CONTRACT between the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, AFL-CIO and the Federal Aviation Administration

1. CONTRACTbetween theNational Air Traffic Controllers Association, AFL-CIOand the Federal Aviation Administration Employee Briefing Package

2. ARTICLE 18CONTROLLER-IN-CHARGE • Summary: Assignment of work based upon Front Line Manager’s determination of skills required for a particular operational environment. Performed in accordance with management directions. • Change: Eliminated 10% Premium Pay. Assigned by Front Line Manager. No longer an equitability issue.

3. Article 19Hazardous Weather/Emergency Conditions • Summary: Employees provide essential services and are expected to make every effort to get to work. Due to the critical nature of FAA responsibilities, excused absences associated with a perceived hazardous weather event or emergency condition will not normally be granted if an employee is unable to report for work. This article addresses the process for excused absence requests. • Change: Excused absence is no longer automatic, management approval is required. • Every reasonable effort must be made to get to work and employees are expected to continue their efforts to report for duty.

4. Article 24Annual Leave • Summary: Procedures for bidding, approving and canceling annual leave have been amended. It is our intent to make as much leave as possible based on staffing and workload. Schedules and leave procedures must be set up as cost neutral. • Change: Two consecutive weeks of annual leave no longer guaranteed. Prime-time leave periods have been eliminated and replaced with year-round vacation period.

5. Annual Leave • Vacation Annual Leave will be bid starting 90 days prior to the beginning of the calendar year. • Management will determine available leave opportunities and advise bidders of their leave requests.

6. Annual Leave Process • Vacation Annual Leave will be bid in “rounds” of one or two consecutive weeks duration or portions thereof. Days must be continuous within two week period. (May include RDO’s) • Rounds will continue until all leave opportunities have been exhausted. Once an employee elects not to bid they are no longer eligible to bid in subsequent rounds.

7. Non-Vacation Leave • Annual Leave that is requested utilizing other than the bidding procedures for Vacation Annual Leave and prior to the schedule being posted. • Non-Vacation annual leave requests may be submitted beginning January 1st. • Leave may be approved or disapproved based on staffing and workload on a first come first served basis.

8. Spot Leave • Annual Leave that is requested after assignments to the watch schedule have been posted. • Leave may be approved or disapproved based on staffing, workload and employee qualifications on a first come first served basis.

9. Leave Cancellation Policy • During Vacation Bidding Process leave requests may not be canceled. • Leave may be canceled once the bidding process is complete and prior to the schedule being posted. • Once the schedule has been posted leave can only be canceled with management approval. • When management approves the cancellation of annual leave, the employee will be advised of their assignment to the watch schedule.

10. Article 25Sick Leave • Approval of absence from work is not automatic. Sick leave request need to be accompanied with sufficient information to approve the request. • Management will inquire about the nature of the illness (what is wrong, are you seeing a doctor and when will you return to work, etc.) and whether or not you have sufficient sick leave to cover the absence. Management has the responsibility to insure that any request for sick leave is legitimate. • Employees have the responsibility to give management reasonable advance notice when requesting sick leave.

11. Sick Leave • Advance of sick leave is at the discretion of the Agency and requires medical documentation. • Advanced sick leave is for serious illness or disability. Approving officials can grant advanced sick leave when employees are recovering from serious illnesses and are not able to work full days.

12. Article 26Leave for Special Circumstances • Article 26 is not an additional entitlement to the Family Medical Leave Act. • Leave taken under this article shall be given additional consideration over spot leave requests. • The Agency may disapprove an employee’s request if work schedule modifications would interfere with the efficient accomplishment of the FAA mission.

13. Article 28Holidays • New language – All approved absences on a holiday or days-in-lieu-of are referred to as excused absence. The term “holiday leave” is no longer used. • As many employees as feasible shall be excused from duty on a holiday or their day in lieu of; and only as many employees as necessary to meet workload requirements will be required to work. • After the posting of the basic watch schedule, if the Agency determines that holiday staffing levels (including those days which are designated as in lieu of holidays) will be reduced, volunteers shall be solicited. Seniority shall be used as the determining factor as to which employees are assigned duties and which employees are excused from duty.

14. Article 69Dress Code • Summary: This article sets the requirements/standards for a dress code of “business casual”. The article now specifically states what is/isn’t acceptable and what happens if an employee violates the policy. The articles describes appropriate attire. • Section 1. Members of the bargaining unit shall be well groomed and attire themselves in a neat, clean manner which will not erode public confidence in the bargaining unit workforce or detract from the professional image of Agency employees.

15. Dress Code • Change: The mode of attire for the workplace shall be business casual. Examples of such clothing include casual slacks (e.g. khakis, cords), dress slacks, dresses, skirts, blouses, dress shirts, casual shirts with collars or banded/turtle necks and/or sweaters. Neckties are not mandatory. Shoes shall be neat and clean. • Employees, while working midnight shifts, shall be exempt from the business casual requirements. However this does not exempt employees from the requirements of Section 1 nor any other requirements as to what is and/or is not appropriate for federal employees in the workplace.

