All,
I hope everyone is having a good week. I am flying to Texas tomorrow to spend a week on the beach with family so I know I will be having a good week. If any issues arise that you need me for, I will still be accessible. Alright, so here's what I have this week.
VP Appointment
At our local meeting last Wednesday, we heard the proposed amendment to the constitution that would allow us to hold a special election to fill the role of VP. This amendment was unanimously defeated. Not one vote was in favor of holding a special election. So, we will proceed as our constitution is written and the Eboard will appoint. There are 4 people who have been nominated. Brooke Dawson (A Area Rep), J-Rod (C Area Rep), Derek Adams, and yours truly. There will be an Eboard meeting on June 15th where we will decide who the next VP is.
I have given a lot of thought to the VP position over the last month and I am having a really hard time deciding whether or not to remove my name from consideration. I am only 5 months into a 2 year commitment I made to being the D area rep. I know that going to the VP office would not be the same as transferring out or resigning but I want to do right by you guys. If any of you have opinions on what you would like me to do, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Executive Orders
Here is the most recent (5/31) from the NO regarding the EOs:
Brothers and Sisters,
We informed you on Friday that the President issued three Executive Orders (EOs) that could negatively affect federal employees and their unions. When it announced the EOs, the Administration expressed its intention that the orders would: (1) expedite the process for removing employees from federal service in performance-based adverse actions; (2) reduce the use of union official time government-wide; and (3) reduce the time it takes to negotiate collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and to reduce the costs contained within them. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has advised that it will publish guidance advising agency heads how to implement these orders in the near future; however, it did not provide a timetable.
NATCA has thoroughly reviewed and analyzed the EOs. Based upon the law and the language within our collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), we maintain that none of the changes in these EOs will affect our members or our Union for the duration of each CBA. There should be no changes to any of NATCA's agreements with the FAA - local or national - nor any changes in how they are implemented. The same is true for all current practices and procedures between the parties. If you become aware of any attempts by the agency to take action to implement any of these EOs, or make any other changes, please immediately contact your FacRep and Regional Vice President.
NATCA is working diligently to oppose not just these attacks on federal employees, but similar attacks on federal retirement programs. We know that times like these, when there are multiple attacks on federal employees, can be distracting. While we continue to work to address the challenges presented by these EOs, it is important that we all remain focused on maintaining the safety and efficiency of our National Airspace System.
We will continue to keep you updated as events unfold.
In Solidarity,
Paul Rinaldi, NATCA President
Trish Gilbert, NATCA Executive Vice President
EUG LOA
No movement in the last week on this issue. The guy I have been talking to over there is out of the building for 2 weeks so I imagine we will talk more when he gets back. I have asked him to send over an official request to change the LOA to our airspace office so we will get that and go from there. I am thinking that we will end up doing some sort of trial period where we get EUG landers down to 10,000 ft at 30 DME in a North flow. More on this when I know more.
2019 Schedule
We are in the early phases of building the 2019 MOUs regarding scheduling and leave. Be thinking about things you would like to see differently in next year's schedule. Feel free to email ideas whenever. As soon as we start negotiations, I will keep you all posted on how that goes.
In Solidarity,
Drew