Facility Update June 11th

Focus Month Board

With Independence Day right around the corner, we thought it would be a great time to celebrate you and the folks who have served in your families. We’re putting together a special display for next month’s board and would love to feature some vintage military photos.

Dig into those photo albums and send us your favorite throwbacks, whether they’re of you, a parent, a grandparent, or anyone else who served. Add a quick description if you’d like, and we’ll make sure it gets to Chico. Please reply to this email with your picture attached by June 28th.

NATCA Birthday

Next week, NATCA turns 38 and we’re celebrating with our 2nd Annual BBQ! Join us next Friday, June 20th, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the grill area up front.

This year, we’re also celebrating Kevin Miller’s retirement, so be sure to stop by, grab some food and drinks, and help us send him off right.

We hope to see you there!

National Executive Board Meeting

Don’t forget, the NEB meeting is June 30th in Seattle. If you’d like to go, let us know and we’ll set you in the right direction. If you just want to go and visit and get some complimentary dinner, plan on meeting the group up at the Rhein Haus in Seattle from 6:30pm-9:30pm. Bring the fam! RSVP HERE.

NATCA T SHIRT DAY IS ON SUNDAY!

Have a great rest of the week,

Amy

Upcoming NEB Meeting/Meet and Greet

All,

I’ll be attending the upcoming National Executive Board meeting in Seattle on June 30–July 1. This board is made up of all 10 RVPs, our Executive Vice President Mick Devine, and President Nick Daniels. I know there are many concerns that folks would like addressed, but if there’s anything specific you’d like me to bring to the NEB, please let me know.

Also, under SRI-5 of the National Constitution, you have the right to speak directly to the NEB. These meetings rotate through the regions for exactly that reason, so members have a chance to engage with their national leadership. If there’s something you want to ask or say, I strongly encourage you to take that opportunity.

If you’d prefer a more relaxed setting to talk with the NEB or if you just want to come hang out, there’s a meet and greet on Monday night, June 30, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Rhein Haus in Seattle (912 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122). Families are welcome. Flyer here. RSVP HERE!

Here is the aforementioned SRI-5 for your reading pleasure:

SRI-5  NEB Meeting Attendance by Members

A period of not less than one hour will be reserved within the agenda of National Executive Board meetings, during which time any member in good standing may address the Board. Such members may address the Board on any topic in order to give an opinion and/or solicit information. Such members will be limited to five minutes, unless time is extended by the Chair.

If more than twelve members wish to speak, the Chair may, at the option of the Chair, allow additional time, allocate specific time to certain topics of common interest, or devise another equitable method to accommodate the members. Scheduling of the member forum period will be as close to mid-day as practicable so as to allow for round-trip travel.

Any members desiring to address the National Executive Board shall inform the National Office at least 24 hours prior to the start of the meeting. At the time notice is given to the National Office, a number indicating the sequence in which the member is to speak will be provided. The topic of the address may be requested if the number of those requesting to speak exceeds 12.

Members are expected to promptly notify the National Office if they cannot attend as requested. Members are entitled, as per Article VI Section 1. of the NATCA Constitution, “...to freely speak on any issue affecting the Association.” However, any grievance concerning the actions of the Association or its officers shall be processed in accordance with Article XIII, Internal Grievances.

This does not in any way inhibit a member from using this forum for soliciting information to determine if an internal grievance is or is not warranted.

Feel free to text/call or email,

Drew

503.593.8178

Just a couple things...

Like the title said, I just have a couple of reminders.

• Tomorrow is NATCA shirt day. Wear your gear and get a chance for a $25 gift card for either The Rock, McLendons, or Bigfoot Java.

• Join NNM legislative Reps Jenny Benjamin and Brittney Armbrust for a one-hour legislative class and legislative update on Tuesday, May 20, at 5 pm MST/ 4 pm PST. This class will be Hatch Act friendly and will cover why we are legislatively active, some of our legislative victories and losses, and why relationships matter. Link HERE. We know most of our battles are won and lost on Capitol Hill, it’s best to stay informed and stay involved.

Have a great rest of the week!

