I would like to state that any “guidance” regarding pay is premature. Please await a National or Joint statement on the plan going forward regarding pay to be released very soon. I understand that much patience has been asked of all of you to this point, but, we don’t know what we don’t know. When more information is available, I will get it out to you all. Thank you for your time.
The Government is re-open for 3 weeks and hopefully longer than that. I’d like to thank all of you for being professional and engaged. This is the greatest facility that I’ve ever been apart of. We reaffirmed to the flying community and general population our value and that we will always rise above the politics to perform the best job in the world. Take pride in that.
So what do we do from here? First, we are back to business as usual. Please follow your regular work schedules. If anyone cannot, please reach out to me or your E board and we’ll work out a solution. It is understandable that this isn’t as simple as flipping a switch so we will do our best to work with you.
Next, please take a moment to welcome back our non-excepted (but absolutely essential) workers. Any notions that this was a vacation for them are mistaken. This was as trying for them as us. Never forget that some are our NATCA Family. Please treat them as such.
Lastly, have some patience. Like I mentioned before, the re-opening of the government is not as simple as flipping a switch. This is going to take time. The most immediate issue is likely pay. Please keep track of your pay stubs and be understandable if something is off. The Time and Attendance folks will have an unbelievable job of catch-up ahead of them. Make sure they get your pay right, but be respectful about it.
As always, it is an honor to be able to serve this local with this E board. Let us know if you have any questions or concerns as soon as you have them.
All,
Please refrain from making any inflammatory comments on social media reference the delays due to staffing that are being reported. Only reps are protected from media statements. Please defer any interview requests to your reps. Thank you.
TIme is running out to convince the Senate to pass a bill to open the Government and end the shutdown. The vote should take place around 1430 est. What you can do is use any social media you have available and post a message calling an end to the shutdown. Below is an example:
Here is the script:
“Each day the shutdown continues, aviation safety is further compromised. The Senator MUST vote YES on opening up the government! #Endtheshutdown #NATCA”
Here is the list for the targeted Senators that have sent signals that they may break from a party-line vote and bring the shutdown to an end:
One of the most efficient ways to do this is to go through Instagram. You can enable sharing with Facebook and Twitter and have a single entry post to all 3 social media outlets. Senator Cory Gardner has already said he plans to vote for both proposals to open the government. The pressure works. We need to keep it up.
Also, feel free to come to the NATCA office and make calls to the Senate offices. It has been vetted and legal to do on personal devices in the NATCA Office. Keep up the fight.
Lastly, we will have a Regional Telecon to update on the OPM and Legislative issues @ 0930 today. Everyone is invited and here is the call-in info: