Last week many members of the Executive Board attended a Three Region Meeting in Portland and received briefings on various subjects. Paul and Trish were there and gave an update on the political climate of our profession and clarified the Unions position on Privatization, as it has gone misreported in the National News Media.
Briefing by Paul Rinaldi and Trish Gilbert
For the past several years the appropriations mechanism which funds the FAA has been a mess. From Modernization to Sequestration, the FAA Operations Budget is flat and the facilities budget is in pieces. The current method of funding the Agency leaves little room for modernization and increased staffing. After a history of 23 short term extensions, the first ‘long term’ FAA bill is up for renewal. Paul and Trish expressed concern for this format of funding theatrics being the best for our profession. While ERAM is finally being rolled out to the final facility the technology is already 30 years old. Meanwhile, the US political machine is attacking government workers at every turn, in just this year Republican Budget proposals are asking for up to a 9% pay decrease through increased pension contributions. With only 11K CPCs down from about 15K and 2500 currently eligible to retire, we stand at the precipice of a staffing disaster. The FAA is a huge bureaucracy and it slows down negotiations to move on important modernization projects and other ideas that could help improve the operation.
With all this in mind, Paul asks of us, is the status quo really working? The issue seems to be that the funding stream for the FAA is tied to appropriations and for an Agency like the FAA to make long term moves it needs an independent funding mechanism. This is why Paul and Trish, with great trepidation are considering supporting a move for the FAA to a government corporation. They have stressed that the right for ATCs to collectively bargain and retain our current pay and benefits is of the utmost priority. To that end, NATCA has retained a Firm who is highly experienced with such transitions and has most notably guided the Canadian ATC system through its transition. Paul wanted to express the frustration that he has for the National News Media for only taking this carefully nuanced position and summing it up to a “NATCA Supports Privatization” headline. NATCA will not ever support a For-Profit model, it only supports a stable funding system and an organization which prioritizes safety, never profits.
Contract Towers
The past few years NATCA has been organizing Federal Contract Towers. Most recently we have organized Chandler, AZ and Bethel, AK. SERCO, the corporation who runs these towers has come out in full opposition, in some cases employing union busting techniques to harass the people who ‘spearheaded’ the process.
As NATCA organizes these towers it may become possible for past employees at these locations to added their time spent in the tower to their CBUE NATCA seniority time. Rick Lund is looking into how this will affect seniority for the next bid.
Drug and Alcohol Briefing
We received a Briefing on Drug and Alcohol testing. For any screening it is recommended that you have a Rep present at all times. The Rep can go anywhere the tester goes with the exception of a direct observation which is very rare and must be specifically authorized with cause. (ie. you are on a last chance agreement) If you see anything out of the ordinary or have questions at anytime during the testing process, bring it to the Reps attention.
We were walked through the procedures for some new equipment for breathalyzer tests. The new equipment is very accurate and will not return false positives as some equipment had in the past for breath strips and mouthwash.
The new Breathalyzer has a built in calibration process to ensure the test starts with a .000 BAC reading. you are then asked to blow.
Any blow higher than .02 will trigger a second test. If that test comes back as higher than .04 you have failed the test. You will have medical and security clearances pulled, you may be offered an opportunity to enter a rehabilitation program.
If you test between .02 and .04 you will return a NOT-READY-FOR-Duty status. You will be sent home, but note that you will not be allowed to drive from the facility.
Please remember the reporting requirements for Alcohol related infractions. If you have an off duty incident which involves alcohol (not just driving), you must report this before your next scheduled shift not later than 48 hours. Additionally, some Lawyers advise their clients to refuse a FST(field sobriety test). While this may be a defensible position civility, if you refuse a FST, the agency suspects you have something to hide, and can take action against you.
Training Review Boards
The briefing on TRBs stressed the purpose of a training review board; to ensure the proper procedures were utilized to give the Developmental the best chance at success. The purpose of the Union in a TRB is to protect the process and not to protect an employee without the proper skills to do the job.
Common points a Rep looks at when preparing for a TRB include
- Position time: is the Developmental getting training time in accordance with the training plan?
- Lack of SET: if it is not used, it calls into question if all the available tools were used to target skill deficiencies.
- Training team meetings: were meetings updating the team on the Developmental progress held monthly in accordance with the Order?
We should all be reminded that the most important aspect of a TRB is constructing a picture of what the training process looked like for each individual. Therefore, the largest contributor to this is a well documented -25 OJT training report form.
Other Briefings include those from the Safety, Pay, Constitution and IT committees nothing major to update on those fronts.