NWP Reps/Members:
I began writing this update from the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. Change is in the air and this town seems a little brighter as a result of the recent historical election of President Obama. While every department of the Government seems to be taking steps to change and reverse the old policies of the Bush administration, the FAA seems to be stuck in a time warp. The FAA continues to move forward on all projects with an isolationist/go it alone type attitude that has crippled this agency for the past eight years. Unfortunately, it appears that this type of behavior has become ingrained in the culture of the FAA! They continue down the path of performance management through intimidation, fear, retaliation, etc. and the path of squandering tax payer dollars on equipment and procedures without involving the true experts of the system; Air Traffic Controllers, Traffic Management Coordinators, Staff Specialists, Engineers, and the rest of the Bargaining Unit Professionals that NATCA proudly represents.
In our corner of the country, the Western Pacific Region, it’s rumored that one facility manager is preparing to hand out close to nine (9) suspensions to help with performance management! Operational errors have resulted in decertifications AND suspensions. Poor performing managers who don’t understand the DOT/FAA policies on sexual harassment continue with business as usual. A facility that was left without ANY management oversight for close to eight days continues with business as usual. New Towers are being designed that will immediately have a lack of space as soon as the building is completed. It truly appears as if there is ZERO accountability in the FAA. Hopefully, this will change when a new Administrator is selected and confirmed by the Senate.
During a recent visit to the FAA Headquarters building in Washington, D.C., DOT Secretary LaHood talked to a large crowd of FAA employees. At this town hall meeting, DOT Secretary LaHood specifically mentioned the substandard relationship between the FAA and its Air Traffic Controllers. While most government organizations would jump at the opportunity to listen and follow through on direction from their superiors’; not the FAA!
It is extremely disappointing that FAA management didn’t pay close enough attention to what the DOT Secretary had to say about the FAA/ATO relationship with its employees and begin taking immediate steps to correct the dysfunctional relationship with their most prized commodity; their employees.
Unfortunately, what has transpired over the course of the past eight years is great disdain for the employees. Rather than view us as part of the solution, they see us as the problem. This type of behavior didn’t happen overnight. It took several years of all hands briefings (brain washing) such as the infamous St. Louis briefing and the follow up surprise visits to field facilities by managers to ensure strict adherence to their draconian work rules. It will not be an easy task to change the mentality of some of these managers, but it is something that must be done if the Air Traffic system is going to keep pace with the changes that are required to keep up with an economy that can NOT be straddled with delays, poor procedures, ill-conceived and poorly designed equipment as well as a mass exodus of experienced NATCA Bargaining Unit Employees.
It’s time for the FAA to embrace change and begin taking immediate steps to once again respect its workforce as part of the solution and NOT part of the problem. The days of performance management through intimidation and fear must end. The sooner the FAA can change, the sooner we can come together to help rebuild this great country by developing the next generation Air Traffic Control system.
Here are some facts for the folks over at the FAA to consider in deciding whether or not to change course:
· In the two fiscal years following the imposed work rules (IWRs) 2,626 air traffic controllers left the FAA workforce through attrition (excluding promotions and transfers).
· Less than 2% of those that left had reached the mandatory retirement age of 56. A staggering 98% left the FAA before they were mandated.
· In FY2008 there were 947 retirements and 307 resignations. Prior to the implementation of the IWRs, the FAA predicted there would be 708 retirements and 66 resignations in FY2008.
· As of the end of FY 2008, there were 11,990 fully certified controllers, twenty-four percent lower than scientifically-determined level of necessary staffing determined in 1998.
· After the first fiscal year under the IWRs, the FAA had the lowest number of fully certified controllers in over 16 years.
As a once infamous member of the other side once said: “Facts are stubborn things” . . .
In Solidarity,
Ham
NWP RVP
· I continue to work with L30 Facility Rep Sara George, L30 LR Rep Bryan Baker, and Mike Hull regarding a host of issues at the Las Vegas Tracon. Just last year, L30 was a model facility for Labor and Management relations. They were able to address and resolve a myriad of issues. I will do everything that I can to support our reps and members at the Las Vegas Tracon.
Mike Hull and I have begun working with the National level to address a very poorly designed “Dual Downwind” procedure at the Las Vegas Tracon. It is mind boggling to think that procedures are designed without ANY input from the professional air traffic controllers that provide ATC services every day of the week. Just because a “Dual Downwind” (left and right downwinds) is used at ORD or PHL or TPA, doesn’t mean that it will work in the Las Vegas area. The Las Vegas airport is in a bowl surrounded by high terrain which, in turn, causes a very high minimum vectoring altitude. Our members at Las Vegas have designed an alternative which is safe, simple, and efficient. Unfortunately, the ATM has no interest in our alternative plan. As such, I have forwarded this issue to the national level for resolution.
