Facility Update January 1st

Welcome to 2022, hopefully all your celebrations went well and everyone stayed healthy. We’re still working through another D-Side training pause but other than that, not much going on around the building. There are a couple of solicitations that I’d like to put out there, please let us know if you’re interested in any of these:

OSHA - The OSHA representatives in our building focus on providing methods for employees to raise concerns related to occupational safety and health.

Professional Standards - Professional Standards is a program that provides an opportunity for bargaining unit employees to address the performance and/or conduct of one another, in a peer-to-peer setting, before such issues rise to a level requiring corrective action by the Agency. The program can use tools such as peer-to-peer mediation, conflict resolution and mentoring to accomplish this. The program also provides an opportunity to recognize exceptional performance.

LSC - Our Local Safety Council is always looking for new members!

SGET - I know we’ve solicited for this a lot but mgmt has lost the list I gave them again…. I’ve learned my lesson and will keep my own list this time! So, even if you’ve let us know before, please let us know again. Still no word on when the next class date will be yet though.

FTR (Facility Tech Rep)

We would like to start soliciting interest for the FTR position that will be opening up in the spring. The FTR is the voice of the facility nationally as it pertains to new tech and also NATCA’s voice on many other details. Those of you that were around for the white book/implementation of ERAM understand the value of our voice and what happens when we are not a part of these decisions. Those of you that did not experience this, I assure you that when controllers are not part of this process the end result is undesirable and likely dangerous. I have asked our current ETR, Frank Champaco to help by describing the job in a little more detail:

“As the FTR you have two main responsibilities, one local and one national.

On the local level you are responsible for protecting your facility by ensuring that the technical side of things (ERAM, TTL, Data Comm) is working as designed.  You are responsible for reviewing every AIMS issue with Airspace and Procedures and the FAST team.  You are responsible for ensuring programs like TR2 and Data Comm are implemented efficiently with the least amount of negative impact.  All of this requires you to develop solid working relationships with NATCA, Airspace, FAST, Tech Ops, and all of management - especially training.  I cannot stress this enough and a perfect example of solid working relationships was seen with TR2.  That program would've been an absolute disaster if my NATCA brothers and sisters didn't step up big time.  My relationship with Don Amundson also helped.

On the national level you will be testing the ERAM updates at the Tech Center in Atlantic City.  This will be the bulk of your travel.  You will also be asked to travel to the other Centers whenever there is a need for support like TR2 or Data Comm implementation.  The NextGen User Team (NUT) also meets every quarter for three days with Leidos (the engineers that fix ERAM bugs), SLE (Second Level Engineering) and our management counterparts..  We discuss everything from enhancement requests (displaying the Broadcast FLID for VFRs to help Area B is one of them) to critical issues affecting the NAS.  So expect to travel two weeks out of every month and no, they don't have to be consecutive.  This is why no one ever sees me.

FTRs are also assigned to random Task Teams to tackle big projects.  I am currently on the Offshore Automation, ERAM Training and 811 Controller Card to name a few.

 I'm sure I'm missing a ton...oh yeah, did I mention how much I love telcons?  Expect to be on one or more every day.  So that, in short, will be your duties as the ZSE FTR.  Feel free to stop by my office if you want to learn more.”

You’ll have to maintain a M-F day shift schedule, expected to maintain currency and your medical. If you have questions or are interested in this, please reply to this email.

We will discuss all the candidates for as an e-board on January 20th.

Thank you all!

Amy Sizemore

Facility Update December 15th

Training Pause

Due to the rising cases of covid in the building, the FAA has implemented a requirement to discontinue all training that cannot be accomplished without social distancing. For us that means pausing D side training only. Since there are so many sector combinations and placements it is very difficult to create a plan less broad than that. If you have any specific training concerns, please talk to your area rep.

Wellness Briefing

Tomorrow at 10am, we will be having a wellness town hall briefing. Derek Adams will be part of the group speaking about the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Sarah Grampp will be speaking about the CISM program and then Bob Obma will be speaking in reference to the SSRI procedures. SSRIs are a type of antidepressants that historically have been allowed for pilots but not for controllers. After years of hard work, there is finally a path available for people to seek the mental health they need without fear of losing their job. Please join us tomorrow and learn about these programs. The link to join the town hall is located HERE.

In Solidarity,

Amy Sizemore

2020/2021 NATCA Convention Update

We are all finally home from convention. The schedule was intense, day one lasted until nearly 9pm and started early the next morning but we got so much important business done. Seeing this democratic process done in person is very powerful and I hope you all get a chance to attend Convention to experience this as well. If you would like to reference it, HERE is the link for the amendments and HERE is the link for the untimely amendments. Below is a list of how each amendment vote resulted.

