FAA Core Compensation An AFGE Local 200 Investigation

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FAA Core CompensationAn AFGE Local 200
Investigation

• Status of Negotiations
• Core Comp Basics
• Core Comp - a Pay, TSP, and Retirement Reduction
  System, Not a Pay for Performance System
• Budget Neutrality A MYTH
• Arbitrary Nature of Pay Bands
• Some Known Insidious Aspects of the System
  (Others Believed to Exist, but Not Yet Found)
• Undisciplined Means by Which the System Is
  Documented
• Conclusions

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1. Status of Negotiations

• Approaching Mediation
• If impasse, FAA sends their version to Congress
  with our objections
• If no action in 60 days, Agency can impose their
  version on us
• NATCA Experience
• PASS Status

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2. Core Comp Basics

• Conversion from GS to CC
• Arbitrary by Chart (details later)
• WIGI Within Grade Increase buyout for step
  increases due prorated
• CC Annual Increases
• Locality the same in both systems
• OSI Organizational Success Increase - GS 1 -
  less if Goals not fulfilled
• SCI - Superior Contribution Increase - Individual
• SCI-1 1.8 (for 20 of pool)
• SCI-2 - .6 (for 45 of pool)
• No SCI for remainder of pool
• Recommended by immediate manager
• Pool of Money belongs to Directors at FAAHQ
• Both OSI and SCI subject to Pay Band Maximums
  (Base Pay Capped)
• Increases are lump sum payments if Capped
• Lump payments not included in Base Pay, High
  Three, TSP
• To Try to Learn More About Core Comp, go to
• http//employees.faa.gov/jobs_pay/pay/core_comp_pl
  an/ (if it is still there)

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3. Pay, TSP, and Retirement Reduction

• 20 BUEs Will Be Capped Out Upon Conversion
• AFGE Knows, Based on a 7 Year Core Comp History
• 2008 34, 2009 56, 2010 - 84 BUEs
  Capped Out
• A Capped Out Employee Who Starts at 100,000
  Base Pay
• Pay Loss Over 10 Years of work 169,321 Less in
• High 3 of 114,347 Versus 143,644
• Retirement Annuity Loss Over 10 Years 91,968
• Grand Total Loss Over 20 Years - 233,045
• TSP Contributions Reduced
• No guarantees that pay bands will not lower.

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3. Not Pay for Performance

• Top performers reach Pay Band Maximums quicker.
• BUT, Base Pay for all persons will eventually be
  the same regardless of how well they perform.
• Conversion into Core Comp near, at or above the
  Pay Band Maximum has nothing to do with
  performance

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4. Budget Neutrality A MYTH

• FAA Core Compensation Plan Section 1, Dated
  09/30/1997
• The Compensation Framework requires that any new
  compensation plan be budget neutral. Budget
  Neutral is defined as spending
• What would have been spent had the existing
  compensation programs not changed.
• Compared to GS Core Comp loss being Capped
  196,925 over 10 years of pay 10 years of
  retirement.
• 02/2007 - Agency projects our GS13/14 BUEs will
  make 700,000 more in Core Comp than GS in the
  next 3 years.
• Where is that money coming from?
• Bad data in the haste to try Salesmanship versus
  negotiation

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5. Arbitrary Nature of Pay Bands

• Based on the FAA FG to Core Comp conversion
  chart
• Some Step 10 employees have 43 higher Caps
  than Base Pay
• Others are automatically as much as 22 ABOVE THE
  Caps
• Conversion has areas with 5 GS Grades placed in 1
  Pay Band
• GS-5, Step 1 in the same Band as GS-9, Step 10
• Conversion has areas with GS-6, -7, -8, -9, -10s
  placed in a Pay Band below GS-5s in another Job
  Category

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6. Some Insidious Aspects of the System

• Suspension for any duration (even 1 hour or day)
  renders an employee ineligible for the next year
  pay raise
• The Administrator can award pay increases at
  the end of the year
• Contract employees continue to receive raises to
  their Base Pay
• Employees may not be eligible for the annual pay
  raise due to raise timing restrictions
• Promotion to a position of higher expertise and
  responsibility may result in a 0 pay raise

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7. Undisciplined Documentation

• Core Comp is not one document. It is a
  compilation of
• One 1997 Plan (gone?)
• Over 300 Web Pages, HRPMs, HROIs, Adobe files,
  Word Documents, Excel spreadsheets, and automated
  Tools.
• With NO Change History. There is no viable
  accountability for changes to any one or all web
  pages and files.
• The site contained in the FAA Management proposal
  to AFGE Local 200 on pay as of June 2006 is
• http//www.faa.gov/corecomp/plans_policies.cfm
• It No Longer Exists

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8. CONCLUSIONS

• Core Comp is not a Pay for Performance System
  it is a Pay, Retirement Annuity TSP Reduction
  System
• AFGE Local 200 will expend all energies necessary
  to avoid pay capping, pay raise ineligibility
  resulting from suspension, and other Core Comp
  negative impacts
• Members may help through
• Congressional Contact
• Media Contact
• Class Action or Individual Legal Action
• Etc