Amy

2025 Convention Update

2025 NATCA Convention

We finished up the 2025 Convention yesterday, and it was amazing. Around 150 amendments and resolutions were submitted, the most in NATCA history, so we knew we had our jobs cut out for us. We had a 12-hour day and two 9-hour days with the goal of hearing every single submission. We fell a little short, but not for lack of trying. One of the most contentious changes this year was to pass A2545. Now, when a person is granted and working on an age 56 waiver, their seniority will be set to zero on the day that waiver takes effect. NATCA has always stood firmly against age 56 waivers. Our max retirement age is nothing we want extended, for any reason. This was a very contentious vote, and after many rounds of voice and standing votes to try and get an accurate count, a roll call vote was called. This means that every single delegate from every single facility stood up at the mic and announced how they would place the votes for each member for their facility. It takes about 1-2 hours to get through every facility. The final tally was 11922 yays out of 14713 total votes. HERE are my notes and results from the votes.

Also, HUGE shout out to Drew Stewart, because of his hard work and quest to bring the convention home, Seattle will host the 2029 NATCA Convention! Atlanta was in the running, too, but the membership overwhelmingly decided they wanted to come to our great city. So amazing! Oh, and Devin helped too ;)

Thank you all for everything you do,

Amy

Facility Update May 5th

ABACUS

As we talked about before, NATCA and the FAA are fast-tracking the traffic counting software, ABACUS. This is imperative, especially for the centers, since they have not been accurately counted in roughly 15 years. This is important because that is what our pay levels are set from. The team will be doing a validation run starting tomorrow and running through Thursday. This ensures that the software captures all the nuances of ZSE and gets every traffic count and complexity factor possible. Everyone is welcome to stop by the FTR office (Mike Sellman’s office near Airspace) to observe the process and ask questions from 6am-2pm.

April’s Trivia Contest

Congratulations to Nick Nolke, Alex Mathers, Kelly Schielke, and Carlos Navarette! Their names were drawn out of the submitted names to win NATCA swag. We’ll be doing it again in August for your next chance to win.

Here is a quick recap of the questions with the answers and references:

Article 114 is titled Collaboration. What all does this encompass?

• Full time, “off the boards” reps

• The Local Safety Council (LSC)

• A local workgroup put together to redesign airspace

• All of the above

Article 114 is an all-encompassing article that ensures we have a seat at the table for nearly everything. This ensures we get the best shot at a good product right out the gate rather than the FAA rolling out a bad product and then us having to fix it later.

Charlie Controller has a 6AM shift today. However, during the wind storm last night, a very large tree fell across his driveway. He doesn’t think he can get his car over/around the tree safely. Charlie calls into work requesting to be put on Article 19, what happens next?

• The supervisor approves the request and the ATM and FacRep will review the situation later.

• The supervisor approves the request but requires you to call back every 2 hours to get re-approval.

• Article 19 can only be used for snow/ice.

• This meets the qualifications for sick leave, just use that.

Article 19 of the contract states, “…employees are expected to make a reasonable effort to report for work…” This does not mean check in every hour. It also states, “Employees who are unable to report for duty shall be granted excused absence at the time of their request, subject to the review process in section 2.” This means that supervisors are required to approve this at the time you request it but you also need to do your part to help sustain it in the review process. This could mean photos, videos, news articles, etc.

The E Area just got a new certified CPC! The CPC was training on Sat/Sun RDOs. What happens to their schedule now?

• They remain on their RDOs until next year.

• The highest seniority CPC that wants Sat/Sun can take it.

• They are moved to RDOs that more closely align with their seniority.

• A new line is created and is “waterfalled” down.

According to Article 32 of the contract, every employee is entitled to their RDOs for the entire year. The only way to force someone to different days off is through Article 46.

In which of the following situations are you NOT entitled to union representation?

• You’re asked to report to the supe’s office to discuss allegations that you left early yesterday.

• You’re asked to report to the supe’s office to discuss a PRoC.

• You’ve been told to report for drug and alcohol testing.

• You’re asked to report to the supe’s office to discuss allegations that your coworker took a ream of paper home but you also have done that in the past and thought it was ok.

You are not entitled to representation for performance-based discussions however, it is not prohibited. In the case of the answer about the ream of paper, there is a “representative present during an interview that the employee reasonably believes could lead to discipline.” So, if you have done the same thing in the past, there is a good chance you will say something incriminating and therefore are entitled to a rep.

Have a great week!

Amy