Just a couple more things

Just a couple more things...

Some supes are/were running with some made up 4+40 time on position requirement. This obviously is a practice that will cease immediately due to the covid crisis. If there are supes still trying to staff chairs, please let Derek or me (or any rep) know via call/text and we will make it stop at once.

As if we don't have enough to worry about right now, there have been some reports of head lice. We wrongly assumed that management would do their job and notify everyone that uses the common spaces but obviously they did not. Please have someone check your hair just in case. If you find out that you have any, I would be grateful if you would let one of us know (contact info below) so that we can ensure the proper areas are being cleaned and if it has been effective. We will hold that information strictly confidential and will names not be discussed when bringing this to management's attention.

Thank you so much for your patience during the chaos,

Amy Sizemore

Derek Adams 360-510-5913
Amy Sizemore 253-880-6414
Devin Carlisto 619-818-5335
Dave Blaser 585-752-6762
Sherri O'Neil 360-710-2247
Jared Zimmerman 801-635-9184
Loren Cameron 253-304-2200
James Darlington 904-347-3065
Trevor Laush 360-790-1356
Matt Beckman 206-406-3264
Kenny Courts 661-832-8262
Drew Stewart 503-593-8178

Weekly Update March 20th

Welp, I wish I had something other than covid related news but I don’t. So sorry.

If you have have symptoms, please follow the current health department recommendations on whether you need to be tested. Most clinics/urgent cares are not accepting walk ins so call ahead. After you have done all that, PLEASE let one of us know that you suspect exposure AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. We need to establish a timeline and we’ll help you in the right direction after that. You will have to report covid related symptoms and doctor prescribed quarantine to the flight surgeon.

Information sharing - We completely understand the frustration of the FAA not providing very much up to date information. We will be trying to mitigate that by starting to do bi-weekly (at a minimum) updates. This situation is constantly evolving, almost hourly sometimes. Also, on this Sunday, March 22nd at 3pm, Northwest Mountain Region will be holding a live stream with the latest guidance and Q&A. If you didn’t get that email and want to participate, please let me know and I’ll forward the link.

Parking passes - These are available at the OM desk. With this in your dash, you will be able to just present your badge to the gate guard instead of having to hand it to them. The color will be changing occasionally so check before you go home for your weekend.

Cleaning supplies - The building manager has been delivering supplies to the OM desk. if your area is out, just go ask them. Please don’t throw away the sanitizer containers, they are refilling them at the OM desk. Also, wipes cannot be used on screens, especially the radar scope. There is an anti-glare coating on the screen that can be removed by improper cleaning. There are gloves available if you like, maybe even as a reminder to not touch your face.

Training - The training initiative time requirements have been suspended. At this time, training is not being suspended. We are working with the front office to get people that aren’t certified on a useful combination of sectors out of the control room. If you do not feel comfortable training due to the close proximity, please let your supervisor know. On that note, if you hear of anyone “staffing chairs,” please let us know.

All Members Meeting - Obviously we cannot meet as planned. We are going to try out a telcon style meeting. As of right now, it will be on microsoft teams but that may change. We’ll send out the link for it before the meeting. It will be the same date but the time will be changed to 2pm.

Please stay safe and let us know if we can help with anything,

Amy

Weekly Update March 13th

Well, it’s Friday the 13th and there certainly is a strange eeriness in the air. Between the World Health Organization declaring that the COVID-19 outbreak is a pandemic earlier this week, the announcements by Jay Inslee closing schools and a declaration by the White House that we are in a state of emergency, it seems that there is a lot of anxiety and uneasiness about the whole situation.

More on COVID-19

Although the agency is continuing to be slow to react, I have continued to work with the front office this week to address many of our concerns. I have gotten confirmation that anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 or caring for a loved one that has been diagnosed will be allowed the opportunity to take advanced sick leave in the event they do not have enough on the books. In the event that an employee is quarantined by a public health authority (State and local health departments, FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or OSHA) the employee shall be granted excused absence. For those that need to take leave to care for your children due to school or daycare closures, you can use Article 26 Section 8(a). Please remember that this is subject to staffing and workload. In conversations with Don, I did get him to agree that leave requested under this article would have priority over training and the training initiative. When you make requests for annual under this article please put “in accordance with Article 26 Section 8” in the remarks. Finally, I have made a request for a true deep cleaning of the control room (not that garbage the janitors do a couple times a year) and have been told they have the funding and are looking for a company that can do it early to middle of next week. I also asked about disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer and was told it has been ordered and is on the way. I ask that you all stay safe and healthy and take care of your families. If you or a member of your family contracts the virus please stay home on sick leave and get yourself or them better. Anyone running into trouble with management over any issues related to COVID-19 please let a rep know ASAP so we can try to help you out. Also, while clearly we are not eligible for telecommute, I have attached the decision tree the FAA came out with today so you can see the determinations they are making between having the virus, caring for some one with the virus, etc.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Kelly Saunders for becoming the newest CPC in the D area.

