Actually, there are no "hikes for good performance." The FAA, on Labor Day 2006, froze the base pay of all veteran controllers as part of imposed work rules in which controllers did NOT agree to nor ratify. No annual raises. No base pay raises for good performance. No cost of living raise given to all other federal employees. Elimination of many forms of extra pay for various duties or circumstances.

There is a yearly cash bonus paid for performance but it is arbitrary, very unfair, and subject to be reduced or revoked on a variety of trumped up reasons FAA management could come up with to punish a controller.

FAA management, meanwhile, awarded themselves several million dollars in bonuses this past year for good performance. Only these were base pay raises as well.

Paid for by money taken from controllers.

-Doug Church
Director of Communications
National Air Traffic Controllers Association

Posted By Doug Church on July 14, 2008, 3:54 PM

Hi, Doug,
Thanks for your comment. Many controllers get "locality pay" adjustments, which is a kind of "cost-of-living adjustment" even though it's not tied to the Social Security Administration's annual COLA. The Washington Post predicts that about one in five workers will receive that "yearly cash bonus paid for performance" that you mention. Given that I pointed out that the agency doesn't compensate its employees the same way that other agencies do, I believe I was fair and accurate in summarizing the situation: "the FAA has a compensation system that uses broad salary ranges and a complicated formula of cost-of-living adjustments and hikes for good performance."

Thanks again,
Sean

Posted By Sean on July 14, 2008, 4:36 PM

Yes, Sean, I would agree with you that you were fair and accurate in summarizing the situation.

Just please keep a close eye on this labor battle between controllers and the FAA. It's now been 670 days since the FAA destroyed all fair collective bargaining with us by imposing work rules and these pay cuts and freezes against our will. This has caused the number of fully trained controllers to plummet to a 16-year low and precipitated a bad staffing crisis.

This is the worst treatment of controllers by the FAA since PATCO back in 1981. Worst morale. Worst working conditions. Worst animosity.

-Doug

Posted By Doug Church on July 14, 2008, 5:27 PM

Locality isn't a kind of Cost-of-Living. It's a cost of Labor. All federal employees that work in areas with a locality adjustment receieve this. If the FAA could it would take that too.

And no, you weren't fair at all with regards to your comment above. But you did tell this story as if you worked for Jim Peters.

Posted By John on July 14, 2008, 7:56 PM

There is so much more going on here than what meets the public eye. Yes...money is a huge factor on account it is necessary to have in order that one eat, pay the mortgage, raise the kids, etc etc. However, after working 30 years at the busiest ATC facility in the world, (ATL) I can assure you it was NOT the money issue that led me to the door and retirement at 49. I loved the job, and took great pride in the fact that I was a controller...not something everyone can do. However, after the Labor Day 06 enforced work rules were implemented by the Agency, my workplace became hostile, and in MY opinion, a workplace I need not be a part of any longer. Don't you get it? When you begin unloading "new implemented work rules" upon people doing what can easily be considered one of the most stressful jobs in the world...such as no pay raises, a dress code for those of us who sit in a cave all day and look at radars, being treated like a small child by supervisers, (who were usually the ones who were too scared to sit and actually seperate aircraft) along with the fact that we work horriffic work schedules, (no sleep..or not enough down time) rediculously low staffing, and more...enough is enough. The Agency was just blasted for it's incompatence recently at a congressional hearing, and the truth is beginning to come out. As for all my ATC buddies hanging in there...GET OUT! It is not worth it, and your life will change for the better immediately. I miss talking to airplanes everyday...but I do not miss my former employer one tiny bit. This system needs immediate attention and rectification that has to start at the top...before it is too late. The vets are leaving in record numbers, and the rookies will not be able to hold this together without them. Experience in this field is extremely valuable and needed...but due to the Agencies many pitfalls and lack of respect for those of us trying everyday to hold onto the system, more and more trainees are checking out too soon, thus leading to what could be easily called a "loose cannon" situation just waitng to go off. As a happily retired "vet", I hope for all that the FAA gets it together quickly! Good luck to all...especially the old guys hanging in there!

