Facility Update October 8th

Information Dissemination

There have been multiple email blasts recently in your FAA email that have been causing a lot of confusion and frustration. The problem (or one of many problems) is that there are many departments within the agency operating without communicating with the others. A perfect example is the changes made to Employee Express. When all that went down, and NATCA was asking the agency who authorized this, why wasn’t NATCA involved, etc... no one could answer because they had no idea which department allowed it or even why. The same is going for all the vaccine mandate and attestation emails that have been getting sent out except that some of this is coming from the DOT and not the FAA. The DOT doesn’t care that the FAA has a process with NATCA and so they send out emails before the processes can be negotiated and agreed to. The national office is working out a process with the departments responsible for this so the BUEs will not be inundated with superfluous information. 

Facts:

• The mandate dates. Those are set as a Federal mandate and will not change.

• The incentives for getting the vaccine. The agency is still working on the process to enter/track TOAs but all will be honored.

• You will have to submit proof of vaccination starting October 12th and must be completed by Nov 8th.

• There will be exceptions. The full process has not been agreed to yet though. 

  • The Agency has disseminated information about how to get an exemption from the vaccine requirement.  This policy is in effect and can be used but was designed for management and non-BUE employees. Collaboration is still in progress and the final questionnaire may look different when finalized for BUE use.  If you absolutely cannot wait until the collaborated process has been agreed to then you can use the agency’s process to request an exemption.  We do not know when the process will be agreed to and disseminated but we have been told that it is “imminent.”  Your guess is as good as ours as to what that means.  We are sharing the information we get the second we get it.  

We will keep you posted as soon as we know anything more.

NATCA Charitable Foundation (NCF)

NCF is a great organization that focuses on supporting local charities. It is a separate entity from NATCA and has its own executive board. Everyone involved is a volunteer, mostly made up of controllers and their family members. NCF’s mission is to raise and distribute money that will stay in the communities that mean the most to our members. We at ZSE have received money from NCF to support many local food banks throughout the pandemic and the wildfires last year. We have also worked with NCF to provide backpacks full of school supplies to local children in need for the past 4 years. 

NATCA Charitable Foundation has a few sources of revenue but the bulk of their yearly resources come from the fundraising events at CFS and Convention. Due to the pandemic and these events being cancelled, they have taken a big hit. If you would like to help support them so they can continue supporting local charities, here are two options:

• Click HERE for the 1187 payroll deduction form (to start a monthly donation)

• Click HERE for a one time donation

All donations and payroll deductions are tax deductible.

Current / Upcoming NCF Events:

• $25,000 regional charity competition, help the Northwest Mountain Region’s charities win by voting for them at the link below, (no purchase or donation necessary). 

  • Click HERE for more information 

• Introduction to wine tasting. Do you want to gain basic skills to perfect your palate but don’t know where to start? Maybe you are looking at beginning your adventure in wine or just want to learn a little more, this is a great tasting for you. We will explore two different styles of wine through sight, smell and taste while gaining an understanding to help you identify what makes food pairings work with specific types of wine.

  • Nov 4th at 7pm EDT 

  • deadline to sign up is Oct 19

  • $125 donation, includes wine and tasting kit

  • Click HERE to sign up

• Virtual 5k Run to raise funds for Bullying Prevention

  • Click HERE for information 

  • Click HERE for the Facebook page

• Holiday Program - more to come on this but it is a program for locals wanting to give back to the local area for the holiday season and to support: homeless Veterans, provide toys and meals for families in need.

If you would like to get involved with any of these programs (or have ideas for new charities to support) but need help with the sign up process, please let us know. 

The NCF website is located HERE for more information.

We hope you have a great weekend,

Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart

Facility Update October 1

Good Afternoon all,

Looks like we averted another shutdown for a couple months, so that’s good, right?

2022 Bidding

We finished negotiating the BWS/AL/CIC/OT MOUs a couple weeks ago but it has taken a while to get through all the FAA’s hoops they like to jump through. They should be back to the facility by early next week and then they’ll be available to read through. As with previous years, we will have five days of briefings to talk about changes and a quick refresher on the bidATC website. Then we will begin bidding after that. The briefings are scheduled for 9 am October 12-16th and we are hoping to start bidding on October 18th. 

*Remember to talk to your area rep about a bidding proxy if you plan to be gone and out of cell/internet range during the weeks following October 18th.

Covid-19

The FAA is requiring all employees to be personally briefed of the vaccination requirements. Within the document that is in your CEDAR, there is a time table for the different shots. All three shots have different waiting times between doses (except for the J&J since there’s only one) so the last days to receive the different brands are below:

We expect to hear sometime Monday/Tuesday about the exception/exemption procedures and will send it out as soon as we get it. 

