NWP “Hot Sheet” Week of 7-23-07

NWP Reps/Members,

I would like to dedicate this week’s “Hot Sheet” to the family and friends of the victims of the news copter crash in Phoenix, Arizona.  My thoughts and prayers go out to their friends and families.  I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Steve Palmer for doing an outstanding job in taking care of our friend and fellow controller who was working the local position when this tragedy happened.

Ham
NWP RVP

• I have fielded some calls regarding the upcoming GI bill benefit and wanted to share some of Scott Conde’s responses to these questions:

I just received my final certification and I am now a CPC, can I apply for the GI bill benefit?

If you have yet to submit your application along with a time stamp from the VA, then the short answer is “No”, you are not eligible for the benefit.

• Here are some excerpts from a well written article which recently appeared in Govexec.com titled:

“Controllers at busiest airports retiring in large numbers”

In addition to slowing the rate of raises, the terms FAA required cut starting salaries from between $38,080 and $53,312 to $31,700 and eliminated incentive pay for controllers who move to more challenging facilities or take on supervisory duties. The agency also instituted new rules to restore managerial control, including a dress code and restrictions on entering and leaving air traffic control facilities.

Many longtime controllers found the new regime bewildering and unsettling. Some staged protests against the new work rules, wearing outlandish clothes that were technically permitted under the dress code. Others simply decided to retire as soon as they were eligible. Controllers can retire at age 50 with 20 years of service, or with 25 years of service at any age.

"Controllers have had enough," says Doug Church, NATCA's director of communications. "The work rules are the last straw. Retirement letters are piling up like cordwood." NATCA believes retirements are clustered in facilities that can least afford the losses.

A Government Executive analysis of traffic and staffing statistics provided by FAA and NATCA confirms that assessment.

At the 10 busiest en route centers in the country, 7 percent to 23 percent of controllers will be eligible to retire by the end of the fiscal year, as will 13 percent to 38 percent of controllers at the 10 busiest towers and 13 percent to 55 percent of controllers at the 10 busiest TRACONs.

Blakey disagrees that the contract she imposed has had any impact on controller retirements. "You've got this bell curve of people reaching a certain age and mustering out that none of us can change," she says. "It's not related to the contract; it's not related to anything."

Not so, according to David A. Dobbs, Transportation Department principal assistant inspector general. "During the first six months of fiscal 2007, FAA's projections were extremely close to the actual number of retirements that occurred," he wrote in a February report (AV-2007-032). "However, beginning in April 2006, actual retirements began exceeding FAA's projections when negotiations between the agency and NATCA over a new collective bargaining agreement reached an impasse. . . . By September, when the FAA began unilaterally implementing its own proposals . . . retirements were nearly three times higher than FAA had projected (97 actual retirements compared to 39 projected). . . . According to FAA and NATCA officials, the large jump in actual retirements was a result of the breakdown in contract talks."

Government Executive's analysis indicated that by the end of February, fiscal 2007 retirements at six of the 10 busiest en route centers, two of the 10 busiest towers and five of the 10 busiest TRACONs already were on pace to exceed fiscal 2006 rates. While data was not immediately available on how many retirement-eligible controllers at each facility would reach mandatory retirement age in fiscal year 2007 or how long those controllers had been eligible to retire, the IG report found that a quarter of controllers retire in their first year of eligibility and 87 percent retire within their first seven years of eligibility. The report also predicted that those rates could rise as FAA begins phasing out the incentive pay that controllers once received for working at more difficult facilities.

• I worked with Tim Leonard and Victor Santore from the Southern Region to help out one of our members out of ZOA who was unable to finish the training program.

• Mike Hull and I worked with the terminal service area and NATCA DC to make sense of the most recent change by the FAA in dealing with leave and credit hours.  Here is their most recent unreasonable and incoherent change, “We allow an employee with denied AL to secure a replacement by allowing another individual to work for credit.  We want to make sure we allow our employees the opportunity to use the AL they have available.   An employee who has secured someone to work credit for them may not convert their AL to credit”.

