NWP Reps/Members:
This update is dedicated in memory of our two fallen brothers from SCT and ZLA.
SCT San Diego Area NATCA member Chris Kloman passed away in an unfortunate aircraft accident. While I personally did not know Chris, I knew his wife Sally from when she was a NATCA Rep for the San Diego area at SCT. One of Chris and Sally’s friends, Bob Marks, wrote the following about Chris:
“Chris is a union brother, a pilot, a controller, and a friend. He was quiet and reserved, but always had a smile on his face. He was an excellent instructor, and loved all things related to aviation. I will miss him, and as is always the case when a life is cut short, I feel a huge sense of loss. Sally, carry on, we all love you and are there for you.”
I would like to thank ZSE Facility Rep Jim Ullmann for flying down on a moment’s notice to act as the Critical Incident Stress peer de-briefer at SCT. This was no easy feat due to the fact that HR didn’t want to approve the funds or the duty time for Jim to fly down as this wasn’t a work related incident. As such, I would like to also thank incoming Acting Western Terminal Director Rich Belmonte for stepping up and assisting in this matter.
ZLA Area B NATCA Rep. Bill Galarneau passed away from an unfortunate motorcycle accident on his way home from a swing shift.
Bill hired into the FAA directly from George Air Force Base in 1984. He was assigned to the High Desert Tracon from 1984 to 1991 and was one of High Desert Tracon’s first NATCA facility representatives.
Bill moved to ZLA in 1991 and subsequently served as the ZLA Vice-President while I was serving my first term as ZLA Facility Representative. Bill was a good friend and a strong NATCA activist and wore black everyday as one of his many statements against the IWR's that he was fighting to overturn. Bill had 155 days to go before he was going to retire!
Following Bill’s very well attended funeral, I had the opportunity to visit Bill’s wife Mary and pay my respects to her and their children at their home in Victorville. When I was getting ready to leave, Mary wished us the best of luck in resolving our contract dispute and said that she would miss the various work/Union stories that she would hear from Bill about our fight to restore a fair contract for our members.
ZLA NATCA is in the process of collecting funds to help defray the cost of the funeral for Mary and the kids. If you are interested in helping, please see any NATCA rep at ZLA or go to Kevin Sherwood’s site and donate via paypal (http://kevin.thesherwoods.org/) ZLA is trying to cover all of the funeral expenses (approximately $8,000). We only need another $1000 to hit our goal.
I would like to personally thank Paul Rinaldi for taking time out of his very busy schedule to call me to convey his heartfelt condolences on behalf of our two fallen brothers in the Western Pacific Region.
May God bless our brothers Chris and Bill and give strength to their families to deal with the loss of a loved one.
In Solidarity,
Ham
NWP RVP
· I attended NATCA in Washington during the week of May 18th and was very pleasantly surprised at the turnout from our younger members who attended Lobby Week for their first time. Many of them have a new understanding of how things work in the Federal Government and the absolute importance of relationships with members of Congress. Our future rests on the shoulders of many of these young folks that were in Washington for the first time in their careers. I believe in this process so much that I took annual leave on one day so that I could delegate my RVP time to a first timer from Los Angeles Center.
Here are some of the photos taken from NATCA in Washington 2009:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/timsphotosite/sets/72157618341939047/
· Our future can be very bright if we can all join in and work together for the betterment of our members and the national airspace system. We need to learn from our history and ensure that all of our members are engaged in some fashion to help craft our future and avoid the mistakes of the past. We can no longer afford to sit back. Other than probationary employees (those with less than one year of Federal Civil Service), everyone else should be stepping up to help their local and their Union. Please get involved at your local level and/or the regional level. The time is NOW!
· Following Lobby Week, I attended our National Executive Board meeting at the NATCA National office.
· As most of you are aware, NATCA is actively engaged in mediation with the Federal Aviation Administration. As is typically the case, NATCA and the FAA have signed a ground rules agreement which doesn’t allow the parties to discuss the mediation proceedings or the process. As soon as I get information from our Chief Negotiator, Pat Forrey, I will be sure to share them with you. The fact that we are not hearing from the FAA in the media or through their FAA website is also indicative that the mediators are keeping a very tight lid on the negotiations.
· The following week, I was on jury duty. Lucky for me, I wasn’t called in for any service.
· I wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you in the Western Pacific Region for your support and encouragement during the past three years. Nominations for National office have closed and I was the sole individual nominated for the position of NWP Regional Vice President.