Posted By Pup on July 15, 2008, 10:55 AM

In 2006, ATC salaries will literally cut in half for controllers who were entering into the career; overall, compensation and pay raises are not adequate for the high-pressure work and long hours. (Not to mention insurance benefits were non-existent for trainees in 2007 and no relocation packages were offered either - even if you were asked to move across the country for the position.)

I was also appalled at the working conditions of the controllers in my city. The building they work in is full of mold and other harmful chemicals; however, the government is choosing to not fix this - making for poor long-term health. Instead, they replaced the lawn out front with fresh new grass so the building would have a good appearance, yet controllers are standing inside holding umbrellas so water from the leaking ceiling would not drip and distract from controlling traffic.

Bottom line: Money is not being spent well and important issues, like "mandatory" overtime hours, are not being communicated properly.

Posted By Anonymous on July 15, 2008, 12:53 PM

There are many stressful jobs out there but few pay as well as air traffic controller. The mid-range salary figures quoted are misleading because they don't take into account valuable indirect benefits including their retirement plan, generous paid holiday and vacation leave, and well-subsidized health benefits. Another big intangible benefit is job security. I'm sick and tired of the whining.

Posted By Peter on July 17, 2008, 1:10 PM

This is all very confusing to me, I just got married and I'm looking for a good government job with job security and benefits, I saw the annoucement for the opening for air traffic control trainees and I'm thinking about applying:

But I don't get it?
is it a good job or isnt it?

Posted By Risha on July 17, 2008, 3:41 PM

Risha - a few years ago I would have highly recommended you take the job. But now after the animosity and ill will generated by the dolts at FAA headquarters you'd be foolish to hook up your cart to the FAA. I have 29 years as a controller and am preparing to retire. I still LOVE my job, I just HATE my employer for what they have done to us. Resist the urge - DON'T hire on.

Posted By Mark on July 18, 2008, 12:07 AM

Peter.....tell me of one other job you might think is as stressful as being a controller. This is what you who have never been in an ATC facility know absolutely NOTHING about. I can assure you it is more stressful than you can imagine. Take into consideration...a Doctor is responsible for the lives of many.....one at a time. A controller is responsible for the lives of many...30-35 airplanes at a time. NO...and I mean NO mistakes allowed! NONE...ever. As for the retirement, yep, it is pretty darn good. And we deserve it. After 30 years of being "in the hot seat" every single time I sat down with a headset, I am thankful Congress passed a law years ago allowing us to retire early with good bennies. You see...they realized what kind of stress we are under! (And the good thing is they now are realizing just how bad off the Agency is, and the conditions in which they have forced the controllers to work in...watch the congressional hearing where the FAA is blasted for it's incompetence in handling the staffing levels, and how they treat the controllers) As for the vacation leave...obviously you have not done your research here lately...leave for controllers is pretty non-existant right now due to the staffing levels being so low. 6 days a week...10 hour days...uh...lets see here...where exactly is that leave your talking about? I've heard it all...cops..truck drivers..firemen..doctors...etc etc.. I invite you to go to the nearest Air Traffic Control Enroute Center and sit in with one of these controllers. Your opinion may be altered after you actually sit in and listen to what these individuals do day in and day out, year after year. Especially now....with the Agency so screwed up that the envirenment in which they have to do this in is one of great hostility.

Posted By Pup on July 18, 2008, 9:27 AM

My,my! I am astounded by the comments posted. Does anyone remember August 1981? Do you wonder why 11,400 PATCO members were willing to walk out? Could it be that nothing has changed in the FAA/DOT since some very good people were fired for trying to negotiate a contract with the government?
After the '81 strike, the only change I was made aware of was title changes for management positions, the easiest way for the Agency to deny that previous problems still existed - how could they when the facility problem people were no longer there? Oh, the same people held the same jobs, but the Facility Chief was now the Air Traffic Manager. Obviously, the Facility Chief could not now be a factor, even if it was the same dolt that collected the paycheck.