• Noel Kingston, NWP Legislative lead needs all facility reps to update and correct the staffing/attrition data base that he has sent to all facilities no later than August 10, 2007.  We need this data to present to Congress during our mini-lobby week in September.  Every facility needs to look at the numbers on the excel spreadsheet and send corrections to me.  Do not update the numbers on the spreadsheet - simply send an email to Noel at nkingston@natca.net with the corrected/new data that needs updating. He will input all of the corrected data into the spreadsheet and send it to the NLC for use later.  If you did not receive the email from Noel with the excel spread sheet, please contact Noel or myself and we will make sure that you get it.

• Mike Hull works with Craig Lucas, RNO Facility Rep, to resolve a sick leave issue out of RNO.

• In the recent past there has arisen a problem with America Online (AOL) regarding spam complaints for messages sent to one (or more) of you.  Someone has been receiving e-mails from NWP-MEMBERS@LIST.NATCA.NET and, after opening their mailbox, has selected the message and then clicked the "spam" button on their toolbar.  What this does is it generates an immediate "Spam Complaint" with AOL against NATCA.NET.  Please do NOT select the NATCA mail as SPAM on AOL as AOL will eventually reject ALL message traffic from NATCA.NET.  This will not affect only the Western-Pacific NATCA folks with AOL e-mail accounts but ALL NATCA Members with AOL e-mail.  So, as you can see, this situation is quite serious.

• I attended the National Executive Board meeting in Washington, D.C. on Monday and Tuesday.  Here are some of the issues that we discussed:
  • Legislative update
  • charitable donations
  • tuition reimbursements
  • natca.net email service
  • NATCA dues workgroup
  • NATCA website
  • Article 48 policy
  • AED’s
  • NATCA Charitable foundation
  • COLA/Locality pay workgroup
  • DCP change to visual separation
  • web based training
  • time management training for NEB
  • Constitutional interpretation of PSC-1
  • “Facility Consolidations”, etc.
• Complete minutes for NEB meetings can be viewed on the NATCA BBS under “Executive Dept/NEB”.

• The NEB had a brain storming session with Marc Shapiro, Director of LR, on looking at any and all avenues of relief for trainees who have been adversely affected by the FAA delay in processing their promotion.  Here is the pertinent contract provision:

Article 36, Section 1. Promotions to positions within the unit including those resulting from facility classification changes shall be effected on the beginning of the first full pay period after the employee becomes fully eligible.

• For all new Facility Reps who are looking at attending the October regional membership meeting, there is no official time available via the FAA’s white book also known as ‘Imposed work rules’.  Since we do not recognize their imposed work rules, therefore we can not make any requests for official time using their ‘White Book’.  Our 2003 Contract is very specific about official time for meetings; however the FAA will not grant you said time since they believe that our 2003 contract has expired.

• NEB members received training on the FAA’s somewhat new Safety Management System that has been in place since 2004 but yet to be fully implemented!!

• Here is some information on Union member discounts for AT&T (formerly Cingular) courtesy of Adell Humphreys:

“Members can receive a 10% discount on service from AT&T (formerly Cingular).  However, you must go to an AT&T store in person in order to receive the discount.  You'll need to bring your NATCA membership card, a Union Plus credit card or proof of payment of union dues with you.  You'll also need to give them the following AT&T Union Discount FAN number:  00113662.  If you're currently an AT&T (formerly Cingular) customer, you'll need to renew your contract (for two years) to receive the discount.  However, if you've already signed up for the 5% union discount previously, you'll automatically receive the 10% discount.  The discount is not available for extra lines on family plans or on iPhone plans.

• Mike Hull and I worked with John Paiva, POC Facility Rep and Regional LR rep, regarding a potential age discrimination case out of POC.

• Chuck Zapf, Mike Hull, and I worked with Steve Costa, ZUA Facility Rep regarding a potential adverse action (A suspension of more than 14 days, demotion, or removal from your job/position) case out of ZUA.