A 21-01

This was the amendment to go through the entire constitution to replace all gender specific references with the gender neutral they/them. There was a lot of discussion about this amendment but was ultimately deferred to a committee to ensure that we do not incur any unintended consequences by changing this language.

A21-02

This was the amendment to change the order of NATCA’s mission statement to state safety first. The arguments against this stated that while safety is important, we are first and foremost a labor union and that will continue to be NATCA’s main goal. The amendment was defeated.

A21-03

This was the amendment to make a member unable to run for national office. The issue was that it is potentially possible for a person to be elected to office, retire and still sit as the national officer. While the voting body understood the potential “hole” in the constitution, the voting body felt that the membership should hold that power when they vote for RVPs, EVP or President. The amendment was defeated.

A21-04

This was the amendment to allow the NEB to publish their meeting minutes at a more realistic timeframe. The amendment passed with little discussion.

A21-05

This was the amendment to create an RVP position specifically for Federal contract towers (FCT). While there were a couple of delegates speaking in favor of this it was ultimately defeated. The main argument against this was that the current RVP for each FCT already handles any issues that may arise already and there isn’t enough workload to necessitate a separate RVP.

A21-06

This was the amendment to make the convention committee a standing committee and give it a very specific structure.  It is currently determined by the President. The amendment was defeated.

A21-07

This was the amendment to state that the addresses of national officers and chairs will no longer publish the addresses of national officers/chairs. Their contact information is available on the members only side of the NATCA website. This amendment passed.

A21-08

This was the amendment to create a standing election committee. The voting body chose to postpone this amendment indefinitely due to lack of information.

A21-09

This amendment was defeated on the basis of not wanting to curtail the membership’s voting authority.

A21-10

This amendment was defeated with the same rationale as A21-09.

A21-11

Withdrawn.

A21-12

This amendment was heard with R21-21. Former NATCA president John Carr took over as speaker for this discussion since it involves sitting national officers. This amendment would tie the President/EVP salary to ours and keep us from debating this every convention. The President and EVP haven’t received a raise since 2018 while in that time the membership has received roughly 5%. The average leadership salary for most jobs ranges from 5-10% and the amendment would make the air traffic leadership 1.85%. This amendment was amended to say the president’s salary will be level 12 salary plus 1.85% and the EVP to be $5000 less than the President to ensure there is not an ever-widening gap but maintains a difference between the two jobs.

A21-13

This amendment closed a repeating loop caused by local constitutions referencing the National and the National referencing the local.  Now if Locals do not have the voting members defined, the National document takes care of that for them.  If they do have voting members defined, they can keep it however they have it.  This amendment passed.

A21-14

This amendment would give current members their seniority back if they took a supervisor position. The amendment was overwhelmingly defeated.

A21-15

This amendment was to change the way we count seniority for a small number of members known as “retired annuitants.” There are currently only about 10 members nationally that this affects. This amendment was defeated.

A21-16

This amendment was defeated.

A21-17

This amendment would include Mike Moroney time in seniority. It was defeated.

A21-18

This amendment would allow for military air traffic controllers to get seniority for their time in service. This amendment was not seconded and therefore not heard.

A21-19

This amendment would change the seniority tiebreaker. This amendment was defeated.

A21-20

This amendment was mainly for formatting and clarifying wording in the constitution. The amendment passed.

A21-21

This amendment was to require membership approval before extending any contract. This amendment was unanimously defeated.

A21-22

This amendment would restructure how each Local’s delegate entitlement is determined and would have increased the number of delegates at convention, mostly for larger facilities. This amendment was defeated.

R21-01

This resolution is already covered in another resolution and was adopted.

R21-02

This resolution would dissolve the “BBS” system that is no longer in use. This resolution was adopted.

R21-03

This resolution removed reference to “Unionware” since NATCA doesn’t use it anymore and goes one step further to generalize language to ensure we don’t have to do this again with any future software changes. This resolution was adopted.

R21-04

This resolution was tied to R21-02 and was adopted.

R21-05

This resolution was adopted.

R21-06

This resolution would create an audit policy that better suits the way business is currently done. The resolution was adopted.

R21-07

Withdrawn. 

R21-08

Withdrawn.

R21-09

This resolution would change the amounts eligible for the NATCA Education Reimbursement Fund. This resolution was amended to remove the portion of extending the amount and passed.

R21-10

Withdrawn.

R21-11

This resolution sets the time to voucher internet expenses to 360 days. This resolution was adopted.

R21-12

This resolution was adopted.

R21-13

Withdrawn.

R21-14

This resolution specifies the process involved for NATCA endorsement of candidates for public office. The resolution passed.

R21-15

This resolution would remove redundant language in standing rules and was passed.

R21-16

This resolution passed.

R21-17

Withdrawn.

R21-18

This resolution would ensure the Professional Standards Program would remain a permanent program. This resolution passed.

R21-19

This was not seconded and therefore not heard.

