Facility Update June 14th

Construction Update

I have been assured the big parking lot will open next week. They might block off the front parking lot this weekend in preparation for that. The lights will be turned off on Monday. I had to move some of the appliances around in some of the areas today to ensure Tech Ops had access to enough plug-ins for the supplemental lights. Please don’t move any appliances around or unplug any extension cords, we’ll go back to standard ops when this project is over in about a month.

Member in Need

Most people are aware of the Voluntary Leave Donation Program, it is intended to supplement someone’s leave balance when they have had to deplete it due to family or personal circumstances. We have someone in the facility who could use your help, Anthony Greer, a trainee in the A area has been approved to be on this program. He gave me permission to share his story:

"My mother, who has multiple sclerosis and lupus, was recently diagnosed with congenital heart disease after experiencing a shortness of breath and symptoms of pneumonia. She lives in Arkansas, and was hospitalized in the middle of moving apartments. I took time off to help her move from Little Rock to Fayetteville, AR, and to take her to doctor’s appointments and help monitor her medication over the course of a couple months. I exhausted all my accrued annual and sick leave in the process. “

Thanks for reading Anthony’s story. Please consider donating any leave you can by accessing the link below behind an FAA firewall.  

All leave donations must be made from an FAA computer https://ahrweb.faa.gov/ovltp/.

NATCA’s Birthday BBQ

Reminder: This Tuesday, June 18th, we will be having a BBQ out front from 11 to 1. We will have a variety of hot dogs and burgers, including some meatless options. Shout out to Jon Jones, he handmade a set of cornhole tables that will be out there to use too! I look forward to this being the first of many events that our new events committee puts together for us!

Thank you all,

Amy

Facility Update June 5th

If you haven’t already, please spend one minute filling out this SURVEY. This will help the events committee know what people are interested in when they plan the next event.

Control Room and Break Room Cleaning

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be clearing out excess items in the control room that are no longer used, do not comply with OSHA standards, or are simply trash. If you have any personal items such as coats, coffee makers, or other appliances behind the consoles, please remove them immediately. Alternatively, let me know if there is something you need me to set aside. Unclaimed items will be donated or discarded.

Once the control room is cleared, I will move on to the reading room and pool room. If any gaming consoles in the pool room belong to you, please retrieve them. All books in the reading room will be donated, so feel free to take any you want before they’re gone.

Construction Update

The parking lot project was delayed due to recent storms but should be completed soon.

The lights were initially scheduled to be turned off last Monday, but due to unforeseen issues, the process was delayed. While testing the supplemental lighting yesterday, the light panel got damaged, pushing the timeline back by approximately one month. We will keep you posted.

Election Information

Your participation in the upcoming election is crucial. While not everyone can/wants to volunteer for NATCA positions or details, voting is a way everyone can contribute. Make sure your voice is heard. Educate yourself about the candidates by visiting their websites, attending town halls, and asking any questions you may have. The e-board is also available to provide additional information if you wish too.

Thank you,

Amy Sizemore

Facility Update May 31st

All Members Meeting

Our next All Members meeting is on Monday, June 5th, in the East/West Conference room. Lunch will be provided at 12:30, and the meeting will start at 1 p.m. Agenda items include FAA Reauthorization, upcoming events, the NATCA National Election, area training reps, and possible effects of the fatigue mitigation on 2025 schedule bidding. If you would like to attend virtually, the link is HERE.

Control Room Lighting Project

It was put off for years due to budget constraints, but they are going forward with the lighting project in the control room. No light fixtures will be changed, it is just the panel that controls all of them. I’m sure I’m oversimplifying it because it will take them a month to complete this. We will do a final test of the supplemental lighting on Monday, and as long as that goes well, the project will commence. Please immediately report any outages of the strip lights built into the console so they can be replaced.

Parking Lot Construction

They are nearly done with the part of the lot that has been closed for the past couple of months. They are slated to finish it, strip it, and open it next week. Then, they will close the northeast lot and the remainder of the unfinished spots to pave those as well. Please use caution. The next project is the creation of an ADA-compliant ramp that connects to the door up front by the lockers and should start soon after the parking lot is complete.

