Correction

All,

In the section of our previous email regarding Letters of Confirmation of Discussion and their differences from Letters of Admonishment, I incorrectly titled it “Letters of Confirmation of Discussion vs Letters of Reprimand.” Letters of Reprimand are something completely different and are, without any doubt, disciplinary. All the content is still correct, just the header was wrong.

That was bugging me so I wanted to get that cleared up for the 4 of you that read these emails. 😂

I hope everyone has a good spread for the Super Bowl whether it be points or charcuterie. If you happen to be at work during the Super Bowl, enjoy the datacomm run.

Drew

Facility Update February 10th

We are nearly finished training for Datacomm, and the trial runs are becoming more frequent. So far, so good. It’ll be nice to have this all put behind us, and we can get the training department back up to 100% training speed. We’ve got a lot of trainees upstairs, if you get a couple of minutes, go stop by and say hi. :)

All Members Meetings

Chico posted the list of all the meeting dates for the year, it’s on the bulletin board. Once again, they are spread out all over the week, so everyone has the chance to attend. Please try to make at least one this year, and it’s the best place to get input from you, so we are sure to keep this local going in the direction you all want it to.

Events Committee

We are looking to gather a group of people that are interested in planning events for the facility. These are great ways to grow and strengthen our relationships in the facility, which are very important in a high-stress job like this. The next event we need help with is a picnic this summer. NATCA’s “birthday” is in June, we’ll be a whopping 36 years old this year, and it’ll be an excellent opportunity to get families together! If you would like to help, please let us know.

IST Cadre

Please let your area rep know if you’re interested in teaching IST this next round, the cadre training is March 14-15 or 16-17, and the workforce training is April 23rd - May 6th.

From Drew:

Letter of Confirmation of Discussion vs. Letter of Reprimand

I previously briefed you all on Letters of Confirmation of Discussion (LOCOD) and how they are non-disciplinary ways for the Agency to record that they discussed something with you. I.e., Signing in late, violating the 8 or 9-hour rules, and not checking CEDAR. The Agency has taken the stance that Letters of Admonishment are also non-disciplinary (if it says so in the letter). This is incongruous with Article 10 of the CBA. Article 10 Section 12 states that Letters of Confirmation of Discussion shall not be considered disciplinary in nature but may be used to document future disciplinary actions. The contract does NOT state the same for Letters of Admonishment, so it stands to reason that because Letters of Admonishment are covered under Article 10 (Titled Disciplinary/Adverse Actions), Letters of Admonishment would be considered disciplinary in nature.

The Agency has taken the position that Letters of Admonishment are “informal discipline” and, therefore, not technically “discipline.” For obvious reasons, we disagree.

All this is to say that if you are called back to the supes office or asked to sign something, please ask for a rep. If the agency does not see what they are doing as “disciplinary,” then they (in their minds) will not meet the threshold for having to offer you one. So to avoid any confusion at all, always ask for a rep.

We have yet to be able to effect a change to this position because we have not had a case of a Letter of Admonishment that clearly should have been something lesser. If this happens, we will try to make that case to them. 

TL;DR: ALWAYS ASK FOR A REP.

In Solidarity,

Amy and Drew

Facility Update January 13th

We had some successful trial runs of Datacomm the past three nights. It sounds like a couple of minor changes to make, but all in all, it went well. I believe we’re doing one more round of 3 mid shifts and then the next trial run after that should be on the swing shift. We’ll get some dates to you shortly.

CA-1 Changes

The current version of the American Rescue Plan Act expires January 27th, and the process for submitting a CA-1 for covid will be changing. Currently, you just had to be at work within the last 21 days to have a CA-1 claim accepted. Starting January 28th, the current procedure to file a CA-1 will no longer be accepted without a written narrative report from a physician supporting both the work exposure and the causal relationship between the exposure and the infection. With this new addition, you will need to use SL if you test positive. The testing EA will still be available.

Constitutional Amendments

The deadline to submit amendments to the National Constitution is February 20th. We have a regional pre-convention meeting May 30th-June 1st and Convention is Jun 20th-22nd. There will be an all-members meeting to discuss all the amendments and decide how our facility wants to vote on them, but the date for that has yet to be set. If you have an idea for a change, but you don’t know how to write it up, please get in touch with Drew Stewart, he will be glad to help you.

Amy

Your Supe Wants to Talk to You In the Office? Know your rights!

All,

I will try to keep this as brief as possible so I can get the information across without losing anyone. There have been more and more instances of Supervisors having little chit-chats with controllers about things like showing up late or using sick leave in a manner the agency may not agree with. These conversations are absolutely fine for them to be having with you (preferably away from the operation). If you believe it could lead to discipline, you are entitled to representation. If you ask for a rep, they should give you the chance to get one. We pick the reps, not them. If you get any resistance to this, please let us know immediately.

