NWP Reps/Members,
I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their family and friends. This is the time of year when many of us think about that for which we are thankful. As such, I wanted to share with you for what I am thankful:
I am thankful for my family and friends, my Union, the NWP activists (Boots on the Ground being one of them) and facility reps that have made our great region a success in the face of tremendous adversity, the NWP LR team, the NWP Regional Leads, the NWP Regional Legislative Team, etc. I could not be prouder of the commitment and dedication of the NWP team and for that I am very thankful.
My wife and I decided to take the four boys to the Grand Canyon for Thanksgiving. This gave me a great opportunity to also visit the Grand Canyon tower. Lucky for me, my wife was very understanding while I toured the tower with GCN NATCA Rep Jeff Stewart. The tower is less than five years old and identical to the Tower at North Las Vegas. Overall, the facility is a very nice place to work.
Following the tour of the tower, while the boys were watching Ironman in the van, I took a tour of the FAA housing for the Grand Canyon controllers. The housing consists of pre-fabricated homes and trailers. A four bedroom house rents for about $850. Some of our members have had problems with mold, unfinished homes, no screens on the windows, ROUS’s (Rodents Of Unusual Size), etc. I have been working with the Las Vegas Hub Manager to address some of these problems with the FAA housing situation. Jeff advised that things are starting to improve, slowly! I will keep this particular situation on my radar until our brothers and sisters at GCN have the housing that they truly deserve, housing that is well kept and completely free from infestation.
I want to thank Jeff aka “Stew” for taking the time after his day shift to show me around the tower and the FAA housing area before having to drive several hours to Las Vegas to spend time with his family on Thanksgiving Day.
As we enter this holiday season, please make sure that you spend some quality time with your family and friends. Please cherish these moments as life is too short. In closing, I would like to thank all of you for what you do to keep the skies safe and ensure that families from across the country have an opportunity to safely travel to their intended destinations in order to spend quality time with their loved ones.
As always, please do NOT drink and drive………..
In Solidarity,
Ham
NWP RVP
· I was advised by NCT Facility Rep Steve Hefley that NCT has had sixteen (16) Operational Error’s/Deviations in the past eight (8) weeks.
· NATCA has received notice of a DOT IG audit of the FAA process for screening, placing, and training of newly hired Air Traffic Controllers. The audit was requested by the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Aviation, Representative Jerry Costello. Chairman Costello has expressed concerns about whether or not the FAA’s screening test, Air Traffic Selection and Training (AT-SAT), effectively identifies candidates’ potential to become air traffic controllers and whether or not the FAA Academy adequately trains candidates before placing them at the facilities.
· I am looking forward to the results of this DOT IG audit, since I believe that the FAA has failed miserably when it comes to new hire screening, placement and training. Meanwhile, the agency can anticipate very high attrition rates. Especially, when they place some of these bright and intelligent young men and women at some of the most complex and fast paced ATC facilities such as LAX (second in the country for runway incidents), SCT, Las Vegas Tracon, Las Vegas Tower, NCT, etc.
· Recently at the Aero Club in Washington, D.C., the acting FAA administrator warned the audience that the Controllers Union contract should not be reopened by the next Administration. He claimed that the agency had made three (3) handsome offers that were rejected by the Union.
Unfortunately, the audience wasn’t aware that approximately 830 days ago, when the FAA imposed their work/pay rules (FAA’s White Book) on its Air Traffic controller workforce, they cut pay by 30 %. Each offer from the FAA was more and more regressive which means that each offer became worse and worse. NATCA and the FAA even met during Father’s Day last year with the help of Congressman’s Costello and Oberstar to try and resolve the dispute. The FAA had stated repeatedly to Chairman Oberstar and Costello that it was all about money. They also told the media that the controller contract cost too much and that they needed to keep the costs down. When NATCA finally gave them the EXACT cost savings that they wanted, they stated after thinking about it overnight that, well, it wasn’t all about the money and would NOT agree to the cost savings that NATCA had proposed.