It is with great pride and tremendous humility that I accept the nomination to be your Regional Vice President for another three years. I am deeply honored to be given the opportunity to be at the helm as we steer our region into the future.
· Since I was the sole person nominated and the sole person who has accepted the position, my name will not be on the ballot in July 2009. My next term will begin on or about September 1, 2009.
· While our Region is not in play, we still have a say in electing our National Officers for President and Executive Vice-President. It is imperative that we encourage and assist all members to participate in one of the most important NATCA elections to date. Please take a minute to sign up online for an electronic ballot and simplify the whole election process and keep our costs down. If there are any questions regarding the process or elections in general, please feel free to email (hghaffari@natca.net) me or call me on my cell (661)-400-2496.
· Here is how to sign up online:
HOW TO REGISTER FOR AN ELECTRONIC BALLOT? If you wish to vote electronically, you must register with Election Services Solutions (ESS) by logging on to https://www.esc-vote.com/natcareg. Please note that if you choose the electronic ballot option, a mail ballot package will NOT be sent to your home. The registration page is secure and you will only be able to register once. After registering, you will also be requested to provide your name, address, region and personal e-mail address (where the electronic ballot is to be sent), as well as answer a few security questions, which will be used for verification purposes during the voting process.
If you register to receive an electronic ballot, you will be sent an e-mail on June 30, 2009 with a randomly selected log-in number. The e-mail will also include a link that will automatically direct you to the secure voting site. The e-mail will be sent fromnatcahelp@electionservices.corp.com. Please adjust your spam filter accordingly so as to receive this e-mail. If you register to receive an electronic ballot and you subsequently change your personal e-mail address, please e-mail ESS the change atnatcareg@electionservicescorp.com.
If you register to vote electronically and your vote is not received by July 25, 2009, you will be sent an e-mail reminding you to vote prior to the polls closing at 11:59 on July 30, 2009. Please note that, prior to the mailing of the ballots on June 30, 2009, if any e-mails are returned to ESS from registered members as undeliverable, these members will be sent a mail ballot package instead.
If you do not register to receive an electronic ballot before June 30, 2009, a mail ballot package will be sent to your home address. However, even if you receive a mail ballot package, you will still have the opportunity to vote on-line using a unique log-in number that appears on the perforated top section of your ballot. The mail ballot package will contain detailed instructions for voting on-line in this manner.
· I worked with ZOA VP Mike Ward to clarify a seniority question for a member returning from a non-bargaining unit employee position. Here is the particular section of the seniority policy that impacts this member:
Section 3. Any bargaining unit member who accepted a supervisor/management job after June 6, 2006 and returns to the bargaining unit will have his/her cumulative seniority date set to the day they return.
· Check out www.natcacfs.net for the latest on “Communicating for Safety 2010” in Orlando, Florida. Start making plans to attend CFS 2010.
· Mike Hull continues to work with RNO Facility Rep Rich Ferris to resolve issues at RNO.
· SCT Facility Rep Mel Davis, NCT Facility Rep Steve McCoy, and I have a telcon with Jose Ceballos and Frank McCarthy regarding some language that Senator Boxer wants to introduce in FAA Re-Authorization to address the problems identified in the recent DOT IG report of LAX, NCT, and SCT.
· Mike Hull and I work with L30 LR rep Bryan Baker and L30 Facility Rep Sara George regarding a proposed termination case. We have all worked long and hard on this case and this past Friday, our affected member was back in the facility and will not be terminated as the agency had hoped! Great work to Bryan and Sara for helping Mike and I deal with this great injustice at L30. We are still waiting to hear what the agency will decide for a penalty, but the great news is that our member will not be terminated.
· I continue to work with NWP Pay Lead Jeff Tilley and ZOA Facility Rep Scott Conde on a lingering pay settlement issue dealing with the implementation of ATOP at ZOA. Our settlement agreement was signed over two years ago and the agency has yet to make one of our member’s whole at ZOA. I will continue to personally work this issue to fruition.
· I continue to work with HCF Facility Rep Scott Sorenson, Mike Hull, and Kevin Sills regarding an arbitration for a member at HCF who was adversely affected by the ATOP implementation at ZOA and who subsequently transferred to HCF.
· I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new Facility Rep at P50 (Phoenix Tracon) Steve Hadley and the new Facility Rep at PSP (Palm Springs) Curtis Cannon. The NWP website at http://nwp.natca.net Facility Rep tab has been updated with their information.
