NWP Reps/Members:
I would like to dedicate this update to the memory of a man I never had the pleasure of meeting. However, I know from friends such as Domenic “The Wiz” Torchia and Bob “The Pres” Butterworth that he was a giant of a man for the Labor movement.
Jack Henning, a longtime leader in California's labor movement who served in the administrations of Gov. Pat Brown and Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, died at his San Francisco home on June 4, 2009; Jack was 94 years young.
"Jack was a lion of a man and a great labor leader," said Art Pulaski, head of the California Labor Federation. "His vision and his magnificent oratory inspired several generations of union activists."
In addition, I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my deepest condolences to my friend and brother, LAX FACREP Mike Foote, who lost his father most recently. May God bless Mr. Henning and Mr. Foote.
In Solidarity,
Ham
NWP RVP
· ZOA Facility Rep/NWP LR Rep Scott Conde shared a very nice article 65 template that he created for the ATOP “Advanced Technologies and Oceanic Procedures” refresher training. It’s truly a shame that the FAA who is responsible for the safety of the National Airspace System agrees to field so many hardware and software issues with so many flaws.
· Scott also briefed me on the unacceptable flaws with ERAM. Scott is one of our representatives on the ERAM negotiations workgroup. Once again, it appears that the FAA is in a rush to field a safety critical piece of equipment with numerous flaws. The FAA plans to roll out ERAM at ZLC on the mid-shifts that began last night!
· Congratulations to new BFL Facility Rep Joe Segretto and VP Michael Pernick. They will begin their terms effective July 15, 2009. I would like to thank outgoing BFL Facility Rep Tambra Embry for her service to BFL local and NATCA. Tambra will be transferring to SCT.
· As I read some of the financial audits of our locals, I noticed some common mistakes that I would like to share with you:
o Keep copy of canceled checks. If it’s available online, please download them and keep them in your files with the appropriate year’s financial information.
o Ensure that you have double signatures on all checks as per SRF-21(NATCA Constitution Standing Rule F-21)
o Ensure that all expenses are documented on a voucher with appropriate receipts for each expense.
o Develop an inventory asset list with associated year end values. Fixed assets like computers and other equipment depreciate in value over time. Be sure to reflect this depreciation on each succeeding year’s inventory asset list.
o Conduct regular meetings as per your local constitution.
· If you have any questions regarding local finances, please contact NWP Finance Lead Eric Hughes at air.rock@sbcglobal.net
· NWP Comm/Tech Lead Kevin Sherwood disseminates his first “Tech Talk” in which he talks about keeping your PC in tip top shape. You can access Kevin’s “Tech Talk” by going to http://nwp.natca.net and clicking on the “Regional Leads” tab and then “Kevin’s Tech Talk”.
· NATCA Executive Vice President Paul Rinaldi and I attended the ZLA solidarity party with close sixty (60) members from ZLA, BFL, CNO, etc. On the way up to ZLA, we visited LGB Tower and also met with our Region X folks at the regional office in Lawndale. Sam Samad was a gracious host at the FAA regional office and provided a most excellent luncheon following the local meeting.
· The following day, Paul and I drove down to SCT for a luncheon. As you can imagine, most of the member’s questions focused on the mediation process. We did our best in answering all questions based on the information that we had.
· Both Paul and I attended the SCT Solidarity party along with approximately 130 members from SCT, LGB, MYF, SEE, LAX, CRQ, SNA, etc. I think LGB stole the show when they showed up with a van full of eleven (11) members to attend the meeting; congratulations to my Marine buddy Paul “Boogie” Bugarin and the entire LGB local.
· I worked with acting ZLA Facility Rep Chad Geyer on an issue dealing with representation and differential pay. If the managers code the representation as anything other than incident/accident investigation then the representatives lose out on differential pay or Sunday pay while they represent our members. This FAA interpretation is based on an October 22, 2007 memorandum by Melvin Harris. I made sure that our mediation team had a copy of this memorandum for their discussion with the mediators.
· I also worked with Chad on a sick leave letter, operational deviation, security investigation, training failure, etc. Chad is doing a great job keeping up with the myriad of issues that are coming up.
· A member at NCT asked us to include a link to the NCT Local website. As a result of his suggestion, we have created links to some of the websites of our locals. You can access these links by going to the regional website and clicking the “Links” tab. If you would like to have a link to your local website, please send an email to Kevin Sherwood at ksherwood@natca.net
· I worked with NWP Hardship lead Bob Guerra and Mike Hull regarding several hardships. As many of you know, Bob would like to take a much deserved break from his duties as NWP Hardship lead. It has been my honor to have worked with someone of Bob’s integrity and strength. Bob has been there for our members when they have needed him the most. Bob, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I am very proud of your service to our membership.