I could not disagree more with the acting FAA Administrator when it comes to re-opening the imposed conditions of employment (FAA’s White Book). I believe that the incoming administration can NOT afford to do nothing as this current administration has done.
The current administration continues to ignore the enormity of the staffing crisis facing this profession. Something needs to be done to stem the massive exodus of retirement eligible controllers. These experienced veterans have ZERO incentive to stay since they will no longer see a pay raise. They would actually fare better by retiring and getting the regular cost of living adjustments to their retirement pay.
So while the current FAA continues to roll out retirement incentives, relocation incentives, recruitment incentives, millions and millions in overtime dollars, and a host of other ineffective band aid type idea’s that absolutely do nothing to address the core issues that are causing thousands of experienced veterans from retiring and new hires from resigning; I am truly hopeful that the new administration sees Air Traffic control as something that this country can NOT afford to ignore.
· As our previous FAA administrator used to say, “Facts are stubborn things”, well, here is one example of the enormous staffing crisis facing our profession. The retirement facts from SCT (Southern California Tracon) as provided to us by the FAA:
Cumulative Retirement Eligible (SCT)
o 2008- 56
o 2010- 87
o 2012- 125
Total number of Certified Professional Controllers at SCT today:
o 2008- 155
· I am not sure if anyone can afford to ignore this set of facts and I am certain that there are many more facilities like SCT across the country.
· Don't forget the TSP cap for 2009 has been raised to $16,500. The limit for 2008 was $15,500. Here is a link to the form to change your contributions: http://www.tsp.gov/forms/tsp-1.pdf
· I was notified of a recent change to the San Diego localizer and ILS approaches. The changes involve removing a fix, adding 2 new fixes, and new minimum decent altitudes for both runways. The changes went into effect on November 20th. No controller at Lindbergh Tower was even given an R&I briefing much less a verbal one on these changes until the evening AFTER the changes went into effect. There have been several issues arising, including American Airlines being unable to shoot one of the approaches for Runway 27 if the ceiling were to go below 700. This is absolutely inexcusable, but unfortunately not a surprise at all. I have asked Western Terminal to look into this issue.
· We have received several reports from some of our reps that their members have received notices of overpayment for CIP Pay. If any of your members are faced with this, please contact us and we will help you. As a minimum, you need to do the following:
File a grievance, request a hearing in order to verify the validity of the debt, and following the hearing request a waiver for the debt. You do NOT want to file the waiver first. You need to request the hearing first and then file the waiver. Reps and members can find the forms and the FAA order dealing with Overpayments by going to the regional website, http://nwp.natca.net under the “Forms Library. The pertinent documents are:
o Petition for Hearing to Contest Validity of Debt
o FAA 2770-2G Waiver of Overpayments
o Waiver of Overpayment Request
· The NATCA Membership Application and SF-1187 Payroll Dues Deduction forms have been revised. We have uploaded the revised application and SF-1187 on our regional website under the “Forms Library” tab.
· Please keep in mind that if one of your new developmentals has submitted a “Dues Reimbursement” form, which is available on the NWP website, that checks are sent out on a quarterly basis and not a monthly basis. All new developmentals should fill out a dues reimbursement form for the additional dues that they are being charged as a result of the imposed work rules. If you have any questions regarding dues reimbursement forms, or whether or not your new developmentals’ forms are being processed, please contact Mickela.
· I was advised that the former HWD Facility Rep has resigned and as such Vice President Karin Guerra is once again the Facility Rep at Hayward Tower; welcome back Karin.
· I worked with Mike Hull, Rich Burton, Dave Caldwell, and new HWD Rep Karin Guerra on administrative work for one of her medically incapacitated members.
· If you have any election questions as it pertains to your local constitution, please contact Constitution Lead Troy Verville or me and we will help you with the question. Most local constitutions have been uploaded to the Unionware program.