· Meanwhile, Frank Haelle and I discussed the ‘Dual Downwind’ and the state of affairs at the Las Vegas Tracon with Senator Reid’s staff. Frank also brought Senator Ensign, Congresswoman Berkley, and Congresswoman Titus’ staff up to speed on all issues affecting the Las Vegas Tracon.
· I attended an AFL-CIO rally on behalf of the “Employee Free Choice Act” at upper Senate Park. While it was very cold outside (less than 20 degrees and why I am sick now), the many union activists attending generated the required heat to keep the all of us focused and energized.
· I, along with several of our very dedicated and talented activists such as Sam Samad (Region X), Mel Davis (SCT), Chuck Vogel (NCT), and Mike Foote (LAX) attended a meeting with Senator Feinstein’s staff. Senator Feinstein is very concerned with the state of training in the FAA, especially at SCT, NCT, and LAX. As soon as Senator Feinstein was done speaking on the floor of the Senate, she joined us for some discussion on the state of ATC in California. Chuck Vogel has done a terrific job in building a very strong relationship with Senator Feinstein’s office. The Senator was very aware that we sent her flowers when she recently hurt herself.
· Mel Davis, Mike Foote, Sam Samad, and I met with Senator Boxer’s staff. Senator Boxer has been absolutely amazing with her support for her Air Traffic Controllers. It’s very obvious that she truly cares about us and our current plight with the FAA.
· SJC Facility Rep/NWP LR rep Rich Burton shared his local update with me; keep those local updates coming. They are an excellent way for me to find out what’s going on in your facilities and an excellent way to keep your membership informed.
· Mike Hull, Kevin Sills, and PHX Facility Rep Steve Palmer worked very hard to edit some settlement language provided to us by the agency in regards to a suspension at PHX. Once we had finalized the language, the FAA advised us that they were retracting the settlement offer!!
· Should the FAA propose a suspension on one of your BUEs, there are a few things that you should do immediately. Notify Mike Hull and I by sending us a copy of the proposal. The next thing you need to do is request an extension of timelines to respond to the proposed action. You also need to request “all information relied upon” that they used to propose the suspension, as well as an Information request in accordance with 5 USC 7114(b)(4). Also, the employee and the NATCA representative are authorized up to sixteen (16) hours of time in order to prepare the response. The employee receives excused absence and the NATCA representative receives official time.
· I talked to P50 Facility Rep Tim Krieger regarding an upcoming accountability board investigation. Please remember to brush up on LR Chronicle number seven (7) “Weingarten Meetings” before the investigation.
· RNO Facility Rep Rich Ferris briefed me on the flawed design of the new RNO Tower. Apparently, there will not be enough space in this new tower to house a NATCA office, PASS office, AF manager’s office, etc. A brand new FAA building with no space; absolutely amazing! We are discussing this issue with the Nevada Congressional delegation.
· Mike Hull and Kevin Sills worked with SFO Facility Rep Dave Caldwell regarding an adverse action case out of SFO.
· POC Facility Rep/NWP LR rep John Paiva worked with ONT Facility Rep Melanie Washington regarding mandatory training. John continues to do an excellent job as the LR rep for his facilities.
· NWP Safety Lead Eric Carter is working with his counterpart in ATO-S (Safety) to discuss some issues out of PHX, low altitude alerts on visual approaches, and a myriad of other issues that seem to be popping up on an almost daily basis out of Western Terminal.
· I was recently advised by one of our Facility Reps that we have some members in the field who are not aware that ANY Federal Service is creditable towards Annual Leave Accrual. As such, I have cut and pasted the following from the FAA HRPM. Please make sure that all of your developmentals are aware of the leave accrual standards, since on several occasions the FAA has not credited our members for their military service.
Accrual of Annual Leave: Usually annual leave earned is based on years of Federal service and/or honorable military service. A change in the annual rate of accrual is effective at the beginning of the next pay period following the effective date that an employee completes the required years of service. Eligible employees earn annual leave at the following rate:
1. Full-time employees with:
o Less than three years of service earn four hours of leave each full biweekly pay period (annual accrual of 104 hours [13 days]).
o Three or more, but less than 15 years of service earn six hours each of the first 25 full biweekly pay periods and ten hours for the last full biweekly pay period (annual accrual of 160 hours [20 days]).
o Fifteen years or more of service earn eight hours for each full biweekly pay period (annual accrual of 208 hours [26 days]).
· ZUA (Guam) Facility Rep Steve Costa sent me a copy of their quarterly local meeting. I would like to applaud the fine NATCA members at ZUA. The fact that they had 9 out of a possible 11 members show up to the meeting says a lot about their membership and their interest in our union!
