Sisters and Brothers,
1. Pre-Approved Leave Slots and Schedule:
a. SC is moving on to another opportunity outside of the FAA. We wish her the best in her new endeavor! As a result, adding a new line to the schedule has been delayed.
b. We ended up with 31 pre-approved leave slots available after Round 6 of the vacation bid. The dates of the pre-approved slots available are between June 4th and September 9th, December 31st, and January 1st. Only days with less than three leave slots filled are available because that is the maximum number of CPCs that can be off the schedule. I’m negotiating how to make those slots available in a fair way and we haven’t come to an agreement. Until then, anyone wishing to get pre-approved leave should submit a Web Scheduler request and we will try to work it out.
c. Canceling pre-approved leave: If the leave is canceled more than 58 days in advance, the leave slot may be filled by someone else. Please let me know if you cancel pre-approved leave in advance so that we can make sure that the leave slot does not go unfilled if someone else is requesting leave. You may cancel pre-approved leave and then request XTU but the credit hour request gets in line with all other requests. Credit hours taken have the same priority as spot leave. You may not substitute credit hours for pre-approved leave.
d. When a schedule request is approved, it is management that approves the request. It does not matter who the controller is. If you think management made a mistake, please bring it to my attention. Most of the time there is a solution and everyone gets what they want. If you are harmed by a mistake on the schedule, ask for an Article 8 meeting. I’ve had several Article 8 meetings with management about schedule issues. Anyone can ask for an Article 8 meeting.
e. Reminder, when overtime is assigned you will automatically have a request for your RDO published on the schedule. If you do not want the request cancel it as soon as you can.
2. Airspace and Procedures:
a. S46 LOA: A Collaborative Work Group (CWG) is forming to establish a new LOA. JM, OD, and I will represent ZSE/NATCA with the possibility of adding one more person to that group.
b. The B Area is in the process of adding a sector in the vicinity of Redmond, OR. They have asked us to take some or all of Sector 04. It appears that we are the best option to help out the B Area. I have insisted we take all of Sector 04 as its own sector (not part of Sector 02). A Collaborative Work Group will be formed to figure out what we need and the best way to accomplish this, including training and certification. I have told Airspace and Procedures we need one more controller for every shift, except the mid, to make it work out. That adds up to 14 shifts that need to be covered, so ideally we would need three more controllers to cover the 14 shifts.
c. I’ll be looking for volunteers to be on the CWGs; let me know if you’re interested.
3. Training:
a. Congratulations, Patrick Long, our newest CPC!
b. AA and DK are now on the floor. AA is training on Sectors 01 and 31 and DK is training on Sectors 02 and 32.
c. Ryan and Steve have started in the DYSIM.
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