Productivity

Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin sent a letter accusing FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford of improperly delaying a pay raise for air traffic controllers that Congress approved in April legislation signed by President Trump. The law set aside $140 million for a 3.8% raise, but controllers have so far received only the 1% increase given to all federal employees. The senators argue Bedford is conditioning the remaining 2.8% on scheduling and productivity changes tied to the FAA's 2026 Controller Workforce Plan, which aims to raise average productive hours per shift from four to five. They called the move "petty, disrespectful and counterproductive" given chronic understaffing and mandatory overtime.

The FAA responded that the statute gives the administrator sole discretion to tie the raise to workforce efficiency improvements, and said it looks forward to discussing scheduling practices with NATCA, the controllers' union. NATCA said it continues pushing for the full pay parity increase. The dispute comes amid a broader FAA hiring push, with over 2,000 new controllers brought on this year.