• Mike Hull and I have been working with the Terminal service area to ensure that they develop a uniform practice of phraseology assessments (PA’s) across the service area.  Currently, each HUB seems to be doing PA’s in a differing way.  We can expect to see a more uniform approach by mid-August according to Barry Davis, Senior Advisor Western Terminal.

• Wednesday July 25, 2007, San Jose Tower had one of its radar scopes, RACD, smoking in the tower.  Technicians had to replace the smoking RACD.  Last I heard, the FAA wasn’t sure why the RACD was emitting smoke.  Luckily, this happened during daylight hours when controllers noticed the smoke immediately rather than night time when no one would have been there.

• In a not so surprising move, President Bush has withdrawn the re-nomination of Chairwoman Dale Cabaniss of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) and nominated Thomas Beck to be a member.  Beck is currently a partner at the law firm Jones Day. According to his biography on the Jones Day Web site, his practice principally focuses on "complex matters arising from federal laws" such as the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act.   A federal labor relations expert called the move shocking and said Beck's strong management ties might concern federal employee unions.  Beck must be confirmed by the Senate, and will be designated as chair upon his confirmation.

• For those that missed the Aviation Subcommittee hearing on aging ATC facilities, here is the link for the must watch video: Video Link  Part one is from the beginning of the hearing to the end of the agency witnesses.

• Here are some excerpts of Bruce Johnson’s testimony and some of his answers to questions asked of him (VP Terminal Operations):

“20/20 hindsight, we should have allowed the first responders into the New York TRACON” and we did learn from those lessons”.

Chairman Costello asked Bruce Johnson why the FAA continues to request less than the F&E authorized level for the past three years.  Congress has authorized the FAA 3 billion a year, meanwhile the FAA continues to ask for less and not repairing their facilities.  Bruce said that 2.5 billion is adequate for the amount of work that can be done in a given year.

Bruce Johnson was asked about HR 2881 (FAA Reauthorization) and his concern was that any delays to consolidations would cause a lapse in funds (apprx 100 million, Congressman Hall from NY mentioned that anytime they feel they are short of money they should just use some of the 500 million that is authorized for them and not used) which would cause updating of new towers.

• I worked with Jerry Johnston, PHX Tower VP, on a very delicate issue at PHX Tower which also affects the Phoenix TRACON.  I also talked with Kevin VanUden regarding this very issue.

• Following the conclusion of our SMS training by the FAA on Friday afternoon, I met with Senator Boxer’s legislative director and her new aviation staffer to discuss the PSP to SCT consolidation, FAA Reauthorization, etc.  Senator Boxer’s office has been absolutely phenomenal in dealing with the PSP transition to SCT.

• I emailed Rick Day, VP Enroute, regarding the ATOP settlement agreement that was signed over a month ago.  He has tasked Pam Burger to look into this issue and find out when our ZOA and ZNY members will be made whole as per our signed agreement.

• I emailed Pat Hunt, LGB Facility Rep, regarding information on the GI bill and provided him with the pertinent information.

• I spent the better part of Friday afternoon working with Steve Palmer, Pete Trono, Darren Gaines, Doug Church, and Pat Forrey to make sure that our folks in Phoenix were taken care of following the fatal crash of two news choppers.  Kudo’s to our entire team for doing a terrific job.  Special thanks to Mark Sherry, NATCA Air Safety Investigator (SFO) for jumping into action and reporting to the scene of the accident to help with the NTSB investigation of the crash.

• A great friend of mine will be hanging up his headset on August 3, 2007.  Jim Hughes, SCT San Diego Area, is a long time activist, facility rep, NWP NAR rep, and just all around great guy.  It gives me tremendous pride and joy to be able to call him "brother" and more importantly my friend. Thank you for your years of service to our profession and our organization.  I will really miss giving you the San Diego arrival aircraft high and fast J