Anybody tired of my updates yet?
It’s training season, so a lot is going on with that. IST is wrapping up this week. Sector 35 training for the B-area will begin next week as well as Refresher Training for the A, C and D areas. I appreciate all of your patience with this as the schedule tends to get a little tight during this time of year. I have received very few complaints from you or management during this period, so I commend you on your professionalism.
Speaking of professionalism, a few things have come up recently and I'd like to address them before anything gets out of hand. Please remember that we are all professionals and should treat each other as such. Air Traffic Control has a long history of taking care of our own. And within that, we are all NATCA brothers and sisters. Sometimes this gets lost when dealing with fellow employees, especially when it’s “across the aisle.” I don’t think that we maliciously try to call attention to another controllers mistakes or possible mistakes, but some things just don’t need to go through management at the first sight of trouble. We have a number of resources at our disposal to get answers that don’t initially involve management, including peer to peer discussion, conversations with the other controller, ATSAP and Professional Standards. Please remember that we are all on the same team, and let’s give each other the courtesy and respect that we, as professionals, deserve.
This week a group of folks from national (FAA and NATCA (including Jim Ullmann)) will be in town to discuss TBFM, PAE issues and S46 airspace. Amy, Trevor, Drew, JRod, Evan, Brooke, Eric Tanberg and myself will attend a dinner with the NATCA side along with Eboard members from S46, SEA, BFI and PAE to discuss this more in depth. Although these conversations will be casual in nature, we will learn much more about TBFM and the impacts on the system from commercial flights in and out of PAE.
My week is pretty booked due to our guests visiting the facility on Tuesday and our meeting Wednesday, but please feel free to call, text or email me with anything you have.
In Solidarity
Derek Adams