Buckle up for a long update.
BWS schedule negotiations
Thank you kindly to everyone who responded to our BWS survey. We received responses from 29 of the 45 NATCA members in the A area.
Here are all of the results of that survey:
We’re exploring the possibility of making every schedule an AWS. Would you be interested in working an AWS schedule (this includes 7-hour shifts, 9-hour shifts, 6-hour shifts before a mid, and potentially a 10-hour shift)?
I would prefer to work straight 8-hour days but I would be OK with my line being an AWS line: 14 people
Yes, I would prefer to have an AWS schedule: 13 people
No, I am strongly against working an AWS schedule: 2 people
Would you be interested in working straight days?
Yes: 18 people
No: 11 people
Would you be interested in working straight swings?
No: 21 people
Yes: 8 people
Would you be interested in working straight mids?
No: 25 people
Yes: 4 people
Would you be interested in working straight mids on a rotating basis (ie, one week of straight mids, followed by another week or non-mids)?
No: 21 people
Yes: 8 people
Would you be interested in working two or three mids per week (the mid shifts would be at the start of the workweek)?
No: 22 people
Yes: 7 people
For 2025, we don’t have the staffing to include 10-hour schedules 🫠. For future reference, if we had the staffing, would you be interested in working a 4-day, 10-hour schedule as follows: Swing, swing, RDO, mid, mid?
Yes: 15 people
No: 14 people
If we abandoned a rattler schedule and built a schedule with straight day shifts, straight swing shifts, and straight mids, approximately 45% of controllers would get a line with straight days, 45% would be forced into straight swings, and about 10% would be on mids. Given that, would you prefer we kept the rattler schedule as part of our BWS, or would you prefer to eliminate it?
Yes, keep the rattler: 19 people
No, do straight lines: 10 people
As you can see, there are a lot of different opinions about how we should proceed schedule-wise. After reading through these results and having myriad conversations with a lot of people, here’s the direction that we’re headed:
I am going to advocate for a hybrid schedule in 2025 that keeps rattler mids, has AWS schedules built into every line, and includes a handful of straight day-shift lines and straight swing-shift lines.
Several notes:
We are choosing to not build lines with straight mids for several reasons: I’m concerned about how safe it would be for those people to work non-mid traffic on an irregular basis. I’m concerned with backfilling those mids when the midders have annual leave. I’m concerned with how we’d replace the midders if they were to lose their medical or retire or otherwise be unable to work their mids. I’m concerned with how we’d backfill those mids when the midders unexpectedly need to use sick leave.
I’m very intrigued by the long-term idea of filling the mid shifts using 10-hour lines (two swing shifts, RDO, and then two mids), but as I have discussed with many of you, we do not have the staffing to adopt that schedule this year. I am not going to agree to a schedule that leaves us super short on multiple shifts.
I recognize that about half of people said in our survey that they’d prefer to work eight-hour days instead of all AWS schedules. One of our biggest goals in creating schedules has been to try and create a balanced schedule given the staffing limitations that we face. That’s why we’re pursuing an AWS schedule rather than a traditional schedule with eight-hour shifts. Damien and I built a bunch of schedules (and by “Damien and I,” I mean Damien did all of the work). One of the specific things we looked at was building the AWS schedule we’re pursuing and comparing that against a schedule that contained AWS schedules for the midders and eight-hour days for everyone else. The schedule with all AWS lines gives us much better coverage across the board than the other one.
I spoke with Barry tonight about dream sheets, and I anticipate us being able to follow our normal process again this year. If you do feel strongly about not working an AWS schedule, you’ll have a couple of options. One of them will be to request eight-hour shifts on the dream sheets. I can’t promise that will be accommodated, but – as long as we’re able to follow the same dream-sheet process as usual – I promise that they will be closely looked at and considered.
Because many people do want to work straight lines, the schedule we’re pursuing contains four straight-day lines and three straight-swing lines.
Damien and I met with management today to start negotiating. We are in agreement with management about keeping our 2025 guides the same as 2024, with the long-term goal of increasing the day-shift numbers when we get healthier staffing. We are scheduled to meet again in two weeks, and I hope to conclude our negotiations at that time.
Damien has put in an incredible amount of work for us throughout this process, from attending schedule telcons to creating a bunch of different schedules to lending his expertise in trying to figure out what’s the most fair and balanced way to proceed. When you see him, please tell thanks for everything that he does behind the scenes for us!!
I left several copies of the proposed schedule on the floor, and here is a digital copy of it. I am here to answer any questions you have and to listen to your feedback.
NUW ATC-0 event
The previously scheduled NUW ATC-0 event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 21 during the morning shift. A bunch of TMIs will be put into place to help Sector 3/12, including miles-in-trail from YVR Centre and Seattle Tracon and no METER delays for 3/12 going to Seattle or Vancouver.
The NUW LSC group has been working on creating an updated checklist based on things that have worked in previous ATC-0 events. The checklist will be on the floor this Saturday. Please let me or Matt Coughlin know if you have feedback about the checklist and what you like/don’t like.
Certification
Congrats to Taylor Choate for getting certified on his final two D-sides. I’m stoked to get you and Cody upstairs as soon as possible for R school!!
In solidarity,
Dan Rasmussen
801-860-3821