We are all finally home from convention. The schedule was intense, day one lasted until nearly 9pm and started early the next morning but we got so much important business done. Seeing this democratic process done in person is very powerful and I hope you all get a chance to attend Convention to experience this as well. If you would like to reference it, HERE is the link for the amendments and HERE is the link for the untimely amendments. Below is a list of how each amendment vote resulted.
A 21-01
This was the amendment to go through the entire constitution to replace all gender specific references with the gender neutral they/them. There was a lot of discussion about this amendment but was ultimately deferred to a committee to ensure that we do not incur any unintended consequences by changing this language.
A21-02
This was the amendment to change the order of NATCA’s mission statement to state safety first. The arguments against this stated that while safety is important, we are first and foremost a labor union and that will continue to be NATCA’s main goal. The amendment was defeated.
A21-03
This was the amendment to make a member unable to run for national office. The issue was that it is potentially possible for a person to be elected to office, retire and still sit as the national officer. While the voting body understood the potential “hole” in the constitution, the voting body felt that the membership should hold that power when they vote for RVPs, EVP or President. The amendment was defeated.
A21-04
This was the amendment to allow the NEB to publish their meeting minutes at a more realistic timeframe. The amendment passed with little discussion.
A21-05
This was the amendment to create an RVP position specifically for Federal contract towers (FCT). While there were a couple of delegates speaking in favor of this it was ultimately defeated. The main argument against this was that the current RVP for each FCT already handles any issues that may arise already and there isn’t enough workload to necessitate a separate RVP.
A21-06
This was the amendment to make the convention committee a standing committee and give it a very specific structure. It is currently determined by the President. The amendment was defeated.
A21-07
This was the amendment to state that the addresses of national officers and chairs will no longer publish the addresses of national officers/chairs. Their contact information is available on the members only side of the NATCA website. This amendment passed.
A21-08
This was the amendment to create a standing election committee. The voting body chose to postpone this amendment indefinitely due to lack of information.
A21-09
This amendment was defeated on the basis of not wanting to curtail the membership’s voting authority.
A21-10
This amendment was defeated with the same rationale as A21-09.
A21-11
Withdrawn.
A21-12
This amendment was heard with R21-21. Former NATCA president John Carr took over as speaker for this discussion since it involves sitting national officers. This amendment would tie the President/EVP salary to ours and keep us from debating this every convention. The President and EVP haven’t received a raise since 2018 while in that time the membership has received roughly 5%. The average leadership salary for most jobs ranges from 5-10% and the amendment would make the air traffic leadership 1.85%. This amendment was amended to say the president’s salary will be level 12 salary plus 1.85% and the EVP to be $5000 less than the President to ensure there is not an ever-widening gap but maintains a difference between the two jobs.
A21-13
This amendment closed a repeating loop caused by local constitutions referencing the National and the National referencing the local. Now if Locals do not have the voting members defined, the National document takes care of that for them. If they do have voting members defined, they can keep it however they have it. This amendment passed.
A21-14
This amendment would give current members their seniority back if they took a supervisor position. The amendment was overwhelmingly defeated.
A21-15
This amendment was to change the way we count seniority for a small number of members known as “retired annuitants.” There are currently only about 10 members nationally that this affects. This amendment was defeated.
A21-16
This amendment was defeated.
A21-17
This amendment would include Mike Moroney time in seniority. It was defeated.
A21-18
This amendment would allow for military air traffic controllers to get seniority for their time in service. This amendment was not seconded and therefore not heard.
A21-19
This amendment would change the seniority tiebreaker. This amendment was defeated.
A21-20
This amendment was mainly for formatting and clarifying wording in the constitution. The amendment passed.
A21-21
This amendment was to require membership approval before extending any contract. This amendment was unanimously defeated.
A21-22
This amendment would restructure how each Local’s delegate entitlement is determined and would have increased the number of delegates at convention, mostly for larger facilities. This amendment was defeated.
R21-01
This resolution is already covered in another resolution and was adopted.
R21-02
This resolution would dissolve the “BBS” system that is no longer in use. This resolution was adopted.
R21-03
This resolution removed reference to “Unionware” since NATCA doesn’t use it anymore and goes one step further to generalize language to ensure we don’t have to do this again with any future software changes. This resolution was adopted.
R21-04
This resolution was tied to R21-02 and was adopted.
R21-05
This resolution was adopted.
R21-06
This resolution would create an audit policy that better suits the way business is currently done. The resolution was adopted.
R21-07
Withdrawn.
R21-08
Withdrawn.
R21-09
This resolution would change the amounts eligible for the NATCA Education Reimbursement Fund. This resolution was amended to remove the portion of extending the amount and passed.
R21-10
Withdrawn.
R21-11
This resolution sets the time to voucher internet expenses to 360 days. This resolution was adopted.
R21-12
This resolution was adopted.
R21-13
Withdrawn.
R21-14
This resolution specifies the process involved for NATCA endorsement of candidates for public office. The resolution passed.
R21-15
This resolution would remove redundant language in standing rules and was passed.
R21-16
This resolution passed.
R21-17
Withdrawn.
R21-18
This resolution would ensure the Professional Standards Program would remain a permanent program. This resolution passed.
R21-19
This was not seconded and therefore not heard.
R21-20
This resolution passed.
R21-21
This resolution was heard with A21-12.
R21-22
This resolution would ensure that any elected RVP forced into an LWOP status would continue to be paid by NATCA. The amendment was defeated.
R21-23
This resolution sought to limit discussions NATCA would be allowed to be involved in when the topic would involve alternative funding streams. The voting body rose in strong opposition to this resolution because of how important it is to be involved in all conversations involving NATCA members regardless of what side of the “argument” NATCA is on. The resolution was defeated.
R21-24
This resolution was not seconded and therefore not heard.
R21-25
This resolution was seconded but was defeated.
R21-26
Withdrawn.
R21-27
This resolution was passed.
R21-28
This resolution was ruled out of order and therefore not voted on.
R21-29
This resolution was to clean up some financial policies. It was passed.
R21-30
This resolution would provide SRF-12 facilities with lodging for convention. It was amended to strike a couple of sentences, basically making it a requirement rather than up to NEB. This amendment passed.
R21-31
This amendment was not seconded and therefore not heard.
R21-32
This resolution allows for contractors to supplement training departments. The resolution was adopted.
R21-33
This resolution would raise the internet stipend for SRF-12 facilities. This resolution was passed.
R21-34
This resolution fixes a grammatical typo. The resolution was passed.
UA21-23
This amendment was solely to fix grammatical errors and was passed.
UA21-24
This amendment limits national officers to only BUEs and no age 56 waivers. This amendment was adopted.
If you have any questions about any of the amendments or processes, please let us know.
Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart