The bidATC website is going a little slow/not working at times. The website manager has been notified and it working on it. Thank you for your patience.
2022 Bidding
We will be starting to bid this Monday the 18th. Just in case you didn’t make it to an MOU briefing this week, natca-zse.com/bid is the website to view all the MOUs and the bidATC video Devin made for us. If you get a second, please log on to bidatc.com/zse to ensure you remember your password and your preferred notification method is up to date. If you have any problems, please let any one of the reps know.
Attestation and Reasonable Accommodation
We still have not heard about the vetted process to request a reasonable accommodation. If it is very important that you get this done sooner rather than later, you might want to request your exception with the FAA’s process but otherwise continue to be patient and we will definitely forward any information we get to you as soon as we get it. Attestation forms should be filled out on duty time and still must be done on a government computer or on paper and given to your immediate supervisor.
Employee Express
Here is an email that was sent out today to the FacReps:
“NATCA recently became aware that access to Employee Express was abruptly changed to require the use of an FAA-issued PIV Smartcard on government furnished equipment. This change has limited the ability for bargaining unit employees (BUEs) who are not reporting to a facility/office and do not have access to government furnished equipment to log onto Employee Express. Employee Express is not a FAA system, but the FAA has been advised that additional options for access are forthcoming. NATCA will provide more information about those options as soon as we have it.
In the interim, the Agency has provided the following POCs for BUEs who are on long-term leave or lack access to a government furnished computer and require assistance with matters within Employee Express.
For changes to Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB), Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), and Thrift Saving Plans/Roth, contact the Benefits Operation Center:
· (855) 322-2363
For all other changes (listed below) or for a copy of your Leave and Earnings Statement, contact the following, based on your region:
· Direct Deposit
· Discretionary Allotment
· Federal Tax (W4)
· Financial Allotment
· Health Savings Allotment
· Home Address
· State Tax
· Earnings and Leave Summary
Please put the type of request in the subject line. For example, if you need to change your direct deposit information, put “EEX Direct Deposit Update needed” or if you’re requesting a copy of your Earnings and Leave Statement, put “LES Request” in the subject line.
· Northwest Mountain: Oklahoma City Shared Services Center (9-AMC-AMH-HR-SSC@faa.gov)”
Additionally, we’ve heard that people have had success with buying a PIV card reader and hooking it up to their home computer.
We hope you have a great weekend!
Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart
*New Attestation MOU Just Released*
Basically this document just defines, elaborates and gives rules for the information put in CEDAR a couple of days ago. HERE is the full MOU but the basics are:
You must attest your vaccination status either at https://attest.faa.gov (must be on a government computer) or in person via your supervisor with the application on Appendix 1 of this MOU.
Proof of vaccination will be in one of the following forms:
a copy of the record of immunization from a healthcare provider or pharmacy,
a copy of the covid-19 vaccination record card,
a copy of medical records documenting the vaccination,
a copy of immunization records from public health or state immunization information system, or
a copy of any other official documentation containing required data points. (must have ALL the following):
name of the employee
type of vaccine administered
date(s) of administration
The name of the healthcare professional(s) or clinic site(s) administering the vaccine(s)
A copy can be a scanned file or a picture
You will get duty time to do this
Reference the exception process, just a couple more things. We know that there are people here at ZSE interested in pursuing this. NATCA is still working with the FAA to fine tune their process to ensure the information given to the FAA is the minimum needed and will be safeguarded. While you are fully within your rights to start this process now, it is important to remember a couple of things. One, the process the FAA released as it stands has not been vetted by NATCA. There is the possibility that you are giving the FAA more information than is necessary and once it is turned in, there is no walking that back. Second, if you pursue an exception, it gets denied, you have to get vaccinated anyway, and it takes you past the November 8th deadline on the Incentive Strategy MOU, you will not be eligible for any of the time off awards. Just some food for thought.
Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart
Information Dissemination
There have been multiple email blasts recently in your FAA email that have been causing a lot of confusion and frustration. The problem (or one of many problems) is that there are many departments within the agency operating without communicating with the others. A perfect example is the changes made to Employee Express. When all that went down, and NATCA was asking the agency who authorized this, why wasn’t NATCA involved, etc... no one could answer because they had no idea which department allowed it or even why. The same is going for all the vaccine mandate and attestation emails that have been getting sent out except that some of this is coming from the DOT and not the FAA. The DOT doesn’t care that the FAA has a process with NATCA and so they send out emails before the processes can be negotiated and agreed to. The national office is working out a process with the departments responsible for this so the BUEs will not be inundated with superfluous information.
