Facility Update 4/25

All,

First up, some LR things in the works.

Overgrown Grass

The grass outside the building hasn’t been mowed in far too long. We have been told that the agency is finalizing a contract and should have this handled soon. If this proves to be incorrect, I believe we could file a grievance on this as an OSHA issue in accordance with Article 53 of our contract.

Denial of Representation

Management failed to offer a bargaining unit employee union representation during a meeting, claiming they didn’t think it was disciplinary. But it’s not about their incorrect opinion. Under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act and Article 6 of our CBA, employees have the right to union representation if they reasonably believe a meeting could lead to discipline. And when management knows discipline is a potential outcome, they are obligated to proactively offer representation, not sit back and wait for the employee to ask. That threshold was absolutely met here. (We can’t share details, but trust me, it wasn’t a close call.) Management knew what this meeting was about. They should have offered a rep from the start. They didn’t.

A grievance was filed on this and elevated outside of our building. The Agency’s official stance? They say they’ll “continue to strive to comply with the CBA.” Ah yes, the classic “we’ll try our best” approach, right up there with I meant to do my homework and my dog ate my CBA.

Cherry-Picked Grievance Replies

The Agency continues to play “choose your own adventure” when it comes to responding to grievances. Instead of addressing all the points we raise, they pick and choose the ones they like and pretend the rest don’t exist. We’ve grieved this pattern because we expect full responses, not selective storytelling.

Overtime Assignment Violation (Fatigue Mitigation Ignored)

The Agency improperly assigned overtime to an ineligible employee, violating their own fatigue mitigation rules in the process. If they had followed the rules, an eligible person (who was available btw) would have received the assignment. This grievance has been filed at the area level (Step 1) and elevated to the facility level (Step 2).

Please reach out with any questions.

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DCA Thank You Letter

As many of you know or can imagine, the aftermath of a major incident brings immense stress and added workload. The tragedy at DCA was no exception. In a show of solidarity, the ZSE Eboard chose to support our NATCA family there by providing dinners for their members during that difficult time.

DCA NATCA responded with a heartfelt thank-you card, which we've posted on the bulletin board for everyone to see. They also sent packets of flower seeds as a memorial gesture for the 67 lives lost that day. We'll be distributing the seed packets throughout the areas, please feel free to take one if you'd like to participate in honoring their memory.

Airline Dispatchers Federation Event

The Airline Dispatcher’s Federation has invited the local controllers to an event this Sunday. Below is the email they sent out with the details:

Join us for a night where radio calls become handshakes and colleagues become collaborators.  Mix, meet, and mingle with the professionals behind the voices you trust every day: dispatchers, controllers, and pilots.

We believe that aviation safety excellence happens when we understand each other's perspectives.  Come ready to:

* Share those "wish you knew this about my job" moments

* Break down the silos between our critical functions

* Trade stories and solutions with people who get it

* Build relationships that make our skies safer (and your workday smoother!)

* Enjoy good food, drinks, and even better company - all on us!

Date: Sunday, April 27th, 2025

Time: 4:00 P.M - 9:00 P.M (My friend assured me no one is under any obligation to be there the entire time.)

Location: Copperleaf Patio @ Cedarbrook Lodge

18525 36th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98188
https://www.cedarbrooklodge.com

Dress code:  Whatever makes you comfortable (though, we recommend leaving the high-vis vests and wands at work!)

Info: https://dispatcher.org/conferences/839-cfc-sea 

You need to register with the link above, and it says “waitlist,” but I’ve been assured there’s plenty of room.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, now GO OUTSIDE!

Facility Update April 22nd

Bring Your Child to Work Day

Bring Your Child to Work Day is this Thursday. If your kiddo is under 8, please make sure to have an extra chaperone. There’s no formal program or presentation, just a regular workday with your mini-me by your side. Coordinate any visitors through your supe, as usual. This isn't happening at many facilities this year, so let’s set a good example and help keep it going here.

CIC Cadre Class

They are holding a CIC Cadre class May 5-6 here at the facility. This class will qualify you to teach the CIC class in the future. If this interests you, please let me or your area rep know by Friday if you’re interested.

Trivia

This month, check out the bulletin board for our Contract Trivia Contest! Complete the quiz for a chance to win some NATCA swag. At the end of the month, we’ll draw four names from all completed entries. HERE is the link to the quiz. Winners get to pick something from our NATCA swag cabinet! HERE is the link to the quiz.

Email Campaign to Save Our Benefits

NATCA National sent out an email yesterday encouraging everyone to contact their Representatives and Senators. It’s critical that you take part to help protect the benefits we’ve fought hard to earn from being stripped in the new budget proposal. This is our chance to be heard. Leading up to the White Book, only 2,200 members participated in the email campaign, and we all saw how that turned out. Let’s not repeat that mistake.

Just remember, do not participate using government equipment or on government time. There’s a quick and easy email campaign already set up on NATCA’s Action Center. It takes less than a minute to complete, just enter your info and hit send. You can find it HERE. Please share this with friends and family so they can help too.

Facility Update April 13th

T Shirts/T Shirt Day

I picked up most of the t-shirt and hoodie orders, they look awesome! The neon shirts and hoodies are taking a little longer. I had to get a different file to the printer after the first attempt didn’t turn out quite right, but they should be ready within a week or so. Don’t forget, NATCA Shirt Day is this Tuesday. Wear your shirt for a chance to win a gift card.

