union is proposing to raise average total compensation for all controllers to more than $200,000 in the next four years, according to the agency. The FAA is also rejecting NATCA’s request for a shorter workday, saying that controller time actually working aircraft is currently 4.5 hours per day at its largest facilities. Meanwhile, the FAA dismisses a NATCA media blitz over the last two months that asserts the “U.S. aviation system is unsafe and isn’t staffed adequately.”