Posted By Jim Lutsch on July 18, 2008, 6:30 PM

As a tax preparer who does returns for various ATC's, I was shocked by the statement "the middle 50 percent of controllers earned between about $85,00 and about $140,000". These figures obviously include only the base pay, not the incremental pay they all receive for working odd shifts, Sundays and holidays. My practice is in an area where the ATC's get a 10% locality adjustment, but here, many longtime controllers gross close to $200,000 per year. Their job is one of the most stressful in the world and because so many lives are at stake each minute they are on duty, I believe they should be well paid. The FAA is insane to have cut new controllers' salaries in half - there was already a shortage of new controllers before this was done; how can competent new staff be attracted and retained?
I have many close ATC friends. While the irregular schedules are difficult, in a normal week controllers are in the building a total of 40 hours per week, including lunchtime and breaks, for which they are paid. Breaks are theoretically 20 minutes out of every hour, and although in reality breaks often come 20 minutes every 1.5 to 2 hours, almost any other job you can name requires much more time on the job. There are rules against how many days in a row controllers can work (6) and how shifts must be spaced, just like there are for pilots. Life as we know it will collapse without a strong network of competent controllers, and they are amazing people. I am in no way minimizing the FAA's mismanagement, stupidity, and lack of foresight. But cheer up ATC's, you are an elite and respected group, and things could be worse; you are not the only employees in the world working under stress in an atmosphere of poor morale. There are hundreds of professions out there where people work longer hours (sometimes with weeks or months without a day off), under worse conditions (physical labor, extreme temperatures), for a fraction of the pay (the vast majority of people), and without the security of a significant guaranteed pension from age 56 until they die (everyone not employed by a government agency).

Posted By Anonymous on July 23, 2008, 12:24 PM

I don't know what to think of the profession after reading through this article. I applied for the job a while back and have accepted the job, just waiting for a class date now. Then off to ZAU as long as I pass all the training.

I've heard that controllers work 6 days on, 4 days off, 6 days on, and then 5 days off rotation. Is this true? In rotating shift starting out on 2 midnights, 2 afternoon shifts, then end the week with 2 day shifts. How true is this, if true at all?

And one last question, what kind of retirement plan do controllers get? When people say "full pension" what does that mean? How much are controllers making in their retirement years and what other benefits do they get?

Thank you for you time.

Posted By Anonymous on September 21, 2008, 10:23 PM

I have been interested in working for the FAA for a while now, but I am frightened now if things are this bad. Is there any sign of things getting better any time soon?

Posted By DW on September 25, 2008, 2:18 PM

What is ZAU? Looks like an airport code but I can't find it on Great Circle Mapper.

Posted By Roger A.C. Williams on November 6, 2008, 12:13 AM

Roger,
ZAU is not an airport code. It's an acronym for Chicago's Air Route Traffic Control Center.
Hope your vacation went well.
--Sean

Posted By Blog Editor on November 6, 2008, 10:07 AM

I'm not so sure if this question has been answered yet, but I am 17 years old, a senior in highschool, and possibly looking to pursue this career. What are the benefits that a commercial air pilot would receive the day he/she started work? Anybody with that knowledge out there?Does it vary?

Posted By Mike on December 8, 2008, 2:58 PM

I have decided that i wanted to be an air traffic controller and am waiting for an opening to apply...But after reading these it makes the job sound terrible! I have talked to an ATC that I know and he has told me a lot of what u guys are saying but not as extreme! Do you think that I should think about another career?(asking former or cureent Air Traffic Controllers)

Posted By justin on January 5, 2009, 11:43 PM

I am a marine and am about to reenlist for another four years as an ATC both because I am interested in the field and they are offering a $71,000 bonus. I am wondering (before I sign my life away again) if prior military ATC's are viewed any more qualified than the average joe trying to get in the field.

Posted By Daniel on January 6, 2009, 12:38 PM

all you "senior" controllers are a bunch of bums that rely on your misguided unions to keep you employed and overpaid. you better keep fighting the FAA because once ERAM takes over and nextgen becomes the priority, you will all be out of jobs and the harder working, more educated, extremely overqualified and better capable "rookies" will be working your jobs.

