Remaining Leave Slots

After the bid process was concluded the area ended up with 27 renaming leave slots for 2017.  We were not able to add them to any day where 3 slots were already taken/bid.  Starting with the first available day in June a slot was added until 27 slots were filled for the year.  The dates where a slot was added are as follows.

6-4

6-7

6-8

6-9

6-14

7-9

7-30

8-6

8-16

9-12

9-17

9-20

9-21

9-24

9-25

9-26

9-27

9-28

9-29

9-30

10-1

10-2

10-3

10-4

10-10

10-11

10-31

What does this mean for me?  Basically if you are the first web schedule request for any of the dates above it is considered a pre-approved leave opportunity per Article 24 Section 12 of the Contract.  Keep in mind the request has to be made 30 days prior to publication for it to be pre-approved.

Article 24 section 12

"Any remaining pre-approved leave opportunities that were not selected during the bidding process will remain available until thirty (30) days prior to the posting of the watch schedule and shall be approved in the order in which they are received."

If there are any questions please feel free to contact me.

James Darlington

Heads up on shift change requests

Heads up on change requests

Slate Book Article 32 Section 5

“The posted watch schedule is defined as assignment of employees to specific shifts.  The posted watch schedule shall be posted twenty-eight (28) days in advanced.  Assignments of individual employees to the posted watch schedule are not considered changes to the BWS.”

With that said if the schedule gets published before the 28 days (Saturday 11:59:59pm or earlier) in the interest of fairness any request made (other than auto requests, and annual requests) before the 28 days (Saturday night Sunday morning at 12:00 midnight) will be deleted and you will need to submit your request again (Saturday night Sunday morning at 12:00 midnight) or later.

As an example shift change requests for Pay Period 11 can’t be made until April 2nd and any shift change request made prior to April 2nd for Pay Period 11 will be deleted. 

If there are any questions please feel free to contact me.

James Darlington

2017 OT MOU

If you haven't noticed the 2017 OT MOU is in cedar.  In order to have OT scheduled appropriately we need to have a yes list and a no list.  Once you've had a chance to read the MOU in cedar please let BD or myself know if you want to be on the yes list or the no list.  As a heads up this MOU is different than in the past and if there are any questions regarding the MOU please feel free to call or text me.  Thanks

James Darlington 

Recurring Shift Swap and AWS Request

Just a quick update on the recurring shift swap and AWS request forms for 2017.  Unfortunately they will be pushed back till pay period 4.  With that said for pay period 3 you can of course still put in a web schedule request to swap with someone specifically for the time being.  Once all the negotiations are done we'll let everyone involved know.  Thanks in advanced for everyone's patients.  

James Darlington

Temporary Rep

C-Area,

I will be out of the country from December 1st to December 6th.  While I'm gone Chaz will be the temporary rep.  Please direct any issues or questions that can't wait till I get back to him.  I most likely won't have any phone services while I'm gone but I'm hoping to be able to access my email in the evenings if anyone needs to contact me.  

Also, we're still working on the recurring shift swap and aws request froms and I'll have more of an update regarding what could or couldn't get approved after I get back.  I'm hoping to be able to transition to the new schedule in 2017 with the requests that could be approved at the same time.  However, there is still a chance the request approval could get pushed back a pay period.  Thanks in advanced for everyone's patience.  

James Darlington

James.Darlington@natca.net

Recurring Shift Swap and AWS Request

If you have a request for shift swaps, AWS, and/or want to "dream" into a specific schedule please use the form linked below.  Due to staffing I don't see us being able to truly "dream" into a specific shift unless someone else wants the shift you are vacating and you go to a shift another employee is vacating (in other words a swap with someone specifically).  With that said still make a "dream" request if you have one and we'll look at it.  For example, if two people want to swap an 8 for a 1330 but the employee with the 1330 has a 16 the previous day they can't work an 8 because of fatigue rules.  We'll look at the schedule/guides and negotiate with management so the employee in that example gets a 9 instead of the 8 in order to facilitate the swap if requested that way.  Another option could be for the employee wanting the earlier shift to request a 9 AWS 7 at the same time as the swap request to meet fatigue rules while still swapping.  If you have multiple requests that you are unsure which one can be approved fill out multiple sheets, label them as your number 1 choice, number 2 choice, etc and staple them together.  When you have completed your request form please put it in the NATCA box by the employee’s mail boxes before close of business on Sunday November 27th 2016.  The plan is to transition to the 2017 BWS with the swaps/AWS completed by pay period 3, but if there are any unforeseen issues the swaps/AWS requests could get pushed back.  If you have any questions contact me.