· We have placed the link for a news story dealing with LA Tower being 2nd in the nation for close calls on our regional website ‘news clicker’. I have also asked Kevin Sherwood to place a link to a very well thought out editorial that appeared in the LA Times by USC Professor Meshkati about “The Human Factors in LAX Safety”. Dr. Meshkati is a professor at the USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering and conducts research on human factors in Aviation Safety. Here is an excerpt from his editorial:
“Based on my research and teaching on aviation safety and runway incursions for the last 20 years at the University of Southern California, I have found that human factors are the most important contributor to runway incursions. In fact, according to the two most recent authoritative studies on the state of runway safety in the United States conducted by the Government Accountability Office, in which I was one of the 25 experts who participated, "the primary causes of incursions, according to experts we surveyed and some airport officials, are human factors issues, which can include miscommunication between air traffic controllers and pilots, a lack of situational awareness on the airfield by pilots, and performance and judgment errors by air traffic controllers and pilots." During the fiscal year 2007, "pilot error" and "controller error" accounted for 85% of runway incursion causes.
· Here is a direct link to the LAX Tower news story that appeared on CBS News in Southern California:
http://cbs2.com/goldstein/LAX.Airport.Incursions.2.874235.html
· The annual Communicating for Safety Conference, for the purpose of advancing aviation safety, is scheduled for March 2nd– 4th, 2009 at the Rio All-Suites Hotel in Las Vegas. For those interested in attending CFS 2009, it is time to start the process of requesting duty time for the attendees. If you have any questions regarding CFS 2009, please contact NWP Safety Lead Eric Carter (ecarter@natca.net) and he will assist you.
· ZLA VP/NWP LR Rep Chad Geyer, Mike Hull and I worked with VNY Facility Rep Rich Velasquez regarding an alleged hostile work environment issue and an alleged OE.
· NWP LR Lead Mike Hull and I worked with LAX Facility Rep/NWP LR Rep Mike Foote about the implementation of “Safety Suite”, Runway Status Lights shadow testing, placement of a training failure, and the lack of regular Labor-Management meetings at LAX.
· Mike Hull, Dave Caldwell, and Garth Koleszar worked with STS Facility Rep Jana Pitre regarding some OSHA issues, scheduling Art 2 “Rep Time”, SCI, and some grievance issues.
· Mike Hull disseminated LR Chronicles number 25 which deals with “Failure to Follow Instructions/Insubordination”. I would strongly encourage all Facility Reps, LR reps, and members who want to be informed on their rights, to read ALL of the LR chronicles.
· Mike Hull and I worked with P50 Facility Rep Tim Krieger regarding a proposed change by P50 management regarding the requirement for 10 hours off between shifts for 2009. Once this issue was raised to the national level, local management dropped their proposal.
· Troy Verville and I dealt with a question regarding a legislative rep at one of our facilities who had bid a temporary supervisory job in the past 12 months. The question was whether they were eligible to continue in that position as a result of the change to standing rule I-4 in Miami. Here is the revised language in SRI-4:
SRI-4 Officers (6/90, 9/98, 09/04, 9/08)
In the event any bargaining unit member applies for or voluntarily accepts a temporary or permanent supervisory or managerial position within the Agency/company, he/she shall immediately vacate any presently held elected/appointed Union position.
He/she shall not be eligible to run for or hold office, or be appointed to any position within the Union for a period of 12 months after the closing date of the bid applied for, or 12 months after returning from a supervisory or managerial position within the Agency/company.
These provisions shall not apply in the case of an employee that is forced to work a supervisory or managerial position within the Agency/company.
I have underlined the appropriate sections which would NOT allow our member from holding office or being appointed to any position within the Union until 12 months have elapsed since the closing date of the bid.
· Mike Hull works with Kevin Sherwood to update some LR documents for the regional website. The following documents have been updated:
o Table of Penalties Introduction,
o Table of Penalties
o HROI on Drug and Alcohol, and ER 4.1
· Garth Koleszar, Mike Hull, and I worked with BFL Facility Rep Derek Kooren regarding a proposed adverse action. Garth has done a terrific job of assisting our new rep Derek!
