NWP Reps/Members,
This past week, close to seventy (70) of you gathered with us in Las Vegas for the NWP Pre-Convention meeting. We kicked off the meeting with me giving an update on the current state of affairs and going over some important points that will assist us in prevailing against this agency.
In case you missed the meeting, here are some of the issues that I covered in my opening presentation:
During political seasons, you always seem to hear how pivotal and/or important an election seems to be. By now, our entire workforce should realize how important this election is to Aviation and to Labor in this Country. As such, we need to help shape the future of our country and our organization through our participation and activism. Our participation should not stop at the Labor 2008 program “Boots on the Ground”. I am grateful to the likes of Bob/Valerie Butterworth, Chuck Munoz, Michele May, Kyle Johnson, as well as all others that are taking part in this most important issue, but they can’t turn the tide by themselves; they need our help. Regardless of where you may be within the political spectrum, each one of us needs to step up and help shape OUR future.
I then discussed the eye opening experience of a NATCA Convention. If you have never been to a Convention, it’s definitely an event that you won’t want to miss. Ultimately, the Convention body is the one that determines the direction of this Union. You can read all about your rights as a delegate/alternate/member at the Convention by going to our National Constitution under Section VIII “National Conventions”. This is available on our regional website at http://nwp.natca.net.
I asked everyone who was attending our meeting and who planned on attending the Convention to listen carefully to Barry Krasner as he covered a lesson on Robert’s Rules and reviewed the Convention booklet. Please go back to your facilities and discuss the various amendments and resolutions with your membership. If you are a delegate for your facility then you are representing your members back home. Your job is to be familiar with the booklet, be familiar with the will of YOUR membership, and listen/participate in the debate at the Convention. Please avoid having to resort to name calling and belittling of your fellow brothers and sisters at the Convention simply because they disagree with you. In a democracy, disagreement and robust debate is a necessity. But at the end of the day, we are all part of the same organization, which should have one objective; to take back what was illegally taken away from us.
Please remember that ANY member can speak on any issue at the Convention, but only delegates can vote on amendments/resolutions/motions. Feel free to take notes and refer to them while you are at the microphone in order to refresh your memory regarding what you wanted to talk about. If you are going to talk, please make sure you have a well reasoned and coherent argument for or against a particular issue. Also, please remember that all convention business is conducted via Roberts Rules of Order newly revised (RONR), and you will need to be familiar with this as well. There will be a cheat sheet for Robert’s Rules available at the Convention and you may also find one on our regional website under the “Forms Library” tab.
Most importantly, please respect our NATCA employees while at the Miami Convention. They work very hard on our behalf and they deserve our respect.
We ended the first day by handing out some well earned awards at our regional dinner.
Our first award, “The Hammer Award”, went to Garth Koleszar who is the Facility Rep at Los Angeles Center, a NWP LR rep, and our NWP OSHA Lead. Garth received this award for his leadership and activism in the face of tremendous adversity. Garth was the glue that kept the ZLA Local together and helped me pursue the ZLA ATC-12 settlement agreement.
Our next award, “The Sentinel Award”, went to Scott Conde who is the Facility Rep at Oakland Center, a NWP LR rep, and our National Lead on the GI Bill program. As a veteran myself, I am very grateful to Scott’s perseverance in seeking a terrific benefit for our veterans. While the FAA pats itself on the back for this program, it was Scott’s hard work and perseverance that finally got veterans what should have been theirs all along.
Next, we presented an award to former NWP Regional Vice President Bob Marks for his service and activism to our Union and our region. Bob has been a Union officer in one capacity or another for the bulk of his FAA career. Bob has also “arbitrated” for NATCA (inside joke)!
Lastly, we recognized one of the true icon’s of our organization, and the newest employee at NATCA, Mr. Barry Krasner. I was so proud to be able to recognize Barry for he is a tireless advocate for our Union and one of the most talented individuals that I have ever had the pleasure to meet.
To the Western Pacific Region, thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with such terrific individuals. I am also very proud of our regional leads, LR reps, Legislative reps, and a host of others for making our region one of the best in this organization.
Ham
NWP RVP
· Please use extreme caution if your NATCA computer is hooked up to the FAA network and you access the internet using their infrastructure. FAA security can look at everything that you look at and then some. I would only recommend using these computers for accessing work related issues such as Employee Express, web schedule, TSP, etc.
