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Q & A: H.R. 4441, THE AIRR ACT Q A Q A Q A Q A Q A How will the AIRR Act affect retirement calculations for those that move to the not-for-profit corporation? Will the corporation include other FAA job classifications? What types of protections for employees will be afforded under the new corporation, such as tort protection, merit systems protection, and grievance procedures? Will the corporation's retirement plan result in a B-scale like in Canada? What coverage will employees have in cases of workplace injuries? Employees who transfer to the corporation and elect to remain in CSRS or FERS would be able to continue in those programs and would receive the same service credit as if they were federal employees. This ensures that if they return to the federal workforce they would not lose anything in terms of their retirement benefits. The same is true for health coverage and the other insurance programs. The entire unionized workforce is protected under this bill. Which employees make the transition is still up for discussions that will include NATCA. Labor contracts will carry over. Nothing in the bill protects the controllers over any other bargaining unit job. All of the discrimination laws will remain applicable and whistleblower protections will be extended. NATCA remains certified and has collective bargaining rights and a dispute resolution process. The corporation is required to indemnify employees for acts within the scope of their employment. NATCA is concerned about the possibility of reduced pay and benefits in a reform plan that would take air traffic control operations outside of the federal government. But, we are confident that H.R. 4441 provides for very strong protections for employee rights, pay, and benefits, as well as union rights to negotiate over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, including benefits. In order for NATCA to support any reform it must contain protections for employees and collective bargaining. Specifically, H.R. 4441 provides that employees on the date of transfer would have the option of retaining their federal employee retirement plan (either Civil Service Retirement System or Federal Employee Retirement System, as currently applicable) and federal employee health benefit plan. The employer would be required to pay the government's share to both programs and employees would receive credit for service with the corporation toward their retirement calculation. A new plan for the employer would be subject to negotiations and if NATCA and the employer could not reach agreement it would be subject to mediation and ultimately binding third-party arbitration, the same way other subjects of bargaining would be resolved under the bill's provisions. We are confident that under this system we would be able to successfully negotiate fair pay and benefits for our membership, both current and future. Presently, federal employees are subject to an A-scale, B-scale, C-scale, and D-scale for the purposes of retirement, if you consider the A-scale CSRS, B-scale FERS, C-scale FERS-RAE, and D-scale FERS-FRAE. This does not include CSRS-offset or other even smaller pools of retirement programs. When these plans changed there was no duty to bargain nor binding arbitration; employees and their representatives were not part of the process, yet each provided for higher employee contributions and/or reduced benefits. Under the Canadian system, the A-scale provides for a higher pension calculation, but a significant employee contribution. While the B-scale provides for a lower pension calculation, it also includes a 100 percent employer funded contribution, saving employees approximately nine percent that they previously had to contribute to their own retirement. It is definitely not a clear- cut case of reduced benefits, if employees contribute that nine percent to a personal retirement-investment account, even though the pension calculation itself is lower. The same coverage will apply. 40

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