Well, it’s Friday the 13th and there certainly is a strange eeriness in the air. Between the World Health Organization declaring that the COVID-19 outbreak is a pandemic earlier this week, the announcements by Jay Inslee closing schools and a declaration by the White House that we are in a state of emergency, it seems that there is a lot of anxiety and uneasiness about the whole situation.
More on COVID-19
Although the agency is continuing to be slow to react, I have continued to work with the front office this week to address many of our concerns. I have gotten confirmation that anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 or caring for a loved one that has been diagnosed will be allowed the opportunity to take advanced sick leave in the event they do not have enough on the books. In the event that an employee is quarantined by a public health authority (State and local health departments, FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or OSHA) the employee shall be granted excused absence. For those that need to take leave to care for your children due to school or daycare closures, you can use Article 26 Section 8(a). Please remember that this is subject to staffing and workload. In conversations with Don, I did get him to agree that leave requested under this article would have priority over training and the training initiative. When you make requests for annual under this article please put “in accordance with Article 26 Section 8” in the remarks. Finally, I have made a request for a true deep cleaning of the control room (not that garbage the janitors do a couple times a year) and have been told they have the funding and are looking for a company that can do it early to middle of next week. I also asked about disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer and was told it has been ordered and is on the way. I ask that you all stay safe and healthy and take care of your families. If you or a member of your family contracts the virus please stay home on sick leave and get yourself or them better. Anyone running into trouble with management over any issues related to COVID-19 please let a rep know ASAP so we can try to help you out. Also, while clearly we are not eligible for telecommute, I have attached the decision tree the FAA came out with today so you can see the determinations they are making between having the virus, caring for some one with the virus, etc.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Kelly Saunders for becoming the newest CPC in the D area.
Request for Volunteers
Don Amundson has asked me to solicit for volunteers to be SMEs for the upcoming Data Comm upgrades. Although TR2 has been sidelined for the time being due to problems with the new 43” monitors, Data Comm is still on the way and we will need SMEs to train the workforce as the Data Comm upgrades roll out. If you are interested please let a member of the Eboard know.
That is all for this week. Please continue to monitor your email for further COVID-19 updates from the Local Eboard, The RVP/ARVP and NATCA National. Take care of yourselves and your families and let me know if there is anything more I can do to try to set your mind at ease during this uneasy time.
In Solidarity,
Derek Adams