LOCODs

“What is that fun new acronym?” You may be asking yourself. Well, it’s not new and it’s not exactly fun either. LOCOD stands for Letter of Confirmation of Discussion. This can be found in Article 10 Section 12 of the Slate Book. Which reads as follows:

Letters of confirmation of discussion shall not be considered disciplinary in nature, but may be used to document future disciplinary actions, provided the employee has been given a copy upon completion. If a letter of confirmation of discussion is prepared, a copy will be provided to the employee as soon as practicable after the discussion.

These are basically records that show a conversation was had. An example of the agency doing this would be if they believed you to be abusing sick leave, they would have a discussion with you about what the proper use of sick leave is. They would then document this discussion and have you sign it. Then if you continue to abuse sick leave (allegedly), they would have to give you a counseling for it. For the counseling, they would be required to notify you in advance and offer you a rep. THEN, only after that counseling happens, could they put you on a sick leave restriction letter. They are not required to offer you a rep for a LOCOD, but I would always ask for one. Your default setting for every time a supe wants to speak to you about somethign other than performance (especially if it is one on one in the offices) should be to ask for a rep.

I have reason to believe that more and more of these documented conversations will be happening in the future around here. Don’t live in fear of these, just ask for a rep.

TL;DR: Ask for a rep.

Hope everyone is having a good holiday season and staying safe!

Drew

Snow Leave Refresher/Out of Office Notice

All,

I just wanted to send a quick update to wish everyone a happy holiday season and to let everyone know that both Amy and I are on annual leave for the next week. I will be back in the building on Wednesday, December 28th, and Amy will be back on Monday, January 2nd. As always, we are available in case of emergency and to the best of my knowledge, all of your area reps are still going to be around as well.

There is potential for some hazardous weather conditions in the coming weeks as well, so here is a quick refresher on how Article 19 is to be utilized. First, here is the exact wording:

Section 1. Given the essential nature of FAA responsibilities, employees are expected to make a reasonable effort to report for work during hazardous geological/weather conditions between the employee's home and their duty location; however, they are not expected to disregard their personal safety or that of their family. All employees who are unable to report for duty shall notify their facility as soon as possible. Employees who are unable to report for duty shall be granted excused absence at the time of their request, subject to the review process in Section 2. If requested, employees shall provide information that supports their request for excused absence as soon as feasible after returning to duty.

Examples of information are:

a. oral or written statements;

b. conditions that the employee encountered;

c. a synopsis of efforts made;

d. other information which provides an explanation or which shows hazardous geological/weather conditions prevented the employee from reporting to the facility or compelled the employee to safeguard his or her family against such phenomena.

Section 2. When deciding to sustain or rescind excused absence(s) granted in Section 1, the Agency, during joint review with the Union, shall consider reports from the employee, civil authorities, current meteorological information, news media, official road reports, leave approvals, reduced staffing, or closings at other area government facilities.

Section 3. When the Agency at the local level, after consulting with the Union, determines that hazardous geological/weather conditions exist or are imminent, on-duty bargaining unit employees shall be released as soon as possible, as staffing and workload permit. Volunteers to remain on duty shall be utilized to the extent possible.

Section 4. The Agency retains the right to determine the opening, closing, and use of its facilities during periods of hazardous geological/weather conditions. Subject to security and operational needs, the Parties at the facility may review existing facility emergency readiness plans and, to the extent appropriate, negotiate supplemental procedures addressing the work and family safety concerns of employees during such hazardous conditions.

Section 5. At facilities not in continuous operation, the Parties at that level shall negotiate procedures that employees shall use to notify the Agency in the event that they are unable to report on the opening shift. The procedures shall also establish the method the Agency will use to notify employees in the event that they are not required to report for duty due to hazardous geological/weather conditions.

Section 6. Issues arising from employees who chronically are unable to report to work during these conditions will be addressed utilizing the provisions of Articles 8 and/or 52 of this Agreement prior to more formal measures being initiated.

Ok so now let’s dig in on a few key points there. First off, it says you are required to make A REASONABLE EFFORT. Notice that is not plural and it does not say “every” reasonable effort. That means you are not required to keep trying every hour to see if you can make it. You give it a reasonable effort and then you make the call. The agency tends to read this differently so be prepared for some resistance but know that you are right and contact your rep if necessary. Next, notice that the excused absence SHALL BE GRANTED. If later they choose to conduct a JOINT REVIEW WITH THE UNION then it is possible it could be rescinded. However, as long as you are being reasonable and responsible, we will be able to make that argument on your behalf. The agency does not have the right to make unilateral denials of this request. And lastly, Section 3 gives the agency the ability to cut you loose earlier if conditions are worsening and it would be prudent to send you home. Remind them that while the early release provision is staffing and workload permitting, the approval is a “shall.” If you make a request and you feel it is unreasonably denied, contact your rep immediately. I will add that in the past, the agency has been pretty reasonable with early release in the case of heavy snow/ice.

Any questions on this, please don’t hesitate to contact your reps.

Happy Holidays and stay safe out there!

Drew