Facility Update April 15

Good Afternoon All! Hopefully you’re out enjoying the sun!

Covid shot procedure

As with all things during the past year, procedures have shifted again to request covid vaccine EA. There have been some issues and confusion on the supervisory level as to when a shift can be converted to EA or when it needs to stay as SL. The process should be as follows:

• When you make your appointment, put in a request for EA with “COVID shot” in the remarks. Also, please write whether it’s dose #1 or dose #2. You should probably let someone in management know the request is in there so it can be addressed.

• If that is denied, put in a SL request for the same dates with COVID shot in the remarks.

Derek and Don will review all denied EA requests on the Monday after each pay period has ended to see what can be converted from SL to EA. Right now, if no OT is triggered for the shift, EA should be allowed. If SL is converted to EA, management does have the right to ask for proof of vaccination.

As a reminder, you are not required to report your vaccination to management unless you’re requesting EA. The flight surgeon does not need to know either unless you experience symptoms more than 48 hours after your shot.

Magellan Employee Assistance Program

This pandemic era has been an incredibly stressful time for the vast majority of people. It has been affecting everyone in different ways but so many of us are reluctant to seek help for a variety of reasons but a common one is that some are concerned about affecting their medical clearance. We wanted to ensure people are informed of the EAP so they know the avenues available to pursue help. EAP is a free benefit and you are afforded 8 free sessions with a counselor per issue. That is not limited to per year so if you have another issue after your first 8, the next 8 is free as well. If you would like confidential help navigating the system safely, email worklife@natca.net. If you would like to see what type of help is available, please look through https://www.magellanascend.com. You don’t need to wait until things are at a breaking point either, no issue is too small.

NCEPT

As it stands, there will be an NCEPT panel this quarter. Here is the timeline if anyone is interested:

2021 NCEPT Timeline

The Parties at the national level have agreed to conduct an NCEPT using the following timeline:

23 April ERR Submission Deadline

30 April HR Staffing Workbook entries completed

5 May Facility Priority Placement Tool (Weekly Run)

6 May NCEPT data executed

10 May HR resume upload begins

14 May HR resume upload complete

17 May Manager Ranking List published (Opened)

21 May Manager Rankings completed (Closed)

25 May P21 prepares data for NCEPT board

27 May NCEPT convenes/adjourns

With our world getting closer and closer to returning to normal, a lot of programs are getting up and running again. A lot of volunteer requests are going out on both the national and regional emails so keep your eyes out for anything that might pique your interests.

Derek Adams and Amy Sizemore

Facility Update April 2nd

The entire facility is now back on BWS and it seems like it is just in time. The weather has been great and more people have been out flying every day. Covid vaccines seem to be very available and a return to normal life appears to be just around the corner.

SGET

Prior to covid, we solicited for people that are interested in learning the SGET (Scenario Generation and Editing Tool) role but of course everything was put on hold. While there are no classes currently scheduled, we’d like to start gathering a list of people interested so we’ll be ready when things get going again. Normally, this person deals a lot with designing and maintaining simulator scenarios used for training but this role will be integral when our facility starts Data Comm. Ideally, we’d like at least two people per area that SGET qualified. Please reply to this email or let your Area Rep know if you are interested or would just like more information. Also, if you had submitted your name before and are still interested, please let us know again so we can ensure we’ve got the most accurate list.

Gym Reopening

As of April 1st, the gym has been reopened. There are some details that still need to be ironed out though, mainly the use of the weight section. There are curtains up to split the room into quarters and occupancy is limited to one person per quarter. Additionally, some equipment will be moved and some will remain off limits, please do not remove any signs or move any machines, etc. The NATCA OSHA reps have been working with the Employee’s Association and the agency to ensure the gym is now included in the regular cleanings, three times a day. The memo with further information is in CEDAR.

National Elections

With the nomination period closed, our new National Executive Board is already nearly set. All positions went unopposed except for Region X, which encompasses the union’s other bargaining units including engineers, aircraft certification and legal professionals. Rich Santa will be the new President, Andrew Lebovidge will be the new Executive Vice President and the Northwest Mountain Region will continue to be led by our own Alex Navarro! They, along with the rest of the National Executive Board, have all dedicated a huge portion of their lives to the future of this union and it will be exciting to see them in action for another 3 years. Congratulations all!

Have a wonderful evening,

Derek Adams and Amy Sizemore

Facility Update March 12

Just a short update this week.

Vaccine

As far as we can tell, air traffic controllers fall into the next tier, Phase 1 Tier B2, estimated to start on Wednesday March 17th. 

1B2 is defined as: critical workers who work in certain congregate settings: Agriculture; fishing vessel crews; food processing; grocery stores; corrections; prisons, jails or detention centers; public transit; remaining first responders.

Basically, we make up such a small specialized section of essential workers that we’ll more than likely never be mentioned specifically. We definitely want everyone that wants it to be vaccinated but try and work with your crew when possible to limit overlap.

If you are a veteran, you can go through the VA to get a vaccine regardless of job, co-morbidities. Puget Sound VA link for more info.

If you find out any useful covid vaccine leads, tips, tricks, etc. that you want to share with everyone else, please let us know so we can spread the word.