Enjoy our little bit of sunshine,

Amy

**Reminder** CHA Wednesday and Thursday this week

Reminder from last week’s email:

Collaborative Health Assessment (CHA) (this does not have anything to do with the flight surgeon)

Quick background: each facility has two Collaboration Facilitators (CFs), one management and one NATCA. Their primary focus is on the relationship between the FacRep and the ATM and how effective they are as a pair. Normally, the interaction between the FacRep/ATM and their CFs is pretty informal, mostly just a call/text to see how things are going. Every couple of years though, they come to the facility and conduct a CHA. This has nothing to do with the Flight Surgeon or anything like that, it is a short survey on the state of collaboration in the facility. Then, at the end, they compile the de-identified data and provide the ATM and FacRep with what could be described as a report card. They will be here May 22-23 and will be interviewing as many people as possible. While not required, it is strongly encouraged and will be on duty time, you do not have to use your break time. More information HERE. If you will not be here those days but would still like to be interviewed, please contact Marilou Scherer at scherermadness@gmail.com.

Thank you for your participation,

Amy

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Facility Update May 13th

Buckle in, lengthy update ahead, but I’ll try to be a succinct as possible. Just let me know if you have any questions or anything.

Facility Visit

Nick Daniels and Jamaal Haltom, running for NATCA President and Executive VP respectively will be in the facility on Wednesday the 15th from 1pm-3:30 and then returning after a meeting, sometime after 6pm.

Events Committee

Lots to go over here. 

• We have the winners for the ZSE step challenge random raffle: Travis Beus, $50 gift certificate; Jessie Dias, $35 gift certificate; and Chico, $15 gift certificate. Please contact Lisa Marshall, email: lisabrookemarshall@gmail.com, text: (775) 247-4123 to let her know whether you would like that for Costco or REI. 

• In celebration of NATCA’s 37th birthday, the Events Committee is going to be throwing a BBQ. It will be on June 18th and will be held up front near the grills. 

• The Events Committee would value your input on what events you would like to see so they know how best to plan. Please fill out THIS short survey so they know what you are interested in. 

Collaborative Health Assessment (CHA)

Quick background: each facility has two Collaboration Facilitators (CFs), one management and one NATCA. Their primary focus is on the relationship between the FacRep and the ATM and how effective they are as a pair. Normally, the interaction between the FacRep/ATM and their CFs is pretty informal, mostly just a call/text to see how things are going. Every couple of years though, they come to the facility and conduct a CHA. This has nothing to do with the Flight Surgeon or anything like that, it is a short survey on the state of collaboration in the facility. Then, at the end, they compile the de-identified data and provide the ATM and FacRep with what could be described as a report card. They will be here May 22-23 and will be interviewing as many people as possible. While not required, it is strongly encouraged and will be on duty time, you do not have to use your break time. More information HERE. If you will not be here those days but would still like to be interviewed, please contact Marilou Scherer at scherermadness@gmail.com.

Childcare Survey

A couple of weeks ago, Drew sent out a survey link. It’s really important that we get as many people to fill this out as possible so we can try to get childcare in the area again. Here is the information again:

Linked below is a survey created by Jen Teshima to help us try to get childcare in the area. We have no guarantee that this will move the needle at all but we need maximum participation in this to be able to have a shot at getting childcare back in the area.

This is for people who currently need child care OR THINK YOU MIGHT IN THE FUTURE!!

Survey:  Childcare Survey

Thank you in advance for your help!

Drew

Contact Your Representative

We are so close to the FAA Reauthorization being voted into law and then we don’t have to talk about that for another 5 years. The Senate passed it, and it is in the hands of the House right now, but as you know, not a lot of things are moving quickly these days. You probably received an email from NATCA National today asking you to contact your representative to pass the FAA Reauthorization Act now. It is super simple and will take less than a minute, you don’t need to think of words to say or who your representative even is, the form does it for you. If you can’t find the email, the link it HERE.

I know this was a lot. Thank you for making it to the end. Enjoy the sun while we have it for the next week or so.

Amy