Shift Swap and AWS Request Form

James Darlington

New 2017 C Area Schedule

Due to recent changes in bidding for 2017 we had to create a new schedule.  The major change being we're now bidding 33 lines.  The line added is a 4 10 hour line with Wednesday, Thursday, Friday RDOs.  Regarding the 4 10 hour line the last day will be moved from a swing shift to a day shift once line 34 is added.  Incase anyone is curious line 34 is projected to be a normal rotation Sunday Monday line.  Also, after talking with a number of people in area the 2 reverse lines will remain the same as previously posted.  The link for the new schedule is below and there are a few other minor changes that you will see.  If there are any questions please feel free to contact me anytime.

New 2017 C Area Schedule

James Darlington

2017 C Area Schedule and Guides

C Area,

Links are below for the 2017 schedule and guides.  The schedule is still subject to change until we actually bid but I'm not anticipating any changes.  Once we start bidding we'll make everything available online like we did last year.  The basic gist on the guides is that due to increased traffic the guides Monday through Friday were increased by 1 on the day and swing during peak times of the year.  The mid and weekend guides will remain the same as they did this year.  The dates for peak and off peak guides are in the links below.  If there are any questions let me know. 

Schedule

Peak Guides

Off Peak Guides

Weekend Guides

Moving forward NATCA will be more involved with building the schedule.  In the past BD has done this for the C Area, and since he'll eventually retire I'd like to give others the opportunity to learn about scheduling before he leaves.  We're currently looking for alternates for scheduling and if anyone is interested please let me know by the end of this October.

James Darlington

904-347-3065

James.Darlington@natca.net

Temporary Rep

C-Area,

I will be attending the Natca Convention and on leave from 8-29-16 to 9-5-16, during this week Chaz Cowan will be the temporary area rep.  Still feel free to contact me while I'm gone for anything that can wait till I get back, for anything more immediate please contact Chaz.  

As for schedules next year, the current plan is to have the guides and BWS negotiated after I get back and then to potentially start bidding in October.  If there are any further questions or concerns with next years guides/schedule feel free to contact me.

James Darlington

Bidding

Many of you have heard of issues with the beginning of the bid process. The issue revolved around how many BWS Lines to bid. The bid book hit the floor with 29. After the first bid was made it became clear that some were planning to bid with the knowledge that Line 30 would be added soon after we transitioned. In order to set clearer expectations and since the bid was stalled while we waited for a return from RDOs, we met with the front office to look at the future year. In the end we decided it would be best to bid a 30 Line schedule and effectively start the process over. Since we were stalled at the third person this should have little affect on our time line.

In order to expedite the bid process, one of the reps may call you on your off time to solicit your bid. I encourage you to do so if you wish. We will try to keep the Bid Books updated online as much as possible. It can be found at natca-zse.com/bid or by clicking the link below.

If the bid is complete by January 28th we will Transition to the new schedule beginning March 6th. If after the cutoff, March 20th.

Thanks for your patience and happy bidding!

Schedule Update & Vacation Notification

I will be out of town on Wednesday the 13th till Thursday the 21st.  While I'm gone Devin will be the C Area Rep and will handle the bidding process until I get back.  With that said still feel free to call, text, or email me if there's something I can help with.  Also, as a reminder if anyone is going to be out of town for more than 2 days while we are bidding please forward your proxy and contact info to Devin until I get back.  Here's a copy of the 29 line BWS we plan on bidding sometime next week. The lines first to be added are also included and are labeled line 30* and 31* .  In case there is any confusion, if you are interested in a line with an ‘8 or 9’, you may choose either shift for the remainder of the year.

New Rep Contact Info

As I’m sure many of you are aware I will be your new C-Area Rep.  I’m looking forward to this opportunity and wanted to make sure everyone has my contact information.  Please feel free to call, text, email me anytime you have a question and/or issue.

James Darlington

904-347-3065

James.Darlington@natca.net

Contact C Area Rep

1615 Shifts are Kaput

Glenn has agreed to eliminate the 1615 shift for the rest of the year. We will still be bidding the shift in next years schedule in case it is needed but that will be determined at the time.

All shifts outside 7 days should be taken out for you and reverted to a 16. If you have one inside 7 days or have one that was missed outside 7, please make a request to have it moved to a normal 16.

Two More Lines for Bid

If you are interested in one or both of these lines please email me. Bid leave will not convert, so please consider if you have prime/non prime leave scheduled. Transition is expected October 4th for the W/Th line and October 18 for the TH/F line.

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
14	7	7	6	RDO	RDO	15	14	7	7	6	RDO	RDO	15
8	7	6	RDO	RDO	16	14	8	7	6	RDO	RDO	16	14

2016 BWS

Below is the temporarily agreed upon schedule for 2106. It is fairly similar to the schedule I posted earlier. After feedback from members and concerns of management we made a number of changes. 

