Just a quick note before I head out for today…

Regional Meeting

The Northwest Mountain Regional Meeting is coming up soon, April 9-10 in downtown Seattle. The agenda hasn’t been posted yet, but will definitely be a good experience.

We have access to a group hotel rate, but the deadline to book is this Sunday. If you're interested, let me know as soon as possible so we can get you set up.

Just a heads-up, I won’t have any extra Article 2 time available that pay period, so attending will need to be on your own time or leave. Let me know if you have any questions.

I meant to send this out last week but it slipped my mind. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Amy

Facility Update February 28th

Looks like this email thing is going to continue. I got word last night that management is starting to require people to send another five-bullet email. If a manager assigns you to reply to the email, you should be provided sufficient duty time to complete the assignment. If you like, HERE are the templates the national office put together. If this is causing a distraction or impacting the operation, please fill out an ATSAP. This is the best way for us to provide proof of the impact this is all causing to the safety of the NAS. There is a town hall today at 1pm HERE is the link to register. You will now need your membership number to register. If you don’t know it, just let me know and I can get it to you.

Legislative Info

On February 21st, I attended a labor roundtable that Representative Jayapal hosted for local union leaders in Seattle. It was a short event, but during it, we gained a lot of insight into some of the behind the scenes actions to thwart the efforts to dismantle unions. Many of the action items given could not apply to us because we work for the federal government and are in the public safety profession, but it was nice to know that there is still work being done on our behalf.

My biggest takeaway was this: Your phone calls to the elected officials matter. They care a great deal about those and tend to hold a lot of weight.

In the coming years, we will all have to use our voices to ensure we’re heard. We often send out “contact your representatives” phone and email campaigns, and it was nice to know that they work.

Center FacRep Meeting

Drew and I were in San Antonio on Monday and Tuesday for the Center FacRep meeting. While I hate being away from the facility during crisis mode, it ended up being the best place to be to get up to date information for you all. The first day was largely overshadowed by the chaos caused by the email mandate but here are my notes:

Briefing from Nick Daniels:

• ATX ended up being $110,000 under budget

• Reviewed all contracts and found more than a million dollars in savings by not renewing some to include certain advertising and consulting contracts.

• This is not specific to NATCA business, but it is something that might interest you: Most people know that the Agency’s requested budget has been the same for at least the last eight years. This seems like a losing strategy, especially with the cost of everything rising exponentially. So, if you ask yourself why the Agency would do such a thing, it’s because the OMB instructs the FAA how much to ask Congress for and not a penny more.

• Nick requested an official update on ABACUS, the traffic counting software. The first meeting for this was in 2016 and has been a victim of budget cuts and constraints, but Nick and his counterpart Tim Arel agree that this project needs to be a priority and will work to ensure it is completed this year. This is very important to those of us in enroute facilities as our traffic has not been appropriately counted in close to 15 years.

• Because staffing and NCEPT are so closely aligned, they are working on combining the NCEPT and CRWG MOUs, which should be done shortly.

We also had briefings from the training, safety, and the national procedures reps, but I am still working on consolidating notes since I have to leave the room often to take and make phone calls back here.

I know this has been a challenging couple of months, and we still have a long way to go. Please ensure you’re taking care of yourself, and let us know if there’s anything we can help with.

Amy

February 24th Recap

Good Afternoon ZSE,

We want to take a moment to thank you for your patience as we navigate the confusion surrounding the federal workforce email mandate. We know the uncertainty, frustration, and concern it has caused, and we want to assure you that we are doing everything possible to get answers and advocate for you.

Let’s be clear, this was never about simply collecting responses. OPM’s latest guidance stated that replying to the email is voluntary. However, we work for the DOT, and the DOT Secretary has now issued a requirement. That proves this situation was never about a legitimate data collection effort, it was about creating chaos, turning us against each other, and weakening the union. This is the playbook: spread fear, create division, and distract us from what really matters. But we won’t fall for it.

NATCA has not appeased the author of the original email, and FAA employees do not take orders from someone outside the government. The only directive that mattered came from the DOT Secretary, and as soon as that official guidance was issued today, NATCA responded. Today. A tweet from an individual outside the government was seen, but it was never official, and it was never a directive. There was no federal mandate until today, and that is what NATCA acted on, nothing else.

If you’re frustrated with the union over this, we ask you to recognize what’s happening. This is an intentional attempt to divide us. But we can either let it work as intended, or we can stand together, fighting for our jobs, benefits, and way of life. No one in this union, including your local leadership, is above this fight. We are all in it together, standing up for our jobs, our benefits, and our profession. Stay sharp, stay focused, and most importantly, stay united. That’s how we win.

