Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season. Now that things are settling down a bit let’s talk about some of the goals we are hoping to achieve in the coming year(s).
I will be working closely with the Eboard to establish several workgroups over the coming months. One of the big priorities will be looking into a facility wide airspace redesign. This is a large scale project with many moving parts so please be patient with us as we try to tackle this endeavor. More to come on this in the upcoming weeks as we work on a scoping document and start looking for volunteers to serve on the workgroup.
Many of you probably know that there is going to be a new 3120.4 rolling out in the upcoming months. With it comes many changes that should help in the overall training process and also increase success rates throughout the NAS. One of the big requirements that the new .4 has is the need for a facility training rep. We are hoping to take this one step further by having area training reps that will oversee the entirety of the training process for their area. This is a position that the Eboard has long discussed and now with the support of the new .4 we’re hoping to see it finally come to fruition.
At our most recent All Members meeting, we adopted some amendments to the Local constitution that allows for a staff specialist rep as well as alternate area reps. The Eboard will be meeting soon to appoint people to some of these vacancies. If being an alternate area rep is something you are interested in, please let your area rep know. It should be noted that having an alternate area rep is at the discretion of the area reps and not necessarily a requirement. However, all alternate area reps shall be vetted through the Eboard.
As a final note, I would like to take a moment to thank you for allowing me to continue serving as your FACREP. It is not always an easy job, but I do find it to be one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my professional career. As the dust settles from the chaos of the last couple years, I look forward to working closely with the Eboard and with all of you to make ZSE a great place to work. I hope to foster the brother and sisterhood that being a part of NATCA is all about. There will always be disputes, whether it be between individuals, areas, other facilities or even on a national scale, but our voice is always loudest when we are unified in our efforts. Thank you for your membership, your professionalism and your passion for our career and our Union. Here is to a fantastic 2020.
In Solidarity,
Derek Adams