Support for Collective Bargaining and Competitive Pay

The International Association of Firefighters, Local 3217, represents the men and women of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Fire and Rescue Department. For the last seven years, MWAA Management has worked to strategically suppress the salaries and potential salaries of the employees of the Fire and Rescue Department. This has led to our department being the lowest-paid department in the region, despite being tied for working the highest number of hours annually of any department in the area. The Union has made every attempt to amicably address this issue and work with management to address these compensation disparities. Unfortunately, because MWAA denies all Unions the right to Collectively Bargain over pay and benefits, we have failed.  The result of this shortfall in fair and competitive compensation has been a dramatic decrease in staffing and service delivery at both National and Dulles Airports. Over the past two years, staffing has been down in the department by as much as 25%. In the past five years, the attrition rate has been nearly 68% for Firefighters with under five years. Most of these staffing shortages come from our members leaving for other departments in the region with better pay, benefits, and working conditions.  These staffing shortages have caused a significant increase in overtime hours. An MWAA firefighter works 2912 hours per year before additional unscheduled overtime. A majority of our members will push well over 3400 hours for 2025, to cover minimum staffing requirements to keep the traveling public and surrounding communities safe. Without the ability to collectively bargain with management over wages, we are at their mercy, and they have failed us. Over the past six years, our annual raises have fallen far short of the annual rate of inflation. Our members are losing money every year, while the Authority has recorded record growth and profit. Over the last five years, passenger traffic at National and Dulles has increased by 10% and 9.8%, respectively. Yet at this time, the Fire and Rescue Department's minimum staffing has been reduced by 11% including the reduction of an EMS Supervisor from DCA and a reduction in guaranteed Advanced Life Support Staffing at both airports.  On May 9, 2025, this Union presented a comprehensive proposal to MWAA Management to fix our compensation issues and subsequently correct our staffing shortages. This proposal would have had minimal financial impact on the Authority but would have rectified the staffing shortages and helped guarantee the safety of the traveling public at both airports. Since the May 9 proposal, the Local has attempted to meet with and pleaded with management at every level of the organization, including the Board of Directors, with no relief. MWAA commissioned a regularly scheduled Pay Study, the results of which showed our members at all levels being significantly behind all our regional peers, yet still no adjustments have been made.  Every attempt has been made by this Local to solve these issues within the organization, but they have failed. We have been left with no option but to pursue an amendment to the Airports Authority's Charter, which is frozen in time in 1987. We call on those with the power to do so and the public to give support to our cause for the right to full collective bargaining to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of our Firefighters.

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