 For those that are able and interested, there is a Northwest Mountain Region All Members meeting at 3:30pm today, HERE is the link.

In solidarity,
 

ZSE Eboard

Facility Update 2/20

Flight Physicals

The front office has had to start scheduling flight physicals at different locations due to Dr. Choudhary's personal health issues. Dr. Choudhary has always treated us well, and we wish her a speedy recovery.

In the meantime, the front office has started scheduling physicals at different locations and the closest qualified physicians are in Gig Harbor and Bellevue. This is a much further drive for most people and may also include a toll. Management has put instructions on signing up for E2 so that you can be reimbursed for mileage and the toll if applicable. The TEAM message might look like it is required for everyone to sign up, but if you aren’t interested in being reimbursed, then don’t worry about it. If you were previously denied reimbursement for a toll, please let your supe know, that process should be fixed now.

Town Hall Meeting Today

Today at 2pm, there will be another town hall style meeting that the NATCA president will be hosting. The National Office stated in their email yesterday, “will extend the time to compensate for lost opportunities to take and answer questions. We will host these sessions at a minimum of every other month in 2025.” We will be streaming that in the NATCA break room on the 3rd floor of the OSW building if you would like to join us. If you would prefer to join on your own, HERE is the link to register.

NATCA Shirt Raffle Winners

Congratulations to Lisa Marshall, TMU, and Josh Palmer, A Area, for winning February’s NATCA Shirt Raffle. Be sure you wear your shirt next month on Saturday, March 15th for your chance to win a $25 gift card from Bigfoot Java, McLendon’s, or The Rock.

Amy

Facility Update February 11th

Pay Form

We've encountered several pay discrepancies recently, and to streamline the resolution process, the ATM and I have created this form. Printed copies will be available in each area. Please complete the form, sign it, and have a supervisor or OM sign it as well. Be sure to keep a copy for your records. The supervisor or OM will then submit the form to the front office. If you haven’t received a response within a week, follow up with your supervisor and inform your area rep. The form is HERE if you would like to look it over.

Electronic Official Personnel File (eOPF)

I mentioned this at the last All Members Meeting but also wanted to post it here. Recently, there has been much discussion about downloading your eOPF to have your own copy whenever needed. Please ensure you are not violating our security protocols. If necessary, review the eLMS associated with Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

Security

As you probably read in TEAM, we are under a security Corrective Action Plan (CAP). I was not able to gather when the initial inspection was that we “failed.” Most of the things on the list included building maintenance-type stuff that we are not involved in. What we do need to be concerned about is the inspector's return to the facility on February 18-21. While you should always be following the rules, during that time, please ensure that you are wearing your badge correctly and not “piggybacking.”

Labor Relations (LR)

We currently have two active grievances that we can provide updates on at this time. Here is a quick rundown of them:

Tracking OJTI Pay in the Labs (Agency Response Due 2/13):

As you know, sim time is now covered by a national MOU to be paid at 25%. This MOU created for us a need to track the time in the lab. We initially agreed to have the time tracked by using paper -10 logs. While we were still negotiating how to proceed with a more permanent solution, the agency opted to violate the National Cru art MOU by requiring OJTIs and Trainees to “drag and drop” themselves on a computer in the lab. This violates the National MOU because that is a task that can only be done by supes and CICs and as you know, there is no Supe or CIC in the lab. After the grievance was filed, the agency opted to return to the temporary method we agreed upon (-10 logs). We are meeting with the agency next week to decide on a way to track this and are open to your suggestions.

Sector 35 Staff Study (Agency Response Due 2/16):

We have also filed a grievance on the Agency violating the collaborative process outlined in the CBA, FAA Order JO 7210.67B, and past practices regarding Sector 35 Staff study. The issue stems from unilateral changes made to a mutually agreed-upon staff study, falsely stating that NATCA ZSE FacRep agreed to reduce our staffing number by 6. A claim we have not agreed to. Additionally, local management had refused to provide the final version of the study sent forward, violating transparency and good faith bargaining requirements. After the grievance was filed, the Agency at the district level provided the staff study to us. We are working at every angle available to ensure this airspace divestiture is not slowed in any way.

ZSE Elections

This is a local election year and after hearing your feedback, we will change to in-facility voting. This means that when it is time for voting, we will send out ballots in the mail. You will then need to fill it out and submit it in the ballot box located near the mailboxes outside the control room. We are looking for volunteers to be on the election committee, please let your rep know if you are interested.

This Saturday is the 15th, so don’t forget to wear your NATCA shirts!

In Solidarity,

Amy and Drew