Request for Volunteers

Don Amundson has asked me to solicit for volunteers to be SMEs for the upcoming Data Comm upgrades. Although TR2 has been sidelined for the time being due to problems with the new 43” monitors, Data Comm is still on the way and we will need SMEs to train the workforce as the Data Comm upgrades roll out. If you are interested please let a member of the Eboard know.

That is all for this week. Please continue to monitor your email for further COVID-19 updates from the Local Eboard, The RVP/ARVP and NATCA National. Take care of yourselves and your families and let me know if there is anything more I can do to try to set your mind at ease during this uneasy time.

In Solidarity,

Derek Adams

Weekly Update March 6th

My apologies to everyone for not getting an update out last week. I was on a fam-trip and the day got away from me.

Congratulations

To start on a positive note, congratulations to Ariana Antonopoulos, our newest CPC in the B -Area.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

I know one of the hottest topics on everyones mind is COVID-19 and what the FAA is doing to prepare for a potential outbreak. This is particularly important to our facility, because it seems Washington State has wound up as a hotbed for the virus. As many of you probably already guessed, the preparation in this matter is less than adequate. We are finding ourselves in short supply of both sanitizing wipes as well as hand sanitizer. You would think as much as Robert Clear hoarded that stuff, we’d have an endless supply. There was a TELCON today and I later followed up with the front office to figure out where we are and what we need to do. The first thing I will say, is if you have symptoms or are exposed to the virus, you should take sick leave. We need to do anything we can to limit potential exposure and spread. One of my asks of management today was to allow us the option to take advanced sick leave since the duration of the neccesary quarantine is so long. They are going to look into this as a possibility. Another ask was to allow the use of sick leave to stay home with our children if they must miss school or childcare due to closures. I was told this had to be treated the same way it is today which means sick leave is not approved for these purposes. This seems extremely short-sighted and I will continue to press the issue. The final thing I was told is that there is some kind of spray sanitizer that is safe to use on the equipment and there is an order on the way. I’m not sure if this would be a tech-ops function or if anyone can use it, but I will follow up next week. I know non of this seems to be good news, but please be assured that NATCA will continue to pressure the agency to take every precaution we can to prevent the spread of this virus.

More to Come

I have a few other things that I can update, but with COVID-19 being of such high priority, I will have more for you next week. As I find out more measures that the FAA is going to take, I will try my best to get it out to the membership. I apologize for the apparent short-sighted approach that is being taken, but at this point, it seems like all I have the ability to do is continue to be the squeaky wheel.

In Solidarity,

Derek Adams

Weekly Update February 21st

It’s so exciting to see that big yellow orb in the sky, hope you all got a chance to get outside in the not-rain for a bit!

All Members Meeting

We will be having an all members meeting on March 30th, 3pm at the Rainbow Cafe in Auburn. There are some very important topics we will be discussing to include NATCA in Washington, so please try to attend if you can.

NATCA Convention

If you haven’t heard, the biennial convention is coming up in May and will be held in Houston. For those new to NATCA, that is when we gather as a national body and vote on/ratify any constitutional amendments. You will be receiving a booklet with the submitted constitutional amendments in the next month or so. We will have ongoing discussions about these amendments as a local so that we can represent the views of our membership when we vote at convention. There will be one more membership meeting prior to convention for us to discuss these proposals. If you haven’t signed up for it but plan to go, I would do it quickly. There is not any EA associated with this like CFS so make sure you’ve got your annual leave secured. If you plan on attending, please send me an email because I have a link to send you. Also, it will be good to know how many people we’re expecting from ZSE.

Mid Shift Clarification

Some of you may have already been given a letter from your supervisor about mid shift operations. If you haven’t yet, you will get it soon. There is one sentence that is concerning people that says something to the effect of you may not sleep on duty. The FAA intended to mean duty time as the time spent in the control room, your breaks are still yours to spend as you wish. The important things to gather from this is people across the nation are in danger of getting fired for things such as leaving early and falsifying the ART. If new rules/changes are being implemented on your mid shift, please let your rep know.

Thank you all and have a great night!

Amy Sizemore