We had a very productive two days in Sacramento for the Northwest Mountain and Western Pacific joint regional meeting. I’ll attach the notes to this email but Drew and I would like to first talk about a subject that affects us all.
Background Info:
In 2012, there was a national team formed and named the Collaborative Resource Workgroup (CRWG). The primary focus of this group is to assess the staffing numbers at each facility in the NAS to ensure they are accurate. The are a total of 13,054 controllers nationally and the way staffing works is a zero sum game, meaning if one facility gains then another facility loses but the total stays the same. The CRWG has been paused for the last two years but has recently started meeting again.
From Drew:
I wanted to touch on something that Amy has discussed in previous updates that I feel is going to be the flavor of the week for a while. Mgmt has really started pushing opening sectors regardless of whether or not the traffic warrants it. Or “staffing chairs” as many like to call it. I know this can be deeply frustrating, especially when it means that what was going to be an hour-long stint on sector will now be 1+45 and it will be spent doing nothing. As we are coming out of COVID staffing and traffic, the CRWG has begun to meet again. This is a group that is going to help determine if facility staffing numbers are still accurate. As nice as it may be to have more frequent breaks, it could possibly put our staffing number at risk. Meaning if the bean counters count up all the beans and it looks like we are getting by just fine with the 134 CPCs we currently have, then that is going to be our new staffing number as opposed to our current target staffing number of 165 CPCs. That would be a pretty devastating blow for us long term.
I know there is also a major issue with how TOP is tracked agency wide. That is being worked on and we are doing what we can to have them correct all of that. In the meantime, there are still steps we can take to protect our staffing numbers.
When mgmt is asking you to open a sector that you deem is “dead” here are the things to consider:
Is this the right sector to be opening? Will this provide the most help in the event traffic does pick up?
Is this going to cause us to go over 2 hours on position?
Is this going to cause us to shorten our breaks?
Is training being terminated to open this sector?
If the opening of a sector that doesn’t have traffic in it causes break shortening or 2 hours TOP or causes someone to not be able to train, then please let your area reps know so they can address it. Try to be as specific as possible so when the area reps pull the times they can see exactly what happened.
To sum it all up, now is not the time to be fighting to have everything all combined up. Now is the time to be doing everything we can to justify our staffing to ensure this is not the new norm.
Just as a reminder though, FLMs/OMs are allowed to run their shift as they see fit. Anything that is a long term change or extends past their shift is changing the working conditions or creating policy and needs to be collaborated/negotiated. Please let your rep know right away if you see this happening.
Regional Meeting Notes
There were approximately 100 NATCA members in attendance. This meeting was limited to FacReps/VPs or their designees but the next meeting should be advertised and if you’re interested in attending or getting involved, please let us know.
Day 1:
Introductions
Collaborative Leadership
- discussed types of personalities and how to interact with membership
- how to balance and get members involved
Drug and Alcohol Briefing
- discussed roles of all individuals involved in the drug/alcohol testing process
- union requirements checklist (link on NATCA website)
- Treatment Rehabilitation Plan (TRP)
Collaboration panel
- included the NNM RVP Alex Navarro, NWP RVP Joel Ortiz and Jeff Stewart, (FAA) Western Service Area Director of Operations
Safety Briefing
- ATSAP process
- Local Safety Council
- CFS Sept 12-14 (Registration opens April 19)
Legislative Briefing
NATCA in Washington - What are we lobbying for?
- maintain FAA funding and prevent further cuts
- ensure a stable and predictable funding stream
Day 2:
NATCA Executive Vice President - Andrew LeBovidge (open discussion with members)
- Covid-19 (cleaning, RAs)
- staffing (academy, NCEPT)
- pay increases vs inflation
- upgrades/downgrades post COVID
Article 24/32/34 Briefing
Collaborative Skills Training (CST)
Right from the Start (RFTS)
- identifies issues within a facility that hinder its ability to operate the best way possible
- promotes collaboration between management and NATCA
Facility Rep Training
- Article 2 - Union Recognition and Representation
- Article 6 - Representation Rights (formal discussions between management/union member)
3120.4 - Training Order
Methods to improve ATC skills
- Skill Improvement Training (SIT)
- Skill Development Training (SDT)
- Training Enterprise Application and Management (TEAM) - new electronic system developed to manage training
In Solidarity,
Amy Sizemore and Drew Stewart