· Please let me know if your facility doesn’t have a certifying official for the GI Bill program. Also, we are being advised that award letters to developmentals are currently being disseminated and that some of the developmentals are not getting the percentage of award to which they are entitled. If you are an eligible developmental/CPC-in-training, please comply with the appeal process to the Veterans Administration that is outlined in the award letter to ensure that you receiving the appropriate award. Please direct any questions regarding the appeal process to the Veterans Administration. Members can find contact information for their regional VA representative by going to the VA website at www.va.gov
We have added the GI Bill fact sheet to our website, http://nwp.natca.net under the “Forms Library” tab alongside the other information on the GI Bill. Please share this fact sheet with any new developmentals/CPCs-in-training who are veterans.
· If you are injured at work and decide to file an OWCP claim, please be very cautious of a FAA representative calling you and claiming to be your best friend. They may advise you that they are there to help you with your claim, but in reality they are there to find holes in your case and to help the FAA controvert your claim. You are in no way, shape, or form required to talk with these individuals following an on the job injury. Please refer these folks to your NATCA representative.
· Please be aware that the UCR online system is still NOT to be used. The agency is still only using the paper UCR. The new order is still being worked on by the FAA. Please let NWP Safety Lead Eric Carter know ASAP if your management is providing information along the lines of paper UCR's should not be used, since that would be incorrect.
· During our NEB meeting in Berkeley, there was a lottery draw among the Regional Vice Presidents to determine Convention seating. The NWP will be seated directly behind the New England region in the middle row, in the direct line of sight of the Chair, and close to the back doors.
· Recently, there was a question as to whether or not the agency can require medical documentation in support of a claim for FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act). The short answer is that they MAY require supporting documentation for a request under FMLA. There is a link to the US Code (Title 29) on our regional website for FMLA; it can be found under the “Links” tab.
· NEW FAA SURVEY: Please consider filling out this ATO Safety “Climate-Culture” survey. You may read more about it by going to this link:
http://www.natca.org/assets/Documents/Climate-CultureSurvey.pdf
· Mike Hull has put the finishing touches on LR Chronicles number 21 which was sent out to the Listserves and is also available on the regional website under the “Labor Relations” tab. This is a very important item of interest for all facilities as they begin negotiations for their Basic Watch Schedule (BWS) and Leave MOUs at the local level for 2009.
· I talked to P50 Facility Rep Kevin Van Uden and Mike Hull about the “De-consolidation/Re-alignment” of P50. We are working with Kevin to address this issue.
· I continued my discussions regarding the SCT De-Consolidation (6 to 5 areas) and the state of affairs at SCT with acting Senior VP of Operations Steve Zaidman. Steve advised me that Rick Ducharme with support from Teri Bristol (former Acting Director of Western Terminal) would be conducting a data driven evaluation of SCT.
· Western Terminal Director Kathryn Vernon contacted me regarding some potential dates for a meeting with her and Rick Ducharme at SCT.
· ZLA VP and NWP LR Rep Chad Geyer provided some guidance to VNY Facility Rep Rich Velasquez regarding an employee working 7 days in a row. While the FAA is ultimately responsible for a situation such as this, be advised that the employee ALSO bears some responsibility in ensuring compliance with the 7210.3 and applicable Federal Air Regulations.
· Many of you have asked questions about the FLSA lawsuit. Please keep in mind that lawsuits take time and that nothing will happen overnight. Although the trial court has ruled on the issue of the FAA’s liability in maintaining comp time and credit hours programs that violate the FLSA since the 1996 implementation of personnel reform, many issues still remain to be resolved in this litigation. These issues include, among other things, the scope of the recovery period (whether it will run two years back from the date of filing the lawsuit or three years back from the filing date); the calculation of damages; and the compensability of pre- and post-shift work. Counsel for the NATCA plaintiffs intends to commence discovery on these issues as the next step in bringing the case closer to final resolution. At this time, Counsel for the NATCA plaintiffs has no information about whether the FAA plans to appeal the court’s finding of liability, but are moving swiftly to proceed to the next stage of the litigation.
Meanwhile, several members have asked whether they can share all of their pay information from years back with our outside Law firm. At this point, our attorneys have advised to please hold on to all pay stubs. If and when they determine a need to check the veracity of the FAA produced data, they will be asking each member for their information.
· Meanwhile, Mike Hull has disseminated the list of individuals by facilities that have opted into the Law Suit to each individual Facility Rep for all of our 55 NWP FAA facilities. If you have any questions as to whether or not you opted in, please contact your Facility Rep.
