LR Corner
Monday, March 14, 2011

NATCA Gets Favorable Resolution of Flexible Work Schedule Issue in Aircraft Cert

NATCA recently negotiated a favorable settlement with the FAA, allowing employees in the AIR bargaining unit in New England to participate in flexible work schedules to include the option of varying the start time up to one hour before or after the normal work day start time provided core hours are observed. The agency had refused to allow employees in the AIR New England Region to utilize flexible start and stop times, also referred to as gliding, even though this type of flexible work schedule has long been available under the agency’s policy, and had insisted that the employee was required to obtain management approval each time they varied the start time.

After meeting with a federal mediator, and after NATCA negotiated a similar settlement in the AIR bargaining unit in Ft. Worth, Texas, the agency agreed to allow AIR employees in New England to vary their start time by up to one hour before or after the normal workday start time without prior management approval. This will allow employees in New England who face long commutes in unpredictable traffic to avoid having to call and get approval for arriving after their regular start time and use leave when they are unavoidably delayed.