Facts:
The mandate dates. Those are set as a Federal mandate and will not change.
The incentives for getting the vaccine. The agency is still working on the process to enter/track TOAs but all will be honored.
You will have to submit proof of vaccination starting October 12th and must be completed by Nov 8th.
There will be exceptions. The full process has not been agreed to yet though.
The Agency has disseminated information about how to get an exemption from the vaccine requirement. This policy is in effect and can be used but was designed for management and non-BUE employees. Collaboration is still in progress and the final questionnaire may look different when finalized for BUE use. If you absolutely cannot wait until the collaborated process has been agreed to then you can use the agency’s process to request an exemption. We do not know when the process will be agreed to and disseminated but we have been told that it is “imminent.” Your guess is as good as ours as to what that means. We are sharing the information we get the second we get it.
We will keep you posted as soon as we know anything more.
NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF)
NCF is a great organization that focuses on supporting local charities. It is a separate entity from NATCA and has its own executive board. Everyone involved is a volunteer, mostly made up of controllers and their family members. NCF’s mission is to raise and distribute money that will stay in the communities that mean the most to our members. We at ZSE have received money from NCF to support many local food banks throughout the pandemic and the wildfires last year. We have also worked with NCF to provide backpacks full of school supplies to local children in need for the past 4 years.
NATCA Charitable Foundation has a few sources of revenue but the bulk of their yearly resources come from the fundraising events at CFS and Convention. Due to the pandemic and these events being cancelled, they have taken a big hit. If you would like to help support them so they can continue supporting local charities, here are two options:
Click HERE for the 1187 payroll deduction form (to start a monthly donation)
Click HERE for a one time donation
All donations and payroll deductions are tax deductible.
Current / Upcoming NCF Events:
$25,000 regional charity competition, help the Northwest Mountain Region’s charities win by voting for them at the link below, (no purchase or donation necessary).
Click HERE for more information
Introduction to wine tasting. Do you want to gain basic skills to perfect your palate but don’t know where to start? Maybe you are looking at beginning your adventure in wine or just want to learn a little more, this is a great tasting for you. We will explore two different styles of wine through sight, smell and taste while gaining an understanding to help you identify what makes food pairings work with specific types of wine.
Nov 4th at 7pm EDT
deadline to sign up is Oct 19
$125 donation, includes wine and tasting kit
Click HERE to sign up
Virtual 5k Run to raise funds for Bullying Prevention
Holiday Program - more to come on this but it is a program for locals wanting to give back to the local area for the holiday season and to support: homeless Veterans, provide toys and meals for families in need.
If you would like to get involved with any of these programs (or have ideas for new charities to support) but need help with the sign up process, please let us know.
The NCF website is located HERE for more information.
We hope you have a great weekend,
Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart
Good Afternoon all,
Looks like we averted another shutdown for a couple months, so that’s good, right?
2022 Bidding
We finished negotiating the BWS/AL/CIC/OT MOUs a couple weeks ago but it has taken a while to get through all the FAA’s hoops they like to jump through. They should be back to the facility by early next week and then they’ll be available to read through. As with previous years, we will have five days of briefings to talk about changes and a quick refresher on the bidATC website. Then we will begin bidding after that. The briefings are scheduled for 9 am October 12-16th and we are hoping to start bidding on October 18th.
*Remember to talk to your area rep about a bidding proxy if you plan to be gone and out of cell/internet range during the weeks following October 18th.
Covid-19
The FAA is requiring all employees to be personally briefed of the vaccination requirements. Within the document that is in your CEDAR, there is a time table for the different shots. All three shots have different waiting times between doses (except for the J&J since there’s only one) so the last days to receive the different brands are below:
We expect to hear sometime Monday/Tuesday about the exception/exemption procedures and will send it out as soon as we get it.
Also, the FAA is still working on the tracking/time and attendance portion of the time off awards offered in the vaccine incentive MOU sent out earlier this week. They should get that hammered out shortly and we’ll get that program running.
In Solidarity,
Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart