Is OTS the cement holding the #####ty pay in place?

[Philip]

We are the illegal immigrants of the ATC world... equally seeking a "green" goal.

LOL
more like the scabs, methinks.

 

[surreal1221]

Yes.

And there are A LOT of CTI grads who refused employment after the IWR. A LOT.

 

[gourgi18]

See I think you're just proving my point. It's such a great opportunity that nobody in their right mind is going to pass it up, since they haven't really been shafted... yet. In comparison with going to a CTI school or serving in the military, you never dreamed about being an FAA controller for years and making good money. You never had to be told "well, no, i know we told you you'd be making this... and we've known that wouldnt be the case for a while, but we never informed you. OH AND BY THE WAY, we're hiring people without any aviation experience whatsoever now... even though we told you that the only way to become a controller was to go to one of our ridiculously expensive schools or join the military. Good Luck!"

So in that respect, I think OTS is kind of putting a damper on negotiating better pay--but through no fault of the applicants.

That's not really a true statement either. Hiring OTS has brought opportunity to many people who dreamed about this profession who did not have the ability to go to a CTI school. Of course it has brought some people in that really don't care about the job, just a better paycheck. Those people probably won't last. I would have loved to have gone to a CTI school, but unfortunately, there were no schools located anywhere near my state. When I did have the financial means to go to a CTI school, there was a wait list of 4+ years to get into some of the programs. So I decided I would not be able to get into the profession. Until one day I was checking into the fast track program (only one to get me through before 30) and wow, no more wait. Went to faa.gov, and realized that you don't have to go that route anymore. Not that I don't feel bad for the CTIers, (I would be pissed too) but saying that people who are applying never wanted to be ATC is not the case for a lot of people. As far as the OTS hiring goes in leverage for the contract, I don't think it hurts nearly as bad as some might think. There were never going to be enough CTI or military to cover the retirements that were going to happen. The FAA can argue that people applied in droves with a lower pay scale in place. NACTA can argue that the FAA didn't have a choice but to lower the standard (and I use that term loosely for lack of a better one) because they put themselves in the situation by not offering enough venues for people to go to school and train. Just my thoughts on it.