R21-20

This resolution passed.

R21-21

This resolution was heard with A21-12.

R21-22

This resolution would ensure that any elected RVP forced into an LWOP status would continue to be paid by NATCA. The amendment was defeated.

R21-23

This resolution sought to limit discussions NATCA would be allowed to be involved in when the topic would involve alternative funding streams. The voting body rose in strong opposition to this resolution because of how important it is to be involved in all conversations involving NATCA members regardless of what side of the “argument” NATCA is on. The resolution was defeated.

R21-24

This resolution was not seconded and therefore not heard.

R21-25

This resolution was seconded but was defeated.

R21-26

Withdrawn.

R21-27

This resolution was passed.

R21-28

This resolution was ruled out of order and therefore not voted on.

R21-29

This resolution was to clean up some financial policies. It was passed.

R21-30

This resolution would provide SRF-12 facilities with lodging for convention. It was amended to strike a couple of sentences, basically making it a requirement rather than up to NEB. This amendment passed.

R21-31

This amendment was not seconded and therefore not heard.

R21-32

This resolution allows for contractors to supplement training departments. The resolution was adopted.

R21-33

This resolution would raise the internet stipend for SRF-12 facilities. This resolution was passed.

R21-34

This resolution fixes a grammatical typo. The resolution was passed.

UA21-23

This amendment was solely to fix grammatical errors and was passed.

UA21-24

This amendment limits national officers to only BUEs and no age 56 waivers. This amendment was adopted.

If you have any questions about any of the amendments or processes, please let us know.

Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart

Facility Update November 30th

Control Room Lighting

Tomorrow, December 1st at 4:30pm the hanging lights in the control room will be shut off for a test for approximately 10-15 minutes. The lights in the ceiling (the maintenance area behind the sectors) will still be operational during this test. The current lighting system will need to be replaced within the next couple of years and will take 4-5 months. They are testing whether we need auxiliary lights installed before the old ones are shut down. Please let us know of any comments or concerns that come up during the test.

NATCA Charitable Foundation Donation

As a part of their mission to contribute to local charities, NCF has a check for the Leap for Lupus Foundation in Lacey. This group was started by former B area controller, John Mitchell. We are looking for people willing to deliver this check sometime within the next month. Please let us know if you are interested in helping out.

Convention

I will be out of the facility next week for the convention/leave but will be available via text/email. We will recap the convention and which amendments were passed, etc. as soon as we can.

Thank you,

Amy Sizemore

All Members Meeting This Friday

We are having an All Members meeting this Friday a1 10am. It will be held virtually via the link below and in person in the East / West Conference Room. Our RVP, Alex Navarro will be there. This is an excellent opportunity to voice your questions / concerns at a national level. We will also be talking about the finances and also going over the few new constitutional amendments that were sent in after the deadline extension.

Coffee and pastries will be available (only in person, I will not be delivering to your house :)

This is the email sent out by the NNM leadership team:

Please give us agenda items HERE

These are turbulent times; however, your regional leadership is continuing to work for everyone to get through these unprecedented times. We are committed to providing you the support you need and the answers you seek. In an attempt to further this goal, we would like to conduct virtual meetings with all of the Northwest Mountain facilities throughout the fall. These meetings will be an open forum and designed to allow you to speak directly to the regional leadership.

It is certainly recognized that there are many stressors directly impacting all of you right now including: shifting pandemic guidance, new and reinstituted mandates, short staffing, training delays, leave obligations, overtime, and increased operational oversight. All of these issues are at the forefront of our concerns as well. We would like the opportunity to ensure that your concerns are heard and voiced directly as well. We strive to deliver the most up to date and accurate messaging on these issues and you need to be able to respond to our decisions and positions.

The membership as a whole are likely reacting strongly to these pressures and we want to be able to help respond to these heightened emotions and opinions. It is imperative that all of the leaders in the region including local leadership remain steadfast in the commitment to the well-being of our workforce and our profession. It is imperative that we openly display this resolve to all the members in the Northwest Mountain region. It is imperative that we allow the membership to participate alongside us in this endeavor.

To achieve this, we ask for your attendance to your facility’s upcoming virtual meeting. These meetings are for any and all members. There will be ample time for discussion, debate, and if need be, displeasure. We understand that staffing challenges and employee morale may attempt to become roadblocks to member participation, but we will be there even if there is only one member on the call.

We appreciate your time and dedication to this profession, and your patience as we navigate these turbulent times.

TELCON INFO:

Friday, November 19th @1000 PST

Microsoft Teams meeting

Join on your computer or mobile app

Click here to join the meeting

Or call in (audio only)

+1 253-240-0613,,335054440# United States, Tacoma

Phone Conference ID: 335 054 440#

Alex Navarro III

NATCA Northwest Mountain RVP

M: 206.406.0194

anavarro@natca.net