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NAATS Press Release: Air Traffic Union Reluctantly Withdraws from PartnershipFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS), the Union who represents the Air Traffic Controllers working in Flight Service Stations (FSS), decided at their Board Meeting in Seattle, WA to withdraw from the NAATS/FAA Partnership (NFP) Program. "It was a tough decision to make" said Walter "Wally" Pike, President of NAATS, "But the Administration left us no choice. They took our trust and destroyed it." For over two years, the FAA and NAATS have worked jointly, in a workgroup, to develop a fair compensation for NAATS members. Jane Garvey, FAA Administrator, unilaterally chose to halt the workgroup and directed the FAA to proceed with pay reform in traditional contract negotiations. "NAATS was the first Union to formalize Partnership with the FAA back in the infancy of partnership programs in the Federal Government." Said President Pike. "We felt it was the best, most cost efficient way to develop a working relationship with the FAA." Congress had directed the FAA to enter pay reform in collaboration with the Unions. NAATS had welcomed the opportunity and spent a lot of time and effort, in conjunction with management team members, developing a plan for the future. The President was sincere as he continued, "It is a sad day for partnership, which was working well in some facilities, but what else can you do? The key to a strong partnership is trust and our trust has been severely damaged. It was not easy selling partnership to a section of our membership and now we have to listen to the ‘I told you so’s" "I hope to be meeting with the administrator soon, to try and salvage something of what we have worked on for seven years. No one wants to give up on a method that has proven effective in many areas." For information on NAATS or to contact our Officers by email, visit https://www.naats.org Contact:
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