Also, the FAA is still working on the tracking/time and attendance portion of the time off awards offered in the vaccine incentive MOU sent out earlier this week. They should get that hammered out shortly and we’ll get that program running.

In Solidarity,

Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart

Vaccine MOU

Today a new MOU was dropped regarding vaccinations. It is in your CEDAR but we will link it here too. We know that people have different thoughts, experiences and reasons for their choices during the pandemic and we are not here to debate or judge any of those because it comes down to one thing, this is an executive order. While NATCA does support it, it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t. We don’t get a choice on if this goes into effect but we can influence the implementation of an executive order. 

FAA COVID-19 Vaccine Operational Incentive Strategy MOU

A little background to how they came up with these numbers:

The executive order states that federal employees will be fully vaccinated (14 days past your second dose) by November 22. That means that if you are absolutely timing this out down to the wire (for the Pfizer vaccine) then you must get the first dose by October 18th so the second one will be on November 8th. That is not enough time to get every unvaccinated person 32 hours of EA. That is why they migrated to the time off award.

Initially, NATCA negotiated for all employees to be eligible for up to 16 hours of EA for each dose of the vaccine. That is a total of 32 hours. Most BUEs were able to take advantage of that. The new MOU will provide you with an 8 hour time off award which will bring that up to 40 hours of time off work to get that shot. 

Things to note: 

• To be eligible for the 20 hours of EA per dose of the vaccine then you must do it over your RDOs (on your Friday) and you must show proof of vaccination to your supervisor within 5 days. If you have OT then it will be cancelled for that set of RDOs.

• To be eligible for your 8 hours of EA then you must show your proof of vaccination to your supervisor. 

• Still no word on any exemptions.

• Does not apply to management, they still have to comply with the EO but without the TOA

We know there will be a lot of questions so please do not hesitate to ask. We are trying to get this info out as quickly as possible so we might’ve missed something to get out to you all.

Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart

Facility Update September 24th

Volunteer Solicitations

We have a couple different projects/programs coming up that we are looking for volunteers for. The first is for IST. We are looking for 2 people from each area.

IST Training Dates:

Cadre training: Either December 7-8 or 9-10, you choose

Workforce training: February 6-19 -you would not be obligated to teach every day during this but the more people that we get to volunteer then the less classes each person will have to teach.

The second one is for DataCom and it gets a little trickier. This will be split up into two parts and the first part is for the TTL (DYSIM) scenario building portion. Because our timeline for this is limited, this is reserved for SGET certified or SGET knowledgeable people and the training will be November 8-12. That person will be off the floor for approximately 5 weeks building scenarios.

The next solicitation portion of DataCom will be for instructors to teach the workforce. We will need 2 people from each area as well. The cadre class for this will be January 18-27. No SGET knowledge necessary. Then the workforce training will start soon thereafter and will last many months but each class will be 3 days long.

If you have any interest in any of these, please let your area rep know as soon as possible. The IST one will be need to be finalized very shortly because that schedule will be posting soon.

Employee Express

If you have tried to check your LES at home in the last couple of days you noticed that it does not work without your PIV card. This was a surprise to us and was not collaborated on at any level. The national office immediately started tracking down information and it sounds like the FAA doesn’t even know who allowed this and why it happened. They are still tracking it all down but whatever happened it is complex enough that it cannot be simply reverted back to the way it was. If you need help with an LES or anything you can contact the national HR Office or agency payroll office at 888-367-1622 or the payroll_helpdesk@ios.doi.gov.

Continuing Resolution (CR) and Debt Ceiling Information

Congress faces two massive tasks in coming weeks: funding the federal government’s operations and raising the federal debt ceiling. Fiscal year 2021 (FY 21) appropriations expire at midnight on Sept. 30. If new appropriations are not signed into law by that time, the government will shut down, and federal employees may once again face furloughs. In addition, Congress must increase the debt ceiling (the amount of debt the U.S. government is legally allowed to carry) by mid-to-late October. Failure to increase the debt ceiling would lead to default, a potential economic recession, and a save-money furlough.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a short-term government funding bill (a continuing resolution or “CR”) that would provide funding through Dec. 3 at FY 21 funding levels. The bill also includes language to suspend the debt limit until 2022. Although the bill passed the House, it may face opposition in the Senate. If it is blocked in the Senate, congressional leaders and the White House will need to consider other options, such as removing the debt ceiling portion and voting again on a so-called “clean” CR that could potentially gain bipartisan support to avoid a shutdown. However, the path forward currently remains unclear. 

