Last week, we asked you to contact your member of Congress in the House and urge your representative to sign a discharge petition that would ensure timely consideration of H.R. 4755 - a bipartisan bill that would prevent the FAA from imposing its contract terms on FAA workers without employee or union input. Since our last message, we have been successful in persuading the House leadership to address our needs through new legislation. This week, our campaign to restore fairness in contract negotiations will require our membership to take swift action. Our goal is to inundate Capitol Hill with phone calls and emails asking for support on a new bill to take away the FAA's dictatorial powers. 
 
As you know, under its view of existing law, the FAA can impose working conditions on employees and bypass the negotiations process. According to the FAA, if contract negotiations are at an impasse, the administrator can send the matter to Congress. Without action from Congress, the FAA's contract offer would automatically be imposed on employees without union input or employee ratification. Even though there have been no discussions between PASS and the agency for several months over the impasses for our Flight Standards, AFS-700, AVN and MIDO bargaining units, based on the agency's recent actions during its impasse with NATCA, we believe the FAA will submit our impasses to Congress in the very near future.

Last week, Representative Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) introduced H.R. 5449, legislation to amend current law that would achieve the same goal as H.R. 4755 - making the collective bargaining process fair by taking away the troubled process that allows the FAA to unilaterally impose its terms and conditions on its workers. This legislation would strike the part of Title 49, Section 40122(a)(2) of the United States Code that the Agency claims allows the Administrator to submit the FAA's last proposal to Congress with an implementation date 60 days after being submitted to Congress. With the elimination of this provision, impasses submitted on or after April 1, 2006 will be resolved using the provision of Chapter 71, Title 5 of the United States Code, as is the case with all other union-management impasse disputes in the federal sector.

Representative LaTourette reached an agreement with the Speaker of the House, Representative Hastert (R-Ill.) to bring this bill to the House floor for a vote the week of June 5th. The bill will be voted on under a "suspension vote" rule, which means it will require a two-thirds majority of those present to vote in the affirmative for it to pass.
 
We must take immediate action to show the FAA that it will not be allowed to unilaterally impose unacceptable contract terms on its employees. All we are asking for is fairness and we must communicate that simple message to Congress right now. We ask you to contact your representative today with one simple and urgent message - VOTE YES ON H.R. 5449.

With your help, we are confident that the action taken by the House will build momentum that will carry on into the Senate and we will be able to finally resolve this issue.

Please take a moment to personalize and send the message below to your representative asking them to vote VOTE YES ON H.R. 5449. In just a few minutes, you can fill out a short form asking for your members’ support. You can also contact your representative by calling the House switchboard at 202-225-3121 and they can connect you to their office.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Last week, your colleague, Representative LaTourette, introduced H.R. 5449, legislation to amend current law to restore fairness to the collective bargaining process between the FAA and its employees and prevent the FAA from imposing contract terms on its employees without their input or consent. As your constituent, employee of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and member of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), I am writing to urge you to support H.R. 5449. The FAA is currently at impasse with four of PASS's five bargaining units comprised of aviation safety inspectors, manufacturing inspectors, flight inspection pilots, mission specialists, and procedure development specialists. Even though there have been no discussions between PASS and the agency for several months over the impasses, based on the agency's recent actions during its bargaining impasse with the air traffic controllers union, we believe that the FAA will submit our impasses to Congress in the very near future.

H.R. 5449 would even the playing field in contract negotiations, making the process fair by taking away the FAA's unchecked power. Specifically, H.R. 5449 would remove the provision from current law that is being relied on by the FAA to send the dispute to Congress and then implement the contract. With the elimination of this provision, impasses submitted on or after April 1, 2006 will be resolved using the provision of Chapter 71, Title 5 of the United States Code, as is the case with all other union-management impasse disputes in the federal sector.

Speaker Hastert has indicated a vote will take place the week of June 5 under a "suspension vote," so your support is absolutely vital to achieving the two-thirds majority necessary for passage.

I urge you to vote "yes" on H.R. 5449. It represents a fair and reasonable compromise and ensures that our national air space system will continue to be focused on the safety of the American flying public.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 30, 2006