· An information sheet on how to join the lawsuit already exists on the front page of the NATCA website at www.natca.org It's in the middle of the page and entitled, "NATCA FLSA Lawsuit." If a member wants to opt-in, they need to mail a completed and signed consent and retainer form to Ryan Smith at the NATCA National office. You can NOT fax it. The Court will only accept an original signed document. Once the National office receives the form, they will add you to the next filing. A filing date for additional plaintiffs has not yet been scheduled. Our presumption is that NATCA will add any additional plaintiffs sometime this fall.
· LAS Facility Rep/NWP LR Rep and Constitution Lead Troy Verville answered a question for TUS Facility Rep Jay Cole regarding proxy type voting at the Convention. Here is what Troy had to say,
“Unfortunately, without anyone attending the convention, TUS will not be able to vote on the proposed amendments and resolutions.. You should have received a green booklet from national that gives a complete listing of the proposed changes. If you did not receive the booklet please make sure the National Office has your most current mailing address. Change of address forms can be found on the Western Pacific web site. If you’re attending the regional meeting this coming week we'll have one available to take back to your facility. If your not attending let me know and I'll make sure we get one in the mail to you.”
· I continued to work with Garth Koleszar, Bob Guerra, and Darrel Meachum regarding a hardship from ZLA to ZFW.
· Based on some member input, I will no longer state in my weekly updates about when I get currency at ZLA, since I already send out an email to the listserves. There was a question as to why I send out an email to the listserves letting everyone know when I get currency at ZLA. Here is the short answer: So that each and every member and Facility Rep knows where I am in case of an emergency and/or urgent situation which warrants an immediate response from the regional level.
· I had a telcon with Western Terminal Director Kathryn Vernon. Here are some of the issues that we discussed:
· SEE break room air conditioner
· It’s not a de-consolidation of P50, it’s a re-alignment!!
· PHX Tower over 10 hours memorandum from Western Terminal
· OAK new Tower construction
· Self referral at one of our Terminal Facilities
· PCS issues from HCF to SCT (They say they can’t offer a Flat Rate PCS)
· TUS member picked up at ZAB with release date of 8-8-08, still no update PHX 20 (Retired Military Controller) and whether or not the age 56 rule applies to the initial 5-year contract term
· Tuesday August 5, 2008, Troy Verville attended a Controller-Pilot Safety forum set up in Las Vegas by Eric Carter and Kelly Richardson. Here is what Troy had to say about the event:
“On Tuesday evening we held our first Safety forum Meeting in Las Vegas. The meeting went very well with a great turnout from the controllers specifically from L30. L30 Vice President Sara George did a great job organizing and mobilizing her local. I'm not certain of the numbers, but I believe more than 10 controllers from L30 were present. The tower had 4 controllers and I was pleased with that. The Tracon truly blew me away with their attendance and Sara should be very proud.
I was hoping, as was Sara that we would have had an Air Carrier presence, however Las Vegas being what it is, the General Aviation turnout was great. The pilots that showed up asked many questions and offered many accolades to the controllers for the hard work and the service that we provide. The GA pilots that attended were also potentially a very good and influential group. Since their cliental are some of the biggest players in Vegas, Boyd gaming etc. I believe that this program is a must have to build these aviation industry relationships with the local users.
Overall great program still in it's infancy but I can see this growing into something much bigger. Kelly Richardson talked about having another meeting this coming spring, possibly March, April or May. Hopefully we can get the Air Carriers involved in our next meeting.”
· There appears to be some confusion with respect to what financial forms need to be filed in specific instances. Specifically, we have had an issue where a facility assumed that the IRS 990 E-Postcard relieved them of their requirement to submit their Affidavit. Subsequently, they failed to submit their Affidavit and their 2nd Quarter dues were withheld. Therefore, if you are a facility with $25,000 or less in revenue/property, you still need to submit an Affidavit. If there are any questions regarding any financial issues, please contact Regional Finance Lead Eric Hughes or have your local treasurer get on the NWP Treasurers listserve and ask the question, nwp-treasurers@list.natca.net
· If your treasurer is not on the listserve, please contact Mickela and she’ll take care of it.
· I received a call from Senator Boxer’s office that they will be meeting with the FAA to discuss issues relating to SCT on August 12, 2008.
· I was advised by NCT Facility Rep Steve Hefley that due to a rash of errors at NCT, training has been suspended for up to four (4) days last week. Steve also talked to me about a potential hostile work environment issue at NCT.
