MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT
This agreement is made and entered into
by the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS or the Union) and
the Federal Aviation Administration (the FAA or Agency) to resolve any and all
issues concerning the implementation of DOT Order 3910.1C, Drug and Alcohol-Free
Workplace and the Drug and Alcohol Testing Guide and any accompanying FAA Order.
It is agreed that the following terms and conditions will govern the
implementation and administration of these policies for all covered employees in
the bargaining unit. No modification or waiver of these terms and conditions
shall be valid unless made in writing and executed by the national Parties.
1. The DOT Order 3910.1C and any accompanying FAA Order will be effective
January 1, 1995. Within 30 days of signing of this Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA), the Agency agrees to place it in each facility's Read and Initial (R&I)
Binder or distribute it to all covered employees at all facilities where NAATS
bargaining unit members are subject to alcohol and drug testing.
2. All drug and alcohol collections and testing will be done consistent with
this MOA, DOT Order 3910.1C and any subsequent changes, applicable laws,
government rules and regulations, agency directives, and Article 74 of the
Parties' Agreement.
3. All covered employees shall be given a specific written notice and
information concerning the alcohol testing procedures prior to the
implementation of alcohol testing. A copy of such notice shall be given to the
Union sufficiently in advance to allow the necessary bargaining to be
accomplished. The notice will include a general statement that where applicable
bargaining unit members may, upon request, have a union representative present
during such testing.
4. All collections and testing shall be performed by qualified and trained
personnel consistent with the DOT Order 3910.1C and the Drug and Alcohol Testing
Guide. All testing and collection equipment used shall meet the applicable
requirements and standards specified by law and regulation. If the Agency
changes its policy as contained in the DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing Guide,
Chapter 1, Part D, with regard to using contractual services, except for
pre-employment services, it shall notify the Union as required by Article 9 of
the Parties' Agreement.
5. All disciplinary and adverse actions taken for violations of DOT Order
3910.1C and applicable Agency Orders must be done in accordance with applicable
laws, regulations, and the provisions of Article 64 of the Parties' Agreement.
If such actions are the subject of an arbitration, the Agency will provide the
affected employee's Union representative all of the information required by
Article 64 and 67 of the Parties' Agreement.
6. Employees shall be provided a new sealed plastic mouth piece for each alcohol
test. Before the screen is administered for each employee, the Breath Alcohol
Technician (BAT) shall inquire of the donor if he/she has consumed any food or
drink or smoked in the past 15 minutes. If this inquiry results in a
satisfactory response, the BAT shall proceed with the test.
7. The facility/regional Union representative may request, in writing, from the
Regional Drug Program Coordinator, a copy of the clean/ sanitized alcohol test
list within five (5) days after the testing is completed.
8. All alcohol and drug testing shall be done in a confidential and private
manner consistent with the requirements of applicable law, regulation, DOT Order
3910.1C, Chapter VI, Paragraph 5(a) and the applicable FAA Order. Prior to the
implementation date for alcohol testing, the facility manager and the local
Union facility representative will discuss and identify the available
rooms/spaces that meet the above requirements to be used for testing in that
facility. This will in no way impede or delay any testing. The facility's
operations area shall not be used for alcohol testing.
9. (a) Employees who are subject to post-accident alcohol testing will be
notified prior to going off duty or leaving the facility. Any employee subject
to post-accident alcohol testing must be tested for alcohol within the 8 hour
period from the time of the accident or such testing efforts will be ceased. If
an employee is not notified prior to going off duty or leaving the facility that
he/she will be subject to post accident alcohol testing, then he/she will not be
tested for alcohol. Employees who are retained by management at the facility for
up to 8 hours after the time of an accident for post-accident testing, will be
paid overtime when required in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and
the Parties' Agreement.
(b) A bargaining unit employee may request, when there are extenuating
circumstances (for example, the need to make child care arrangements), approval
to leave the facility if the BAT has not arrived and/or the BAT will not
otherwise be arriving shortly. The employee must sign a written statement that
he/she will not consume any alcohol for up to 8 hours from the time of the
accident and that he/she shall return immediately when called to be tested.
Approval by management of such requests will be on a case-by-case basis.
Employees who are excused to leave the facility as provided above will be
notified if alcohol testing will be not required before the expiration of the 8
hour time limit.
(c) Employees may be subject to post-accident drug testing beyond this 8 hour
time period as specified in the DOT Order 3910.1C.
10. All facilities where bargaining unit members are employed shall provide
on-site training on the implementation of the alcohol testing program and a
video will be prepared by the Agency showing a demonstration of the testing
procedure. The local NAATS facility representative, the NAATS facility EAP
representative, and any CIC's shall be allowed to participate in any on-site
training given by the agency to supervisors on the implementation of alcohol
testing.
11. Within 60 days of signing this MOA, the Union, at the national level, shall
be given a copy of a list of the HHS approved testing laboratories for drug
testing. Split samples shall be tested and processed in accordance with DOT
Order 3910.1C at no cost to the bargaining unit member.
12. The Parties agree to add the matter of alcohol testing to the agenda of
items to be covered at their annual meeting on drug testing as specified in
Article 74, Section 6 of the Agreement.