NATCA’s Government Affairs team continues to advocate on Capitol Hill for Congress to avoid a shutdown. At the same time, as we have done in the past, NATCA’s Labor Relations team has engaged the FAA to negotiate an agreement that will establish the procedures in the event there is a shutdown.

We will continue to update our members in the coming days as the legislative process continues.

Still no details about the vaccine mandate but we will be sure to put them out as soon as we get them.

Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart

Facility Update September 20th

Good Evening All,

Vaccine Deadline

There was a message sent out prematurely by the FAA and some managers around the nation have hit the ground running with that. We have not heard about it in this building yet but just know it’s not real until it’s real.

TR2

The new scope installation will start next week. It will happen from the hours of 10pm-5am on the dates listed below. All the areas chose a sector to start on that is least likely to be split off so that you will be able to sit down and set up your prefsets. Ideally that would happen near the beginning of your shift so that you’re ready to go if you have to sit at that sector later.

C Area Representative

Your area needs you! No one will be able to advocate for you as well as one of your own. We have reached the point in our process that it is completely open to volunteers. Please know that you will not be left on an island to have to do this on your own. We as an E-Board are committed to the “it takes a village” philosophy and often bounce ideas off each other or ask people for help/guidance. Even if you have no experience whatsoever but are interested in learning, please let us know as soon as possible.

New E-Board Members

I announced last week a bunch of the 2022-2024 E-Board members but there have been some additions and some changes.

• Staff Support Specialist Rep: Paul Skorniakoff (this was not a new addition, I accidentally omitted it last time)

• Secretary: James “Chico” Eastham

It has come to my attention that a lot of people did not get the email from Derek last week. This is what it said for those of you that haven’t seen it yet: 

Good Morning,

Effective immediately I will be resigning my position as your FACREP. In my absence Amy will be taking over for the remainder of my term before beginning hers in January and Drew will be taking over as VP for the same duration. I want to say thank you to all the members for their support, feedback, activism and professionalism over the last 2 plus years. It has truly been an honor to serve the members at ZSE and I plan to continue to serve you and our great Union in any capacity that I can.

In solidarity, 

Derek Adams

From Amy:

I am very excited to represent you for another 2 years after the remainder of this term! Most of you have it but just in case, I will attach my contact info at the bottom here. I will continue to dedicate my time to keep ZSE as enjoyable of a place to work as possible. Additionally, I am constantly looking for ways that we can continue to do our solidarity events, community service and any other ways to get us together as a group so if you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know so we can try and make it work.  

 From Drew:

My elected term as VP begins January 1, 2022 but as you know I was appointed to fill out the remainder of Amy’s term when she assumed the role of FACREP.  I will be on baby leave beginning 9/27 through the end of the year and I will be doing my best to make myself available as much as I can during that time.  I will be back in the building full time on 1/2/22.  I’ve been working closely with Amy on NATCA issues for quite some time now and I look forward to continuing that relationship as President and Vice President.  I pride myself on holding my elected leaders accountable and I expect you all to do the same for me.  Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns at any time. 

Covid Thoughts

I struggled whether to send out this list or not but I think some people might be interested in a bulleted list of things NATCA has negotiated for on your behalf over the last year and a half. This is not meant to boast but we fielded a lot of variations of the question “What is the national office even doing?” 

• We collaborated on the implementation of COVID-19 flexible schedules to mitigate member exposure to the virus. (Amy’s note: The idea of the FAA even considering a schedule that gives controllers 10 days off in a row is laughable, let alone that they would ever do that on their own)

• We fought to include the FAA’s employees among those essential workers receiving priority for personal safety supplies (PSS), and we assisted the Agency in distributing it across the country.  

• Since March 2020, we have consistently negotiated to ensure that the use of masks was in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidance.  

• We collaborated on the implementation of routine level-3 cleaning of facilities, using OSHA and CDC approved products.  

• We negotiated up to four hours of excused absence to obtain a COVID-19 test. 

• For Bargaining Unit Employees possessing a medical clearance, we negotiated 48 hours of excused absence after receiving each dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and up to three days of excused absence while awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test.  

• To further protect the health and safety of our members, we negotiated the implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and Emergency Paid Leave under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to provide additional leave for members affected by COVID-19. 

Hopefully this answers some of the questions but if not, please let us know and we will get you an answer as soon as possible.

We know that we are not always going to agree but please know that we are all doing everything we can to represent the best interests of our membership as well as negotiating the impact of decisions made beyond our control. 

Thank you

Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart

Amy contact info:

amatc20@gmail.com

2538806414

Drew’s contact info:

drew.stewart@natca.net

5035938178