16. Dress Code • Articles of inappropriate attire include, but are not limited to, jogging suits, shorts, sweats (pants, shirts, shorts), jeans, tee/tank/muscle/sleeveless shirts (for men), tee/tank/halter/tube tops (for women), and shirts with large lettering and/or slogans. Clothing having sexual connotations, written or pictured is not permitted. Revealing, ripped or disheveled clothing of any kind is unacceptable. Hats and caps are not to be worn inside the facility. Flip-flops, flat sandals and athletic shoes are prohibited.

17. Dress Code • Buttons or clothing displaying political advertising and/or slogans that are in violation of the Hatch Act are not permitted; however, the display and wearing of Union insignias such as pins, pocket penholders or tie tacks, shall be permitted. Apparel shall not be considered inappropriate solely because it displays the Union logo or insignia.

18. Dress Code • If an employee reports for duty dressed inappropriately, on the first occasion the Agency may require the employee to obtain and change into appropriate attire. Should that necessitate the employee leaving the workplace, it shall be done while the employee is in leave status and using accrued annual leave, accrued credit hours, or accrued compensatory time. Should there be a recurrence, it shall be dealt with as misconduct and the employee will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with Agency directives and this Agreement.

19. Article 38Overtime • Summary: This article clarifies the responsibility for determining qualifications and assignment of overtime. Other changes include an explanation of the guaranteed amount of work, cancellation methods, and bypass remedies. • Change: Assignment is equitable among qualified volunteers. Management makes the determination of qualifications for assignment. • Establishes a remedy for employees erroneously bypassed by offering that employee the next available overtime opportunity for which they are qualified.

20. Overtime • Eliminated the 2 hours of work guaranteed in conjunction with holdover. • Overtime can be canceled at any time prior to an employee physically reporting for duty; the 7 day notification period has been deleted. • If an employee is called in or scheduled for overtime on his/her regular day off and physically reports to work, he/she shall be guaranteed two (2) hours of work.

21. Article 32Watch Schedules and Shift Assignments • Summary: Clarified the responsibility for determining coverage requirements and clarified the differences from the basic watch schedule and the posted watch schedule. Simplified the process for shift changes within 7 days and modified the approval process for shift change requests.

22. Watch Schedules and Shift Assignments • Change: The basic watch schedule for the upcoming calendar year will be posted no later than October 1st. • The basic watch schedule is defined as the days of the week, hours of the day, rotation of shifts and regular days off. In developing the basic watch schedule, the Agency retains the right to determine coverage requirements (shift start/stop time; numbers, types, and grades of employees to be assigned to a shift)

23. Watch Schedules and Shift Assignments • The posted watch schedule is defined as the assignment of employees to specific shifts. The posted watch schedule shall be published at least twenty-eight (28) days in advance. Assignments of individual employees to the posted watch schedule are not considered changes to the basic watch schedule.

24. Watch Schedules and Shift Assignments • When the Agency determines that it is necessary to modify a posted watch schedule with more than seven (7) days notice, a solicitation for qualified volunteers to change shifts shall be posted for forty-eight (48) hours or until a qualified employee volunteers. In the event there are no volunteers, the Agency may then modify the posted schedule.

25. Watch Schedules and Shift Assignments • When the Agency determines that it is necessary to modify an employee’s posted shift assignment with less than seven (7) days notice, prior to making the change, the Agency shall solicit qualified employees who volunteer for that shift assignment. The Agency may also consider qualified employees who volunteer to work credit hours.

26. Watch Schedules and Shift Assignments • When considering an individual request for a shift and/or days off change, the Agency will consider the staffing and workload of the losing and gaining shift as a precondition to approval. If it is determined that those needs are adequately met, the change shall be approved.

27. Article 33Position Rotation Relief Periods • Summary: The 2-hour-on-position issue, break periods, and recall requirements have been addressed. • Change: The Agency’s goal is to provide employees with a break prior to exceeding 2 consecutive hours on an operational position. However, due to staffing and workload, this may not always be possible.

28. Position Rotation Relief Periods • Breaks are defined as a period of time during which no duties are assigned, however employees are subject to recall. • Employees shall remain at the facility during an assigned shift unless specifically granted permission to leave by a management official.

29. Article 34Working Hours • Summary: This article addresses shift duration, AWS, core hours, and credit hours. • Change: At an employee's request, the Agency may consider non-consecutive hours and/or non-consecutive days off.

30. Working Hours • The Agency may change an employee's shift to an administrative schedule eight and one-half (8½)hour shift including an unpaid thirty (30) minute meal period) for the purpose of administrative travel or to receive official training away from the operational environment. Employees will adhere to the tour of duty of the organizational segment to which they are temporarily assigned.