Trivia Contest

This month, check out the bulletin board for our Contract Trivia Contest! Complete the quiz for a chance to win some NATCA swag, at the end of the month, we’ll draw four names from all completed entries. Winners get to pick something from our NATCA swag cabinet!

Bring Your Child to Work Day

Thursday, April 24th is bring your child to work day. If you are interested, please sign up on the sheet at the OM desk. This is to get an idea of how many people will be here, you’ll still need to email your supe/OM to get them on the list to be allowed through the gate. If your child is younger than 8, they’ll need an additional chaperone unless you don’t plan on plugging in.

Amy

Facility Update April 4th

All Members Meeting

For those of you that caught that I didn’t put a date for the meeting in my last email, good job, you passed the test. For reals though, I totally forgot. The next All Members meeting will be April 29th at Rail Hop’n Brewery, 131 E Main St, Auburn. Meeting starts at 3 but feel free to show up at 2:30 and we’ll start getting food ordered.

Life Insurance

Do you have FEGLI life insurance?  If so, you are likely paying way too much! 
This Monday, April 7th, NATCA Benefits Partner Lance Liberty will visit ZSE from 10:00am - 4:00pm to help members see how they can save $20,000, $30,000, or possibly more on an individual life insurance policy through NATCA Benefits. Just bring a recent leave and earnings statement and Lance will give you a no-obligation comparison for an individual policy vs. your expensive FEGLI coverage which will skyrocket in price as you get older. Over 6,000 NATCA members have switched, and you should seriously consider it too! Also, for those of you close to retirement, Lance can show you how to save thousands on your survivor annuity.

Amy

Facility Update Mar 30th

T shirt/Hoodie Orders

Tomorrow is the last day to order t-shirts and hoodies. After you’ve filled out the google sheet, please venmo me, Amanda-Sizemore1. $28 for shirts, $32.79 for hoodies. Links:

• NNM Patriotic

• NNM Neon

• ZSE Pride Octopus/Salmon

• Hoodie (Available with Neon, Pride, or Original Octopus/Salmon)

All Members Meeting

With the changing political climate, we’ve decided to move our all-members meetings off-site. We want to ensure open discussions without putting anyone in a difficult position.

Going forward, meetings will start at 3:00 PM, with food and drinks available starting at 2:30 PM.

Our next meeting is especially important, we’ll be reviewing the amendment booklet to determine how you want Drew and me to vote at the convention in May.

Next meeting: 3:00 PM at Rail Hop’n Brewery in Auburn. We’ll be there by 2:30 to start ordering food. See you there!

Sector 35 (RDM) Airspace Divesture

I realized this week that I hadn’t updated you all on the RDM airspace divestiture in a while when a member asked me about it. So, here’s where things stand.

Last summer, we hit a roadblock. The Agency insists that staffing is a “zero-sum” game, meaning if one facility gains staffing, another must lose it to keep the nationwide controller total constant. While that might make sense for budgeting, it ignores the fact that traffic volume has no cap. Even the Agency acknowledges that staffing is sometimes just a theoretical number that can be adjusted for traffic, like when they signed the N90/EWR/PHL MOU, adding controllers to one facility without reducing the total nationwide. We were able to shut down this argument at the RVP/DO level, briefed the new RVP, and then… the waiting game began.

In January, I was CC’d on an email that set off alarm bells. Something felt off, so I started digging into the progress of the Sector 35 staff study. That instinct paid off, I found that the study had been altered after the last agreed-upon version to falsely state:

“As part of the transition, six staffing positions will be reallocated from Seattle ARTCC to Portland Approach, a change agreed upon by the NATCA Facility Representatives and Air Traffic Managers (ATMs) at both facilities.”

That never happened. We grieved it, got the study returned to the facility, and had to fight to get the language corrected. The front office wanted to leave in the “zero-sum” language because it was the easiest path forward, requiring the least effort on their part. I pushed back, explaining, again and again, that while P80 can accurately estimate how many people they’ll need for that sector, there’s no reliable data to say how many controllers ZSE could afford to lose before workload is actually reduced.

After weeks of back and forth, we finally landed on language that protects us:

“Adjustments to staffing allocations are essential for the delegation of airspace and must be completed with staff assigned to the receiving facility prior to finalizing the transition. As part of the transition, Portland Approach will require an eight-person increase in staffing. If the Collaborative Resource Workgroup does not approve the personnel allocation, Portland Approach will be unable to facilitate the delegation of airspace from Seattle ARTCC. A proactive allocation of staff to Portland Approach will ensure that the airspace delegation occurs without delay.”

Why does this matter? If ZSE loses controllers before our workload decreases, it will distort our CPC/total CPC ratio, making it look like we’re overstaffed when we’re not. That could cost us CPCs in the next NCEPT, all while workload stays the same. I want us to be in a position where we can release people, but not at the expense of safety.

If you've made it this far, thank you. Please don’t hesitate to ask for updates on any of the things going on, whether it’s national or local. Sometimes, we get wrapped up in doing the work and forget to brief the progress made.

In Solidarity,

Amy