13. The Agency will attempt to notify the Union representative or his/her
designee of the arrival at the facility of the BAT for purposes of conducting
random alcohol testing of bargaining unit employees. A bargaining unit employee
shall be allowed to have a Union representative present, upon request, during
his/her alcohol test consistent with the provisions of Article 4 of the Parties'
Agreement, and provided the representative is readily available and the test is
not delayed. The employee shall notify the supervisor of his/her wish to obtain
a NAATS representative upon notification he/she is to be tested. The
representative will be permitted to observe the actions of the BAT, but will not
interfere with the testing or deal directly with the BAT. Any Union concerns or
disputes concerning a test will immediately be brought to the attention of the
site coordinator for prompt resolution. The designated NAATS representative
shall be allowed to meet with an employee briefly (normally, not more than 10
minutes) prior to the start of testing and privately for up to 15 minutes after
a test when there has been a confirmed result of .02 or higher.
14. NAATS will be given a copy in advance of the procedures and guidelines the
Agency will develop to implement the self-referral policy contained in DOT Order
3910.1C. The Union reserves the right to negotiate on any policy prior to
implementation.
15. The Union may designate a national representative to participate in a
national EAP work group that will develop a written recommendation for a
labor-management peer referral program for alcohol abuse. Any recommendation(s)
will be presented for approval or disapproval of the Parties' national
representatives. The Union representative shall be given official time, and the
Agency agrees to pay travel and per diem for this representative to participate
in the work group.
16. Court directed DUI/DWI rehabilitation programs are not considered as
self-referrals under the provisions of DOT Order 3910.1C.
17. In cases where no alcohol testing is required, allegations of violations of
DOT Order 3910.1C must be corroborated and investigated, to a reasonable level,
prior to initiation of a management proposed action.
18. (a) The NAATS designated national representatives shall be briefed at the
next scheduled annual drug conference on the procedures and operation of the
Agency's national EAP contract. The Parties� agree to then hold discussions at
the regional level with the respective regional Union and Agency EAP
representatives on the criteria used by the Agency to approve or disapprove
treatment centers for substance abuse in their region.
(b) If a bargaining unit member does not wish to use one of the Agency
recommended treatment centers for substance abuse, he/she may submit the name(s)
of other alternative and available treatment center(s) for consideration by the
Agency's EAP representative and the Flight Surgeon.
19. The Union shall be provided, at the national level, a copy of the Agency's
quarterly substance abuse statistical report and the DOT/FAA annual report to
Congress on Drug Testing. The Agency agrees to conduct a review of its current
testing rate after two years from the implementation date of alcohol testing.
The Union may submit comments and information to be considered by the Agency for
this review.
20. Upon request of the employee, NAATS bargaining unit members shall be placed
on sick, annual or LWOP leave or combination thereof as appropriate and
consistent with the applicable laws, government-wide regulations, and the
provisions of the Parties' Agreement to participate in an approved drug and/or
alcohol treatment center program.
21. (a) Any disputes or concerns over the enforcement or application of the
provisions of this agreement or DOT Order 3910.1C will be first brought to the
attention of the responsible Regional Drug Program Coordinator or Union Regional
Director (or their designees) and informally resolved at the lowest level
possible. To that end, the Parties regional representatives will meet or
teleconference at least once month for the first year from the date of
implementation of alcohol testing. Additional meetings/ teleconferences can be
scheduled by mutual agreement to resolve more urgent matters.
(b) The Union may designate a national representative to serve on a joint
labor-management FAA National Alcohol Testing Contractor Committee. This
committee will meet or teleconference quarterly (or more frequently if mutually
agreed upon) with the contractor, national agency representatives, and national
union representatives to discuss ongoing implementation concerns and contractor
compliance issues affecting unit employees. The committee will make
recommendations by consensus to the responsible DOT contracting officer. This
committee will be in effect for one (1) year from the implementation date of
alcohol testing, but may be extended beyond that date by mutual agreement of the
Parties. This committee will not deal with individual grievances or complaints.
The designated national Union representative will be granted official time and
the Employer agrees to pay travel and per diem as necessary for the FAA employed
NAATS representative to participate in these meetings/teleconferences consistent
with the Parties' Agreement.
(c) Nothing in this MOA waives any right of an employee or the Union to file a
grievance or raise contractor compliance issues under the provisions of Article
67 of the Parties' Agreement or any other formal dispute resolution process
provided by law. Both Parties agree, however, that the above provisions will be
used first and to the fullest extent possible to informally resolve any employee
or Union dispute(s) over contractor compliance with alcohol or drug testing
procedures at the lowest level possible prior to invoking the formal process. In
order to foster informal resolution of complaints related to alcohol testing,
the Parties agree that reasonable extensions of time will be granted whenever
necessary. Extensions of time shall be mutually agreed upon by the Parties and
confirmed in writing.
22. The Parties agree that after one (1) year either Party may reopen up to four
(4) provisions of this MOA. Such a request must be in writing to the other party
and received within forty-five (45) days after the one year anniversary date of
this MOA. Any such negotiations will be conducted under the provisions of
Article 9 of the Parties' Agreement. All provisions of this MOA continue in
effect until agreement is reached on any proposed change(s). Nothing in this MOA
waives any statutory or contractual right of the Union or Management.
The Parties have executed this agreement on the 27th day of October of 1994.
For the
Agency |
For the
Union |
Date: 10/27/94
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