· The FAA has notified us that they plan to disconnect all NON-FAA internet connections at all facilities. We are not only addressing this issue via the normal channel of Labor Relations, but also plan to address it as part of the ongoing mediation talks.
· FFZ Facility Rep Chris Brazys and SFO Facility Rep Dave Caldwell shared their local updates with me; thanks.
· I would like to wish a speedy recovery to our very own SMO Facility Rep Pam Choi who recently underwent some hand surgery and is now recuperating nicely and even typing with her left hand!
· Here are some of the upcoming ATSAP (Air Traffic Safety Action Program) training dates in the Western Pacific Region:
Ontario Area ATSAP Training - SNA/POC/CNO/LGB/ONT/PSP/CRQ/TOA/E10 - June 23-24th
Los Angeles Area ATSAP Training - ZLA/LAX/BUR/EMT/SMO/ CMA/VNY/SBA/BFL - June 23-24
· We have yet another close call at KOA (Kona International Airport on the Big Island of Hawaii). On 5/19/2009, a BE99/A was issued a departure clearance by the Kona Contract Tower, to take-off on Runway 17. The controller at Kona Tower had attained an approval for release, for runway 17, from Honolulu Control Facility. At that time, Honolulu Control Facility had a commercial airliner, a CRJ2/R, on final approach to runway 17. The Honolulu Control Facility Controller had released the BE99 aircraft for departure on Runway 17 with reference to the arriving CRJ2. The Kona Controller issued the clearance to the BE99 to take-off from an intersection on Runway 17. The Pilot of the BE99 took the runway and departed opposite direction Runway 35 into the CRJ2 that was on short final. The pilot of the Regional Jet made a maneuver to avoid the departing BE99 and landed without incident.
KOA is operated by a contractor whose contract is coming to an end this year. The contractor, Airservices Australia, is a government-owned corporation that operates 26 air traffic control towers at airports across Australia and six towers at United States territories in the Pacific, including airports in Kona, Lihue and Molokai.
When the company initially took over air traffic control services in Kona in 2000, there were about 88,000 takeoffs and landings a year by airliners, cargo and corporate planes and other "instrument flight rules" aircraft. Since then, planes have used the airport more frequently, with the number of takeoffs and landings rising to a high of 154,000 in 2005.
Here is a link to the full news story that appeared on KITV in Honolulu, Hawaii:
http://www.kitv.com/news/19596379/detail.html
· Brothers and Sisters, I received the following email from our NATCA brother at SCT Don Magley. Please do everything you can to help our brother and sister by donating some leave to them through the provided link at the bottom of his letter. Please keep in mind that the link will only work if you use it on the FAA intranet. Log onto a FAA computer and follow the link to donate some leave to Ronda Magley.
Good Morning,
My name is Don Magley, my wife Ronda and I have been in the FAA for a little over 2 years. We both transferred from the Salt Lake City facilities (Ronda the TRACON, Me the Center) to SCT and SAN, about 7 months ago on a hardship transfer for our son Roman who was born 4 months premature. Weighing just 2lbs at birth he was born with many medical problems, struggling with Chronic Lung Disease was the primary cause for our relocation based off his doctor’s recommendation for a climate change. We have since relocated our family here where there are better hospitals and a vastly improved air quality over SLC. Since moving here our son has had a tremendous improvement with his Chronic Lung Disease and has been able to discontinue his oxygen requirements. Unfortunately that was not the end of hurdle's to be jumped for him, many other underlying medical problems have surfaced and he is now is need of multiple surgeries to correct exotropia of the eyes, and has neurological and developmental issues to overcome. Roman meets with a Physiotherapist/Occupational therapist two times a week to help address some of his delays, he also has weekly medical evaluations/appointments at Children's Hospital to evaluate and assess his overall progress. Roman is now scheduled to have his 2nd eye surgery at the end of June and with his medical background and susceptibility to infection his recovery is expected to take quite some time and this will not be his last eye surgery for this year. My wife who works at Lindbergh Tower has had to miss many days and weeks of work to try and accommodate Roman's medical schedule. She has now expended all of her sick and annual leave balances plus some advanced leave. My wife and I are at our wit's end with the ongoing medical, nursing/nanny, and therapist bills and the loss of work to accommodate all of the appointments. My wife is now on the Voluntary Leave Donor Program and we are asking for help from our fellow union brother's and sister's as it is our only hope.
https://webapps.awp.faa.gov/ovltp/new_enter_donorapp.cfm?here=nat&RecordID=4598