· I talked to Scott Conde regarding a developmental at ZOA who will be unsuccessful in the training program. Western Enroute is apparently advising ZOA to just terminate the member since they had no D-sides, even though he is a good employee. When I talked to Western Terminal, they re-affirmed that they were perfectly fine with showing this hard working member the door; what an absolute travesty and an utter waste of tax payer dollars.
· Mike Hull and I work with LGB Facility Rep Paul Bugarin regarding a grievance that is about to be elevated to the regional level and a Weingarten meeting.
· I also worked with Scott Conde regarding the placement of two (2) other developmentals at ZOA who have been unsuccessful and/or have withdrawn themselves from the Enroute Training program.
· I talked to NCT Secretary Rich Hull about issues that are going on at NCT.
· I would like to thank outgoing FFZ Facility Rep Jim Carter for his hard work and dedication on behalf of the Falcon Tower membership. Beginning September 1, 2008, the following individuals will take their positions at FFZ as local NATCA officers.
|
President/FACREP |
Bob Fletcher |
|
Vice President |
Jaime Torres |
|
Secretary |
Ronda Schnoor |
|
Treasurer |
Jim Carter |
· I would also like to thank and congratulate the new FFZ Executive Board and thank them for stepping up in such a difficult time for our organization.
· Over the weekend, I received an email from CMA Facility Rep Don Hiebert. He was surfing the internet and found the State of California’s Unclaimed Property site http:/scoweb.sco.ca.gov/UCP. Apparently, I had an insurance refund owed to me from years and years ago to the tune of about $30. Don had an idea about raising funds for the PAC and whether or not NATCA members regionally or nationally could sign over any rights to unclaimed property they had. I have sent this idea to our NWP Legislative Lead Noel Kingston to discuss with the NLC and the National office staff to determine its feasibility. Thanks Don for finding me the $30. I, in turn, will donate the $30 and then some to the Bob Marks Legal fund.
· If you too are interested in helping Bob Marks, please go to http://kevin.thesherwoods.org and click the "Donate" button beneath the "Bob Marks Legal Defense Fund" and send your gift of support to our Former RVP Bob Marks.
You may also send your personal check, as many of you have already done, to:
Bob Marks Legal Defense Fund
c/o Kevin Sherwood
3954 Tuller Ave
Culver City, CA 90230-4612
Please make checks payable to Kevin Sherwood and he will ensure that the funds are transferred into Bob's bank account.
· This Wednesday, I will be flying out to Oklahoma City for the “Meet and Greet” with the academy students on Thursday. I have invited NCT VP Ron McAuley to join me on this trip in order to meet our newest generation of controllers.
· SCT Facility Rep Mel Davis and I worked with SCT VP Ron Geyer on the power outage at Burbank which caused radar and radio failure in the Burbank Area of SCT. I think Ron did a terrific job in getting this story on the Associated Press wire. As you will read, the FAA did all that it could in trying to down play yet another catastrophic equipment failure that left the SCT Controllers with no back up/redundancy. Here is the story that appeared in almost every paper across California (Great Job Ron Geyer):
August 4, 2008
Problem caused air traffic outage over Burbank
“A circuit card that helps feed radar signals from the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank to a major Southern California air control center malfunctioned, causing radar, radio and telephone communications to shut down temporarily and forcing controllers to scramble to divert flights, officials said Monday.
A backup battery that should have kicked in after the circuit card went out also did not work Sunday morning, leaving controllers at a section of the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control facility in San Diego in the dark for about 10 minutes, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.
The controllers who handle high-altitude flights above the Burbank area had to use frequency from the Van Nuys Airport to communicate with aircraft until radar and radios came back online.
"You never want to see something like this happen, but we did have a backup system to deal with any outage," Gregor said.
Ron Geyer, a union representative for air traffic controllers at the San Diego facility, contends the outage lasted 20 minutes and forced controllers to slow down airplanes, prompting four Southwest flights to divert to Ontario International Airport. He said a Skywest flight from Bakersfield to Los Angeles, which usually flies through the Burbank area, was delayed because it was rerouted to a coastal flight path.
"It was chaotic. It was a mess," he said.
Gregor said the outage caused "at most one delay."
In May, a telecommunication line failed for about three hours at the San Diego facility, causing delays to several cargo flights and leaving about 25 planes without air traffic communication. The shutdown occurred around midnight, prompting the control facility in Palmdale to take over its operations.”