· If you are a SRF-12 facility (Any local receiving $4,000 or less in annual dues rebates) and want to attend the Communicating for Safety conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, be advised that the region will pay your reasonable travel expenses to attend the full conference.
· Mike Hull worked with Kevin Sills on filing a regional grievance regarding the Service area wide policy entitled “Best Practices”. The agency continues to implement new policies and procedures without fulfilling their obligation under the statute for notification and the opportunity to negotiate proposed changes to our working conditions. NATCA has since filed a national grievance on this issue since it has been implemented nationwide among all terminal facilities.
· I continued to work with our National office regarding a credit card fiasco created by the agency for a member at SBA.
· Mike Hull visited TUS Tower with a staff manager from the PHX hub to investigate the numerous complaints regarding the TUS work environment and the effect it is having on morale.
· Mike Hull and I work with PHX Facility Rep Steve Palmer regarding numerous changes at PHX, OE/OD’s, disciplinary actions, etc. Unfortunately, this has led to very low morale at the facility.
· Yet, another issue out of the PHX Hub is the unilateral change to the midnight shift staffing at P50. Due to the recent split of the Tracon, management has already used close to half of its allotted overtime for the fiscal year. As a result of the massive spike in overtime, management at P50 has decided to move a controller off of the mid watch and onto the day watch and work the mid watch with just one certified controller and a first line manager. Management claims that they have no duty to bargain this change AND that the change does not pose a safety risk and thus no need for a SRMD (Safety Risk Management Document). I have discussed this issue with Western Terminal to no avail. As such, I have elevated the issue to the national level to be discussed with the COO.
· NCT Facility Rep/NWP LR rep Steve McCoy worked with us regarding some peculiar Operational Error calls from AOV (Safety Oversight) regarding the recent hypothetical “Wake Remnants” interpretation. Here is one of those peculiar calls as told to me by Steve McCoy:
Large following heavy. Large told to "maintain visual separation", pilot acknowledges.
Controller turns large 20 degrees to pair up with another aircraft.
Controller asks Large if he still has heavy in sight. Pilot says, "No, I lost him in the lights". At this time they had lost wake turbulence separation even though the pilot was told to maintain visual separation.
Controller cancels approach clearance and takes the Large out just like he's supposed to do. The aircraft were never closer than 2000' vertically.
Everything’s perfect and by the book. Right?
Wrong!!!!
AOV came up with another brand spankin' new interpretation which is:
Since you turned the Large, it cancels the visual separation.”
· Mike Hull, Kevin Sills, and I are working with ZUA Facility Rep Steve Costa regarding a recent directive that requires all employees who are calling in while incapacitated for duty to state whether or not they are currently on the island!
· NWP Finance Lead Eric Hughes sent me the results of his recent audit of HWD. These audits are mandated by our NATCA National constitution, SRF-4 “Local Audits”. SRF-4 requires NATCA to audit all of its locals at least once every three years to ensure compliance with all DOL (Department of Labor), IRS, and NATCA financial provisions. These audits are also meant to teach you how local finances should be handled and maintained.
· Mike Hull and I worked with LAX Facility Rep/NWP LR rep Mike Foote regarding an elevator outage, a hardship, and a placement of a recent training failure.
· SBA Facility Rep Gordie Thompson, NWP OWCP Lead Steve Hefley, and I worked with a member at SBA who is having some medical issues.
· RNO Facility Rep Rich Ferris advises that RNO and Las Vegas Hub management will be forcefully directing a certified controller to a temporary first line manager position. Take a look at Reno’s staffing and let me know whether you believe this decision has anything to do with safety:
1 Air Traffic Manager (does not work traffic)
1 Staff Specialist (does not work traffic)
4 Front line managers (1 temporary, 1 not certified on anything, 2 who can work traffic)
--- One of the flm's that can work traffic is scheduled to transfer out of the facility in 8 weeks
10 Full Performance Level controllers (CPC)
--- One cannot train and is not CIC certified
--- Two FPL's are currently eligible to retire
--- We have a couple more that will be eligible in 2 years
12 Developmental controllers
--- NO radar qualifications for any of them
--- Two cannot work ANY position at all (one is still at OKC)
· Convention Subsidies have been going out since October. If you have turned in expenses from the Convention for a subsidy, and have not received your money or a notice that you did not make the 30% threshold, please email Mickela (Mickela@natca.net).
· San Diego area Fac Reps, please make sure you advise Mickela if you or anyone of your members will be attending the regional membership meeting in San Diego March 23-25 as we need to have an accurate count for meals and handouts.