· NCT Facility Rep/OWCP Lead Steve Hefley worked with a member from SCT to prepare his claim for an OWCP hearing.
· The agenda for the March 2009 Five Region General Membership meeting is now available online at http://nwp.natca.net, under the “Membership Meeting” tab.
· I worked with SCT Facility Rep Mel Davis and Pat Forrey to address an issue dealing with Key Employee exemptions for our members who have been called up for active duty. Mel is also working very diligently with our members’ Congressman to address this issue. The FAA in Western Terminal is claiming that they will not make any requests for “Key Employee Exemptions” rather than make the request as per DOD orders and allow the DOD to decide!
· On Tuesday December 2, 2008, I spoke with Senator Boxer’s office about the dismal state of the PSP consolidation to SCT which occurred close to a year and a half ago. The PSP consolidation to SCT has been an utter failure and an absolute embarrassment for the FAA. No other facility in the country should be consolidated/realigned until the FAA can get their act straight. One year after the two (2) PSP sectors were moved to SCT, the FAA has only trained and certified 44 % (17 out of 39 have been certified on the two PSP Sectors) of the workforce in the Empire Area of SCT. As a matter of fact, 38 % of the workforce in the Empire Area of SCT hasn’t even taken the initial PSP CLASSROOM and ETG TRAINING!
· I also discussed LAX Tower with Senator Boxer’s staff. LAX Tower now has the distinction of being 2nd in the nation for the most number of runway incursions.
· I exchanged some information with Sen. Reid’s senior advisor, Bob Herbert, regarding some runway configuration issues at Las Vegas.
· Mike Hull, Kevin Sills and I worked with BFL Facility Rep Derek Kooren regarding a question about PCS for married couples who bid on the same bid. Apparently, the agency advised a couple at BFL that one of them would get the full flat rate ($27,000) while the other member would get 12.5 % of the flat rate amount. After doing some research and reading the FAATP, Mike Hull found the following:
The FAATP, Chapter 302-2.101 states:
“If a member of my immediate family and I are both relocated to the same location, may I and the employee member(s) of my immediate family both receive payment for relocation expenses if all employee members are authorized a fixed relocation payment as provided in Part 302-8 of this subchapter?”
Answer – “Yes, however only when the following conditions are met: (a) the employee members of the immediate family must select one employee member to receive 100 percent of the fixed relocation payment authorized in the vacancy announcement or offer letter. (b) You and employee members of your immediate family must provide that designation in writing to the FAA, and, (c) The other employee member(s) of the immediate family will receive 12.5 percent of the fixed relocation payment authorized in the vacancy announcement or offer letter.”
Chapter 302-2.102, has similar language but it applies to “separate benefits” and contains 4 caveats. It still only authorizes 12.5 percent of the payment.
· Mike Hull and I will be going to Tucson Tower on Tuesday December 16, 2008, due to a recent spike in operational errors and management’s heavy handed responses to these incidents. NWP LR Rep Allen Bieber is organizing the visit for us and has posted notices at the Tower and the Tracon at Davis Monthan AFB.
· Since it is that time of year again, the national office will send out guidance shortly as to the 2009 OSI/SCI strategy. This will be the same strategy as we had last year. When the national office sends out the guidance, they will attach the appropriate documents.
· Here is a message from NWP LR Lead Mike Hull regarding Labor Relations Training in the Western Pacific Region:
“The NWP is conducting a one-day basic LR 101 class. We are doing this within every major metropolitan area of our region. We started in August, in the Bay Area at ZOA. We are finally able to continue with the rest of the region. In mid January, we are doing one in Sacramento and then a week later, we are doing one in LAS. In late February, we are going to HNL and then the rest of the areas within the region. Those will be LAX area, SAN area, PHX area, and Palmdale since they are close to an hour and a half from LAX. The last four areas do not have dates yet, but as soon as we determine when they will be, we will give plenty of notice.”