• We changed to 2230 Mids for next year. We did this to facilitate for AL for 16 Shifts. If you want to stay with a 23 mid you can make that request on a week by week basis.
• We changed the Straight swing to all 1330s, it is also possible that the Friday for this line will change to late day shift but for now its all 1330s. Note, these are flex 1330s.
• Lee speculated that in the summer some of the 1330NFs would be moved to 15s, so we moved one 1330NF to a 15 on each day M-Th, Each line which has this will be given the option to choose an 8 or 9 for their third day.

We are still contending with 1615s for next summer time. Until, I can find a solution that Glenn will agree to, we are going to have to bid one 1615 for each crew except for crew 6, which will continue to rotate through 16NF. The way the 1615 will be bid is based on seniority. Each person who bids a line that includes a 16 will have the option of taking the 1615 as their bid line. If no one on the crew selects it, it falls to the last person to take a line with a 16 for that Crew. If the bid 1615 is on leave it will rotate and be assigned to one of the 16 shifts. Again, these shifts will not be year around and only be used based on late night summer traffic volume. 

BWS Line Bid, Two to Choose From!

If you are interested in one or both of these lines please email me. Bid leave will not convert, so please consider if you have prime/non prime leave scheduled. Transition is expected October 4th for the W/Th line and October 18 for the S/Su line.

Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat
RDO	16	1330NF	8	6	23	RDO	RDO	16	1330NF	8	6	23	RDO
8	6	23	RDO	RDO	16	14	8	6	23	RDO	RDO	16	14

2016 draft Basic Watch Schedule

Below is the final draft for the 2016 schedule to be submitted to Managment to begin negotiation for next year. This version is basically the same schedule we have this year with a few tweaks. It is based on a core 4 per crew schedule with three additional lines, one S/Su straight day and one 4 swing and a day. Also there is one CWS with T/W/Th RDOs. I based this schedule on verbal feedback from members. There isn't a whole lot of room to make a creative schedule with 31 lines. Especially, since this includes one person set to retire in April. I plan to submit this schedule in a few days time, but wanted to get it out to the membership for feedback first. If anyone has an alternative schedule or ideas for one, now is the time to get it to me. 

Some issues yet to be discussed which may impact 2016:

• Surprise or moved up retirement dates
• Late 16s for next summer and how that will be bid. 
  • My initial position is to not have them, but it can be a requirement by management to have extra coverage and we need to address what that looks like. More on this once i figure out where Glenn's head is at.

Final word on 16NF Shifts

Troy and I have talked with the front office. We have agreed to the conversion of all 16NF shifts to Flex 1615 shifts. Therefore one person will be required come in between 1545 and 1615. They will be assigned to one of the bid 16s each week in reverse seniority order. I will be putting out a sheet on Thursday night asking for volunteers to take all the 1615 shifts for their crew. Please sign up if you don't mind working them. I will be contacting each person on the list to confirm first. 

In two weeks I will be meeting with Gus to evaluate how this is working to alleviate workload for the Mids. Also, we will be looking at traffic levels from last year to determine a date to go back to normal Bid Schedules. 

During this time C area FLMs will also be working later shifts so that we have supervisors familiar with the area to make decisions instead of just casting us off into isle coverage obscurity. Im sure not all nights will have one since we don't have 7 FLMs but the front office said they will make an effort. 

Over the next few weeks I need feedback from you all on what your opinions are on this so I have something to take to Gus. So please send me an email or make comments in this post. Thank You.

16 NF Shifts

The Front Office has agreed to revisit, and negotiate the implementation of the 16NF shifts. My hope is to have the 16NF shift amended to a mini flex similar to the way 1330s are currently, but with a 15 minute window. Additionally, we will be soliciting for volunteers to take all the 16NF should you want to have everyone else's assigned to you. Also, unless you have traded into a second 16, you will only be considered to work the first shift as a NF. There will also be an end date determined most likely sometime in September. These were the things that should have been discussed prior to Glenn implementing the Shifts. Once we get a firm agreement Ill relay the details.

a few other things....

2016 BWS Projections

Based on projections for certifications and losses next year, I  estimate that the C area will Bid 31 lines. One less than we have currently. I have been developing multiple schedules for use next year that satisfy our current requirements. I say current requirements because I’m sure that there will be some new ideas or requests from the new management that will need to be sorted out. However, If any of you have any ideas or schedules you would like me to see please send them my way. Also, I have a Spreadsheet which I can share that shows the staffing guides and how they relate to a given schedule. If you would like that please email me.

New People

We have three new people upstairs working through stage 3, new hires: Tim Ireland and Garon Hedberg, and ERR from high Desert Tracon: Brian Voight. Alex and Kosa will be coming down to the floor in mid to late July pending their final graded problems. I have attached an updated table of the Developmental RDO assignments.