Facility Update September 1st

Just a couple of quick things for you:

• The Varda event next week is not happening. I don’t know what happened to the vehicle that was supposed to be recovered, we only know that everything got canceled. 🤷

• If you didn’t read the national email a couple of weeks ago, the MOU that includes the increase to 20% for performing OJTI got extended for another year.

• They are updating cru-Art on 9/15 and will not be available for sign-in/sign-out purposes. For those who have not experienced this before, you can also expect to have a sign-in form on sector. Nothing too crazy, just a heads-up.

• MOU negotiations started yesterday and are still in progress, no update on estimated completion.

• Lastly, I will be on leave, out of the country next week, Drew will be the acting FacRep in my absence.

Amy Sizemore

Facility Update August 25

Varda Space Operations

A company called Varda (they manufacture drugs in space) has put a satellite into orbit and will have to retrieve it in the next few weeks. The estimated reentry time is September 5th between 2-3 pm, but there will be a massive TFR in ZLC that will impact all the air traffic that would typically transit that airspace. HERE is a screenshot of the TFR, you can expect a briefing shortly to explain the finalized routes around it. 

All Members Meeting

The next All Members meeting will be September 27th at 1 pm. East/West Conference room. Agenda items to include some local constitution change proposals. Please let us know if you have any other agenda requests, and we’ll add them.

Security Changes

The security system in the building is being upgraded. This should mostly go unnoticed, but they did say some badges might not work. Just let someone know, and they’ll point you in the right direction to get it fixed. The other change is in regards to the blue “employee” badges, which are mostly only used if a person forgets their ID at home. The new system will be for the gate to issue a badge that looks similar to our current badge but has a “T” instead of a picture. 

Thank you,

Amy Sizemore

Facility Update August 21

Good morning all,

Hopefully this smoke will clear soon and we can get back to breathing easier. Other than traffic picking up like crazy, there hasn’t been much to update you on. Our MOU meetings were rescheduled again, right now, we’re scheduled for the 31st and 1st. I have expressed concern over pushing this too far and affecting January leave slots, but the front office has assured us they won’t cancel again.

Wildfire Activity

While all the areas have TFRs due to fires, the fires in the C Area currently pose the greatest impact on air traffic control. There is a possibility that GEG will have to evacuate and, in turn, have to divest the YKM, PSC, and GEG airspaces back to us. As of right now, there has already been a transmitter, a VORTAC, and a RADAR site affected by the fire and shut down due to the fire destroying the power lines leading to these sites. The techs were able to return to the area and survey it, and sent back THESE pictures of the damage. The C area currently has 7/11 combined until further notice because of the outages. Currently no restrictions as a result of this, but that could change anytime.

SOC Desk Construction

There will be some re-arranging of the SOC area within the next 2 days. I have been assured that it will have minimal impact on air traffic but if for whatever reason it gets too loud, please let the OM know and they should be able to mitigate that.

Thank you for all your hard work,

Amy

Last day for NNM T-shirts!

Today is the last day to order NNM T-shirts! You might have seen the T-shirt we designed for this year’s convention. Since the convention was in Florida, we went with a neon theme. Those shirts are now available to purchase as a fundraiser for Fish With a Hero, a PTSD charity. If you are interested, HERE is the link.

Get a rad shirt and support an awesome charity!

Amy

Facility Update August 4th

I hope you’re enjoying this summer, it’s been going by at lightning speed.

Parking Lot Updates

The contractor incorrectly poured the concrete sidewalk again… They will be ripping that up for the 4th time and redoing it. They are re-ordering the paving projects to get as much done in this fiscal year. They will finish the back lot and move up the OSW side of the parking lot, but for obvious reasons will have to skip that small parking lot up front until they get the concrete done. As soon as those parking lots are done and striped, they’ll open up those and skip over to the main lots. (Part of me wonders if this contractor was the same one running the construction around the Tacoma Dome for the last 25 years…)

Lori Olson Going Away

Lori is leaving us for the good life. There are some cards by the OM desk that you are welcome to fill out for her. She has been a long-time FAA employee and has taken care of us more than you’ll probably ever know throughout her years of service. She will be sorely missed, and we wish her a wonderful life. If you’d like, you can stop by the QC Conference room at 11:30 on 8/9 to bid farewell. There will be snacks and drinks.

Building Maintenance

I spoke to Dawn and Takashi about de-programming the locks that lead to the bathroom near the cafeteria. For some reason, they started locking that area on nights and weekends. That should all be fixed now. I also spoke to tech ops about the a/c on the third floor of the OSW building and how it shuts down on nights and weekends. Evidently, they put it on an occupancy sensor, that’s why it would shut down and get crazy hot up here. That should be fixed too. Takashi is bringing in a couch to replace one of the ripped ones in the pool room tomorrow. If you’re here and willing, he could use some help moving it all in.

Please let me know if there’s anything else I can work on getting fixed.

Thank you,

Amy