Hey C Area - we’ve made it through another month, through the schedule transition to new days off, through the beginning of a new year, and are heading into a spring of new information and changes.
Thanks for all your patience while I was out of town, I had a great time in Scotland with my mom and girlfriend from NORCAL. Back to the grind now!
Another big thank you as you patiently waited for my grievance to result in the change of duty assignments for the OS’s in the area. Lee is no longer doing the schedule, it is currently with Devon which has so far been a huge improvement. He is collaborating and talking with Carly in a constructive and open manner which is making everyone’s jobs a little easier, and is ensuring the schedule gets out timely which is nice.
There has been talk of reviewing all the options available to send a message to sector 01 when 09 is open. These are merely suggestions and are not requirements, and I will not be pushing for a requirement to be put into place. We need to continuously operate as if every position is open all the time so we don’t get into any bad habits, and I will be bringing this up when this topic arises. Having options to alert 01 that 09 is open isn’t a bad thing, but again - NOT A REQUIREMENT. If you have any questions about this, you have my digits.
There is talk of automated handoffs with Canada, MD is looking into other facilities that have LOA’s with Canada to see how they do it. Expect to hear more about this in the next coming months.
If you have any recommendations for anything you’d like to see changed within NATCA, amendments to the constitution will be received until 2/20. Please contact Drew Stewart and he will help you write it up.
We still need 1 TEAM Cadre if you are interested. The class is 2/7 & 2/8 from 8:30-1:30 online, and controllers will be taught how to use it in 2 hour classes, much like refreshers or briefings happen.
A CWG to help the ZSE areas work with TMU is gaining ground, so expect to hear more about that soon. The new ATM has a much more communicative relationship with NATCA, so you can expect to hear more good things in the coming future.
I have been in touch with the GEG Facrep, Cassie, about rumors that they will be having to give up YKM airspace. They are very short staffed for the month of February due to some family leave situations (as in staffing 8/8 for 7 positions), so we may see YKM opening more often just until March when people return from leave.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I appreciate all you do!
Have a great rest of January,
Crumbley
360-635-8244