· If anyone is interested in being considered for the NWP hardship lead position, please submit your name along with a brief narrative of your background and experience to me (hghaffari@natca.net) no later than Friday June 19th.
· Mike Hull and I worked with Acting Western Terminal Director Rich Belmonte on some hardships, ERR’s, adverse action, GCN housing issues, and ATSAP. So far, it appears that Rich is open to discussion and is willing to roll up his sleeves and make the tough decisions.
· POC Facility Rep/NWP LR Rep John Paiva worked with PSP Facility Rep Curtis Cannon regarding a potential disciplinary action.
· On June 4, 2009, a federal judge denied a motion seeking an award of attorney fees from NATCA that had been submitted by FAA manager John Gilding in his defamation suit against NATCA, NATCA Local PHX officers, former Western Pacific RVP Bob Marks, and former NATCA President John Carr.
· The plaintiff manager had asked the federal court to order NATCA to pay $34,710 to cover his attorney fees in contesting NATCA's removal of the case from federal to state court. Although the federal judge had granted the plaintiff manager's motion to have the case remanded back to state court in April 2009, the court held in its June 4 decision that NATCA "had an objectively reasonable argument on which to seek removal" and consequently denied the manager's motion for an award of any attorney fees from NATCA.
· NATCA is currently seeking review of the federal judge's remand decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, on the grounds that, in remanding the case back to state court, the judge committed substantive errors of law with regard to the merits of the case and NATCA's preemption defenses.
· Please register to vote online for the upcoming NATCA elections by going to the NWP Website and clicking on the icon “2009 Election of Union Officers” or click on this link: https://www.esc-vote.com/natcareg/
· You do not need your membership number and it only takes about one minute to register. Help us save money and help us with the environment by signing up to vote online.
· Mike Hull worked with Kevin Sills to prioritize our NWP arbitration list.
· PHX Facility Rep Steve Palmer shared his local update with me; thanks. Steve and Jerry Johnston recently met with PHX management, offsite, in an attempt to improve Labor Management relations at PHX.
· Chuck Chamberlain over at ATO-T advised NATCA that the agency should come out with a notice this week regarding the weight classification of a B752. Until then, the Safety and Technology Department advises controllers to treat the B752 as a heavy jet when #1 and as a large when #2. This will ensure you have the required separation regardless of the weight class of the B752. Of course if a controller verifies a B752 is NOT a heavy, then they should use the separation outlined in the 7110.65.
· If there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Safety & Tech department via email dwright@natcadc.org.
· I worked with P50 Facility Rep Steve Hadley, VP Mark Wojtulski, and the Regional Flight Surgeon regarding a medically incapacitated member.
· Please be sure to use the new/revised expense voucher for NATCA Members. These forms are effective immediately but there will be a slight modification to these forms to add mileage back to the form. They can be accessed by going to the NWP Website and clicking the “Documents” tab. Please print off and make copies for any future business expenses with NATCA that you or any of your members incur. Your member number is now required on the form, so if anyone needs their member number, they can email Mickela at mickela@natca.net)
· I worked with CNO Facility Rep Kyle Vercautren regarding an OE at CNO.
· Mike Hull and NWP Safety Lead Eric Carter worked with LGB Facility Rep Paul Bugarin regarding a recent evaluation.
· NWP LR Rep Chad Geyer, Mike Hull, and I worked with SNA Facility Rep Chris Schaefer to answer some of his questions regarding the training review process. Chris made us proud when he told us that he had read Mike’s LR chronicles #22 dealing with Training Review Boards. Chris advised us that Management representatives at the review board were apparently trying to decide whether the member in question could be successful at other facilities as part of the review boards’ deliberations. This is a great opportunity for us to address this issue. This is what I sent back to Chris:
“Sometimes it's difficult for all the parties involved to be focused on the task at hand at a review board. The sole goal of a review board is to determine whether every opportunity to succeed was utilized or not. The board is NOT there to determine the individual's fate in the FAA or whether he'll ever make it at another facility. There are only two things that can come out the TRB; 1. Continuation of training or 2.Termination of training. Neither has anything to do with our members future. Nice job preparing for your TRB and asking questions.”
· Mike Hull continues to work with RNO Facility Rep Rich Ferris and RNO management in order to improve Labor Management relations at the facility.
· Mike Hull and I worked with Service area management to address some problems with scheduling training for ATSAP at LAX and RNO.
· Mickela will be taking a much needed and much deserved vacation. She will not be in the office July 1 to July 7 inclusive.
· Lastly, there are many questions out there regarding the mediation process. The best advice I can offer you is to engage your facility rep or RVP and see if they have the answers to your questions. I can personally attest to the fact that I don’t have all of the answers since I am not the Chief Negotiator for our Union. However, I will continue to answer questions that are posed to me to the best of my ability and as soon as I get information from our chief negotiator/President Pat Forrey.
