Privatizing the air traffic control system sounds like a good idea.
It has at least since 1981 when then-President Ronald Reagan fired 11,000 air traffic controllers for going out on strike. Now there is a bill before Congress, the Aviation Innovation, Reform and Reauthorization Act (AIRR), which proponents say will that do exactly that.
Or will it?
This is an old fashioned case of bait and switch, as there is no private business that would actually do the job of managing America’s air space, if the bill becomes law. What is proposed is a quasi-government agency that will be accountable to no one.
The air traffic controllers would remain under federal labor jurisdiction, maintaining their current federal benefits if they choose. It would also add collective bargaining powers to the union and allow the air traffic controllers to circumvent federal law on salary caps.
How will this be paid for? By charging anything they want as user fees to those whom they service; i.e. airlines. In other words, us.
The AIRR Act has been promoted by a trade association called Airlines for America (A4A) and much of the bill was influenced by the unions. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) is the Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and is the individual pushing this bill through Congress at breakneck speed. Nobody is talking about this special interest influence on the legislation, nor the fact this is not true privatization.
Until now the federal salary cap has frustrated the air traffic controllers union even though their members are already among the highest paid employees in the federal government.
Proponents of the bill say it will move the air traffic controllers out of the government sector, where the salary cap applies, and into the private sector where there are no limits. However true privatization would mean an end to government benefits. Since that would not be acceptable to the union, this new entity would allow workers to bring over the government benefits they currently enjoy.
The act in privatizing the air traffic controllers will not move their collective bargaining into the agencies that oversee the private sector either. Instead the air traffic controllers will remain in the jurisdiction of the Federal Employees Relations Authority, which currently is mandated to only cover government paid employees.
There are two other agencies that cover the private sector, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the National Mediation Board (NMB). The NLRB oversees the National Labor Relations Act, which governs most American labor relations.
However, two of America’s industries, railroads and airlines, fall under the jurisdiction of the Railway Labor Act (RLA). The RLA is designed to ensure America’s commerce is not interrupted due to a labor dispute. But this new air traffic controller agency will not fall under the RLA and its anti-strike protections.
Then there is binding arbitration. In the private sector a business that wants to survive must manage its affairs and practice some sort of fiscal discipline. When confronted with collective bargaining the labor laws of this country state that the employers must sit down and bargain in good faith. There is no law or court in the land that has the authority to make an employer agree to anything the employer considers detrimental to the business itself.
If say, a labor union makes demands and the employer says no, then the labor union has to negotiate for less, or they reach an impasse. This can lead to a work stoppage or strike. If the employer still does not agree, he or she has the right to bring in replacement workers, which could become permanent replacements.
The AIRR Act would create a new quasi-government agency that would have a monopoly and a board stacked with union stooges. So when the union wants to raise the salaries of the air traffic controllers and fiscal responsibility is not a factor, one must conclude that binding arbitration is merely a formality. Of course the money has to come from somewhere and that will be charged to airspace users like you and me.
There are many aspects to this bill that are troublesome besides the labor component. But the fact that the AIRR Act would give unions greater control over this vital national infrastructure is alone enough to hope it gets killed before it ever makes it to the President’s desk.
Russ Brown is one of the nations leading labor experts working with Government Sector, Railway Labor Act, and National Labor Relations Act cases. He currently serves as CEO of RWP Labor and President of the Center for Independent Employees.