Posted By JW on February 10, 2009, 2:06 AM

I cant quite rap my mind around this last comment by JW. First I thought maybe a supervisor wrote it , but how could someone who does nothing but monitor a break list,and rubber stamp denied on every request the hard worker makes even consider calling the real men and women out like that.(and makes 150k plus and is scared of working traffic) ). Then I thought they must be one of the extremely overqualified and better capable "ROOKIES" that I see everyday using all these gadgets to seperate planes,(but totally freeze up when the computer doesnt tell them what to do), but that would be stupid unless they really want to make less money, and you really need ERAM to save you from your lack of ability................................
OR they must be the contractor for nextgen.Better get back to fixing all the problems your having."OH" and by the way it doesnt matter what you do with the equipment, if you dont have enough concrete to land them on.(that should be an easy sell for another major contract) good luck....
Then after trying to figure out the meaning of this persons statement, and what I really heard pouring out from this persons soul ,all I can say is............GOOD LUCK ROOKIE............

Posted By TANK on March 21, 2009, 11:49 PM

All you FAA guys need to find a nice DoD job!! Highest pay grade you will find is GS-13 so your not going to get 150K but the lack of crap from management is worth the 50K. I have been in the DoD for 2 1/2 years and really don't have a bad thing to say. And to JW, I have never seen an over qualified rookie during my time as an ATC!! A facility NEEDS experienced controllers, without those men and women we are all screwed. Who the hell do you think teaches the rookies how to work the traffic? I don't know what this nextgen stuff is but it sounds like a crutch for those unable to CONTROL.

Posted By JD on May 6, 2009, 8:15 AM

let me tell you this my fun loving flying friends. beware......rookies are training rookies to guide your plane in. the experienced controllers left due to faa mistakes.....god speed on your next flight

Posted By pj on July 28, 2009, 12:49 AM

I'm about to get out of the Navy spent 4 years as a air traffic controller. I have been well trained for military control. Local controller is where i stopped my training. What is the Pay look like for what i will be going in as for 2010. Not sure where i'll be starting. Thanks in advance.

Posted By Joshua on August 6, 2009, 12:50 AM

new air traffic control payscales were just implemented but won't take full effect until 2012. It looks to me like its going to be close to a 10 percent bump for three years. Developmentals start around 40k now, and Fully checked out controllers vary to the difficulty of the facility. My facility is a level 9 and w/ locality its going to be in lower 90k's in 2012. As of right now It is still in the mid 60's

Posted By rich on August 17, 2009, 7:03 PM

I'm a tower controller in Southern California. To all the people that are looking into controlling for a living, you should know that the new contract under president Obama is much improved over the one under Bush. The new contract will take full effect in 2012 and it is approx. a 30% (%10 annually) increase from the 2006 contract. I got into the agency at 2007 and it was terrible. Senior controllers were retiring just as fast as the door opened and closed. The morale was low and the pay for what you did really sucked. But for those that hung in there and put up with the unfair contract of 2006, it is now worthwhile. Before you would be sitting next to a controller that made 2 or 3 times what you made as a new controller for doing the exact same thing but now it is more balanced with a chance for us new guys to earn as much as our more senior counter parts. We now have better pay, no clothing restrictions, CIC pay, etc... You can have a lot of fun in ATC and you can have a mouth like a sailor talking to your controller buddies in the tower and not worry about being fired. So, I think you should give it a shot!

Posted By John on October 23, 2009, 4:39 PM

Controllers do not have a stressful job at all anymore. With the advancements in computer technology everything that is needed to know is displayed right on the screen and all worked out in advance. Controllers mainly just read information from the computer screen and are a back up "just in case". It’s not like the old days where there was only a blip on the screen and controllers had to work out everything in their head so they could make recommendations to avoid collisions.

Walk through an ARTCC and you will see controllers with their feet kicked up on chairs chatting to each other while controlling planes and only working an hour before taking a 45 minute break. Often there are a few tables in the center of each area with all the snacks and drinks laid out like there is a party going on. Controllers don’t want the public to know that stuff though so the large income and pay raises can be “justified”.

Posted By ab on October 27, 2009, 8:10 PM