Brothers and Sisters,
I’m a few months behind on sending out updates; I apologize.
1. Professionalism: One of my goals is to try to encourage everyone in our area to be professional in the workplace. If you hear inappropriate conversations or observe inappropriate behavior, please politely ask the people involved to be professional. Be the best you can be!
2. NATCA Membership Meetings: Attendance at the NATCA membership meetings on August 15th at the Rainbow Café and August 19th at the Spunky Monkey, is very important for CPCs and trainees alike. Some of the National Constitution amendment proposals will have a huge impact on us if they are passed. The seniority and privatization amendments address issues that I personally have very strong opinions about. The local membership will be polled at the meetings and will determine what positions our delegates take to the Convention. The new contract will also be discussed and questions will be answered. Please try to make it to one of the meetings as that is the best way to make your voice heard.
3. Credit Hours: When you have a request for credit hours worked approved, expect to work. Do not come in and take a low pass or take a break after a few minutes on sector. Management does not have to approve credit hours worked and we do not want to give them any reason to deny these requests. Be prepared to work when earning credit hours and do not complain about the work you are assigned.
4. Payroll: The payroll system is not set up for BUE to earn credit hours. Your pay statement from Pay Period 17 will not show any credit hours earned or used. Your pay statement for Pay Period 18 will be amended to correct the problem from Pay Period 17.
5. Overtime: The overtime MOU was renegotiated mid-term. The biggest change is that overtime is now being track by the minute using Web Scheduler, not by opportunities. The way call in overtime is assigned was also discussed and may be interpreted differently than in the past. Some of the management team believe that if you are on the “yes” list and you answer the phone, you cannot turn down OT unless you are incapacitated in some way (sick, alcohol, etc.). Be prepared for this if you answer your phone and are told that you have OT. If you are on the “no” list, the rules have not changed. The forced OT rules have also not changed. Please talk to me if you want any clarification or if you believe that an OT assignment has not been handled properly.
6. S46 LOA: Although we agreed on the changes that I informed you about in my last update, the S46 LOA has not yet changed. I’m not sure why there has been such a long delay in implementing these changes, but at this point I’m happy to stick with what we currently have. The delay has been entirely on S46’s side and I do not have an estimated time for when this will be resolved.
7. Makah Radar Outages: We have finally made some headway into getting everyone with a vested interest in the QKW radar to talk to each other about scheduling outages. The outages will now be coordinated with input from everyone, including those from our area. As a side note, we have been trying for some time to get the NUW radar piped into our system and along with some Canadian radars to help mitigate the effects of outages.
8. Watch Schedule Development: I have not started designing next year’s schedule yet. Before I begin, I would like input from the area. With maxi-flex schedules (first week: 9-9-9-9-8-RDO-RDO, second week: 9-9-9-9-RDO-RDO-RDO) back as an option, I’m requesting ideas of how to incorporate them into the schedule. My preference is to have at least one maxi-flex line per crew, meaning that line would have a three day weekend every other week. Please let me know your thoughts and ideas on this and other elements of the schedule.
I’m sure there is something I’ve omitted. If you have any questions or suggestions, please come find me, email at skorniakoff@comcast.net, or call/text me at 253-332-2066.
In Solidarity,
Paul Skorniakoff