31. Working Hours • If an employee who has been assigned an eight and one-half (8½) hour shift is recalled to operational duties, his/her shift shall revert to an eight (8) hour shift to include a thirty (30) minute paid meal period. • Flexible Work Schedules and Compressed Work Schedules are authorized on an annual basis provided any schedule agreed to by the Parties would not have an adverse Agency impact.

32. Working Hours • Credit Hours can only be earned by employees on a Flexible Work Schedule. • Employees may carry over a maximum of twenty-four (24) credit hours into any pay period. • On the effective date of this contract, employees with credit hour balances in excess of twenty-four (24) hours will carryover that balance but will not be eligible to earn additional credit hours until their balance has been reduced to less than twenty-four (24) hours.

33. Working Hours • Employees receive pay for a maximum of twenty-four (24) unused credit hours at the basic pay rate when federal employment ends, when the employee transfers to another Agency, or when the employee otherwise is no longer subject to a Flexible Work Schedule. • Upon the effective date of this contract, any balances in excess of twenty-four (24) hours shall continue to have no cash value.

34. Article 45Temporarily or Incapacitated Disqualified, Restricted Employees /Assignments • Summary: This article addresses individual employee’s who are temporarily restricted, and/or incapacitated as defined by the FAA Order 3930.3. This includes employees taking disqualifying medications.

35. Temporarily or Incapacitated Disqualified, Restricted Employees /Assignments • Change: The Agency shall make every reasonable effort to accommodate requests for temporary assignments based on Agency need. • The employee recognizes that acceptance of such assignment may require that their schedule be amended to align with the days/times that such duties may be available.

36. Temporarily or Incapacitated Disqualified, Restricted Employees /Assignments • Employees requesting assignment under this Article may be offered part-time or intermittent hours, provided their medical condition does not inhibit their ability to perform available duties. Assignment of such work does not entitle the employee to any work hour guarantees, however employees will be notified in advance if work assignments will be less than entire shifts.

37. Temporarily or Incapacitated Disqualified, Restricted Employees /Assignments • When work is not available under this Article, sick leave shall be taken. • If the employee's sick leave balance is insufficient to cover the absence, they have the option to substitute accrued compensatory time, annual leave or credit hours. An employee may request leave without pay.

38. Article 46Realignment of Work Force • Summary: This article addresses closing, consolidating, de-consolidating, and collocating facilities; intra-facility realignment, and involuntary reassignments. The Agency establishes needs such as: qualifications, number of employees, and staffing/workload and, in turn, solicits volunteers based on that information. • Change: Timeframes for union notification when areas are to be realigned, established, or when imbalances exist within a facility; the 60 day advanced notice has been deleted.

39. Realignment of Work Force • In the event of a directed reassignment (involuntary reassignment to another facility) the employee is entitled to receive permanent change of station (PCS) expenses in accordance with the FAATP and Article 58 of this Agreement

40. Article 48 TECHNOLOGICAL/PROCEDURAL CHANGES • Summary: Workgroups established under this article will be comprised of individuals who are selected by the Agency based on predetermined qualifications.

41. TECHNOLOGICAL/PROCEDURAL CHANGES • Changes: The union will be afforded the opportunity to submit a list of candidates for Agency consideration. • Assignments to workgroups will be made by the Agency. • Participants will not be acting on the behalf of the Union.

42. Article 64Operational Error/Deviation Investigation, Reporting and Review Board • Summary: The records retention standards are changed. • Change: The requirement that “all copies of the employee statements, written prior to the final written statement shall be returned to the employee and shall not be maintained by the Agency” has been deleted.

43. Article 67Training • Summary: This article addresses career development, developmental and remedial training as well as the training review process. • Change: Familiarization trips have been eliminated. • Training is a workload consideration and therefore has priority over annual leave.

44. Article 80 Employee Recertification • Summary: This article addresses recertification for performance and non-performance related decertifications. • Change: Upon decertification, an employee’s schedule may be modified to align with the days and times that other duties are assigned, including changing regular days off and adhering to the tour of duty of the organizational segment to which they are assigned.

45. Article 83 Seniority • Summary: Seniority is determined by the Union. • Change: The Union may only change seniority one (1) time during the life of the contract.

46. Article 99 Hardship Transfer • Summary: New Article. Defines the process and outlines the categories of a hardship. Most of the language is carried over from the previous MOU on this subject with some exceptions. • The three categories are: • Medical conditions • Primary caretaker • Estranged family

47. Hardship Transfer • Employees must provide a list of all facilities and/or cities that will meet the needs of their specific hardship. • Placement is allowed in the same, lower, or up to three (3) ATC facility levels above their current ATC facility level. • Applications under this Article will remain active for a period of fifteen (15) months from the date of final approval at the originating Service Area.

48. Questions