Thank you,

Derek Adams and Amy Sizemore

Facility Update February 28th

Hello all, hope you’re all safe and healthy. A lot is changing in the facility so we’ll get right into it.

Masks

Last Tuesday, the face coverings MOU was updated to be in compliance with Executive Order 13991. Basically what this means for us is that unless you are in a single person office with floor to ceiling walls, outside while maintaining social distances, or actively eating/drinking while maintaining social distances, you are required to wear a mask. The control room is considered a shared office and therefore masks are required regardless of the time of day or distance to the next controller. Across the nation, we are hearing about increased disciplinary action and usage of the Professional Standards program to enforce this MOU. Please just wear your mask. Here’s the link to the MOU if you’d like to read it in its entirety. 

RL3 Cleanings

We have wrapped up our trial period for the RL3 cleanings. We can expect some things to change as they continue to iron out the details but all in all, it’s not too bad. If you’re working the swing shift, please do whatever you can to “de-clutter” the area. This includes things like:

• putting all empty strip holders in the dirty strip bin to be sanitized

• removing all extra stuff from the tables like knick-knacks, old headsets, food, garbage, etc.

• removing all extra chairs

It all has to be done and it’s too much for the mid shifter to do before the janitors get there while working traffic.

This will continue for the foreseeable future and since we’re all making our way back to BWS now, some of you might be working your first mid shift in a while. Here’s how that’s been working:

• At some point in the night, the active sector will move to an alternate scope so that the janitors can clean that one. If your area can get it moved over and fully settled before the mid shift arrives, that’s fine but don’t force it if you don’t have to. The supe will execute the commands necessary to move the frequencies to the alternate sector. Then you can move back as soon as they’re done.

• The janitors have been pretty good about getting the whole control room sanitized in about an hour and a half but that does not include the normal cleaning. 

• The Pure Hard Surface cleaner needs to sit for 1-5 minutes before wiping with a cloth with only water. If you happen to see something different than that please let someone know, too short of time and it isn’t effective, too long will cause a sticky build up.

Please let us know if any problems arise.

Vaccines

Your area reps might be sending you a quick, one question survey asking whether you plan to get the vaccine. It will not collect names or email addresses, it is only to help as a planning tool for us to try and get a plan together. Just a reminder, you do not have to get permission from the supes to get the vaccine, you only need to work with them to get EA to do it. Otherwise it will just be sick leave. Then, after it is done, just report that to the flight surgeon, not the supes. We sent another email to King County Public Health department to see about creating a vaccine schedule or something of that nature but still no reply. We’ll let you know if/when we do hear from them.

Have a good night,

Derek Adams and Amy Sizemore

Facility Update February 15th

They have started our RL3 (Regular Level 3) cleanings every mid shift. This will alleviate the need to go ATC-0 in the event of a covid hit at our facility.

RL2 and RL3 cleanings

There will be more janitorial presence in the building. During the day, you might see janitors in the area but they should not be cleaning the places you’re actually working at, just the unused scopes, etc. They shouldn’t be asking anyone to move or anything so please don’t ask anyone to leave the area. 

Here’s what we’ve seen so far from the RL3s: 

• For the first 14 days, it will be a rather large group of people in the operation to observe the cleaners. After that, it should just be two janitors and it will be between 1-3am. 

• We haven’t noticed any sort of cleaning product odor. The name of the cleaner is Pure Hard Surface cleaner and is basically isopropyl alcohol, citric acid and water. The safety data sheet is available, if you would like to see it, let us know.

• There are a couple of things that need to be done by the end of the swing shift: 

  • With the exception of the 2 chairs for the mid shifters, ALL chairs need to be removed from the operation. This includes chairs from behind the consoles. 

  • ALL unused blank strip holders (not the airport bay headers) need to be put into the strip buckets so they can be cleaned. They will be returned by 6 am. 

• The janitors are being trained not to clean any screen with a handset plugged in so these need to be unplugged and placed on the consoles to be cleaned. Anything in the overhead cubbies will not be touched. That will include any tracker positions with the guard frequencies on them. Also, the supe/CIC positions need to have the cordless headset, handset, and any other equipment used to activate the VSCS screen unplugged. 

• When you open up a sector after cleaning, please remember to check all the volume knobs. They will get moved during cleaning. 

• When they clean, it’s very probable that the D-side Input Keypad will get locked out. Check it right away when opening a sector so the SOC can send someone to fix it right away if necessary.

• Please report any surfaces, screens, keyboards, etc. that have any sticky residue to the supe/CIC right away.

Masks

We’d like to take the time to remind everyone of the importance of mask usage. This is even more important now that some areas will be returning to BWS. Proper wearing of masks is imperative as we continue to train and have more people returning to the facility in the coming weeks and months. In addition to being a courtesy to those you work closely with, it is also a requirement under the current MOU, and would be very hard to defend if management were going to attempt some kind of discipline. We know that sometimes the FLMs or OMs appear to not follow the MOU, but we assure you, we are constantly making it known that they must be in compliance. When a cleaning crew is in your area, they will be moving all around the area so please just put your mask on so they can get in and done as quickly as possible.

Thank you,

Derek Adams and Amy Sizemore