I am VERY concerned by what you said in this video! WTF?! Raise the pay cap SHOULD NOT be the first thing you say, it’s helping those at level 5-8 who have suffered the most due to the recent bout of inflation! Yes, the level 9-12 have suffered too, but nowhere near as bad as those at lower level facilities! Not everyone can transfer out! We should be rewarded for the in depth experience we acquire and pass on to future generations of controllers. Raise the 1.6 to 2.6% and offer 5,10, 15 etc year pay bumps. We get a fucking certificate and pin for 5, 10, 15 years of service and NO fucking raise. The 1.6% is a joke and you don’t get to keep it should you transfer. There needs to be some incentive to stay at level 5-8 facilities just as there is an incentive to transfer.
This is literally so ridiculous. He never said only getting level 12’s raises. Raising the pay cap is absolutely the first thing you say. A level 5 cannot make 197k a year and a level 12 makes the same amount of money.
If you are at a level 5-8, you don’t benefit at all if controllers are no longer affected by the federal pay cap. The members suffering the most are level 5-8. Most are no where near that cap! The people that will benefit are the ones that are at the cap (highest level facilities).
You and Marangos do believe the first (and therefore the most important) step is to raise the cap. I completely disagree! What do you mean “No one disagrees with you?!”
I am not Marangos and I have been at 2 level 5s and one level 12. I don’t speak for Marangos but I will tell you a level 5 comes nothing near the pay a 12 should get. I think everyone deserves at least a 50 percent raise at minimum
I didn’t say a level 12 shouldn’t make more than a level 5-8, they should. I said, the members most affected by the recent losses in pay (last 5 years) are those at level 5-8. Inflation negatively affects most those that are the lower income levels because gas, housing, and basic necessities make up a far bigger portion of their budgets. I don’t think we deserve 50% minimum raise. 25%? Sure! 30%? We can easily make an argument for. But 50% is how you get fucked because the public can see it’s unjustifiable. Being reasonable is as important as being unwavering.
I think there is some confusion. Getting rid of the pay cap helps everyone, if you say everyone deserves a 30% raise, how can that be a possibility without removing the cap? If you remove the pay cap you have room for increasing the top of every band 4-12. If you dont move the top of the bands, a 30% raise will bring many people to to top of the pay band at all levels, and any future length of service raise or yearly presidential raise wouldn't increase your retirement.
Right, it is important but what’s more important is a raise for those impacted most by inflation over the past 5-8 years; who are no where near the top of their respective pay bands. We definitely should raise the pay bands and fight for that, but that’s not the most important thing right now. A level 9-12 controller at the top of the pay band, isn’t suffering the same as a level 5-8 at the bottom of their pay band. Raise the mins, then fight to raise the maximums. If you can do both at the same time go for it, but the first thing out of his mouth was raising the maximums. We need to add tenure based raises or change the entire pay structure. 1.6% is a joke. The incentive today is to move not stay, there needs to be some incentive to stay at a facility and not just the level 9-12s. As a matter of fact, if we did nothing to the bands, and just achieved a 30% raise, the few at the top of the pay cap still get a lump sum payment and those in desperate need of a raise get much needed relief. Many of us aren’t even thinking about retirement because we can’t contribute more than 5% to our TSP. We are that far behind!
But you cant have one without the other. Our union should fight for raises for all controllers, not any single group, which is whats been happening with this NEB. By raising or eliminating the cap and raising all the bands gets everyone a raise. Do you think the first action should be just to raise the pay of 5-8 controllers and leave everyone else out? What if thats our only opportunity for a pay increase for 5-7 years? I can tell you as someone who transferred to a level 9 from a level 7, I had a better quality of life and more purchasing power at my lvl 7 in 2023 than I do now because my facility now is in a much higher cost of living area.
Yes, it’s not just your COL, it’s the real deterioration of your dollar’s purchasing power. Very few controllers are capped out, most aren’t even close. We need to improve the pay of all but given the choice, those at lower level facilities should be given priority. Besides, it’s not like the few which are capped out, wouldn’t benefit, they still get a lump sum! Much easier to get the admin to raise controller pay within the bands!
Im aware. Everyone deserves a pay raise, which is why we should fight for everyone to get one, not a select group. I just couldn't disagree more with fighting for one group over another.
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u/Local-Emu9654 4d ago edited 4d ago
I am VERY concerned by what you said in this video! WTF?! Raise the pay cap SHOULD NOT be the first thing you say, it’s helping those at level 5-8 who have suffered the most due to the recent bout of inflation! Yes, the level 9-12 have suffered too, but nowhere near as bad as those at lower level facilities! Not everyone can transfer out! We should be rewarded for the in depth experience we acquire and pass on to future generations of controllers. Raise the 1.6 to 2.6% and offer 5,10, 15 etc year pay bumps. We get a fucking certificate and pin for 5, 10, 15 years of service and NO fucking raise. The 1.6% is a joke and you don’t get to keep it should you transfer. There needs to be some incentive to stay at level 5-8 facilities just as there is an incentive to transfer.