Weekly Update November 22nd

I’d like to start off by thanking all of those that participated in the training survey this last week. We had a very good turn out and Aaron Katz was very appreciative of our efforts. In total, they gathered close to sixty surveys so thanks for the great effort.

Bidding is coming to a close and the area reps and schedulers are now working tirelessly to get everything input into wmtscheduler. The leave portion of wmtscheduler had to be opened up to input all the bid leave, but each area will be opening it up at different times for the remainder of your NPTL requests. Please do not put any leave requests for 2020 in prior to your areas designated time because it will be deleted by the schedulers. Once again, thank you for your patience as we tackled this new way of conducting the bid. We will learn and improve from this years experience. We completed the entire bid process in just under four weeks which is phenomenal compared to years past.

There are several volunteer opportunities here at ZSE that I would like to share. First I am looking for volunteers for the Local Safety Council. If you have any interest in being a part of the LSC, please let me or another member of the Eboard know.

The second opportunity is for volunteers to conduct Internal Compliance Verifications (ICV). Briana Whalen wants to involve NATCA in this process and asked me to solicit for a volunteer from each area to conduct quarterly ICV duties. If this is something you are interested in, she gave me a powerpoint that you can find here that explains more. Again, let a member of the Eboard know if you would like to be considered.

The last couple of things for the week is please RSVP to Amy at amatc20@gmail.com for the holiday party. Also, the All Members meeting will be December 9th from 1400-1600 at Oddfellows in downtown Auburn.

In Solidarity,

Derek Adams

Weekly update November 15th

I apologize for the technical difficulties last week on the update. I thought I had it set up to send out on Friday afternoon but, as you saw, it didn't make it out until early this week.

We are nearing the end of bidding in all areas. There seems to be some difficulties with the website while bidding round 5, so your continued patience is appreciated as we wrap things up. All-in-all, I am very pleased with our MOUs, the use of bidATC and your participation. We can only improve from here.

Our next All Members Meeting will be December 9th from 1400-1600. The location is still TBD. Some agenda items will include a budget presentation from Devin Carlisto as well as the Local Constitution amendments. We will also be saying thank you to our outgoing Eboard members and welcoming our incoming members. Please take a little time to come join me in thanking these guys and gals for their dedication to making ZSE a great place to work.

Finally, our NATCA brother Mr. Aaron Katz and his FAA counterpart will be in the facility next Monday, Nov. 18th through Thursday, Nov. 21 to conduct a survey on training in the field. Below you can find an email he sent me with information to share with you explaining more.

Hello everyone,

My name is Aaron Katz and I am the National Human Performance Rep for NATCA. I am here at your facility collecting data with the Civil Aviation Medical Institute (CAMI) for a research project about ATC training in the field. Here is a quick run down of what we are doing:

What - This is a voluntary and anonymous survey with questions for all demographics. Trainees, CPC’s, OJTI’s can all participate. The survey has been vetted by NATCA and participation is encouraged.

How - The survey is pre-loaded on an iPad. The survey should take between 20 and 30 minutes and is to be done on DUTY TIME.

When - We will be at ZSE starting Monday afternoon 11/18 through Thursday 11/21.

Where - We will be set up in the East/West Conference Room.

We are conducting this on site data collection at 7 different facilities. Please help us get as large of a data sample as possible. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much,

Aaron Katz
NATCA Human Performance Representative
katmanp50@gmail.com
Cell (480) 307-4580

Please take a little time to help Aaron and his team with their research.

Please enjoy your weekend and for the Seahawks fans in the building, enjoy your heart attack free bye week…what a crazy game on Monday!

In Solidarity,

Derek Adams

Weekly Update November 8th

First and foremost, I would like to take a moment to thank our veterans and our military family members for their service and their sacrifice. Please enjoy the holiday weekend, but take a moment to honor those that served and those currently serving.

Bidding is plugging along at a pretty good pace. Each of the areas has begun round 3 as of this morning. Thank you for your patience with the website and with the Eboard as we continue along in the process. The Eboard has made note of a few of the more difficult situations the website has presented and will take action to improve the process year-over-year. Thanks again for your participation and patience.

There are several Eboard proposed amendments to the Local Constitution that we would like you to consider prior to voting at the next all members meeting. We have not finalized the details of the meeting yet, but the proposed amendments are posted in the glass case in the hallway just outside the control room. Please take a moment to read over the proposal there or you can click here to view the PDF.

The holiday party is just around the corner. Please be sure to RSVP with Amy at amatc20@gmail.com so we can start to get a headcount. This is a great opportunity for us to get together outside of work to blow off some steam and get to know each other a little better. There is a small block of rooms reserved for us at $159 for the night so let Amy know when you RSVP that you are interested in a room as well. Please click here to view the flyer with details about the event.

I will be out of town this weekend to watch the Seahawks play the 49ers in Santa Clara. Wish me luck as I venture into enemy territory. I’ll be back in the facility on Wednesday but, as always, I’m just a call, text or email away.

In solidarity,

Derek Adams

Weekly Update November 1st

Short email this week, bidding has been taking up the majority of our time.

Bidding

Congrats to all the Areas for finishing (at least) round one, I know it was a steep learning curve but already this year is on track to be completed faster than in any years prior!

Holiday Party

If you haven’t heard, the Holiday Party will be Saturday, December 7th. We are having it at the Courtyard by Marriott in Downtown Tacoma from 6pm to 10pm. Catering and drinks will be provided by Pacific Grill. It would be amazing to be able to get to know you all outside of work, please plan on attending if you are able. Also, I am looking for some more volunteers to help with the specifics, please let me know if you’re willing to help.

As always, thank you all for all the work you put in keeping the NAS safe. You guys are rock stars!

Amy Sizemore

Weekly Update October 25th

We will dive right into this update as there is a lot to cover concerning the Article 46, a temporary detail and bidding.

The Article 46 solicitation is officially closed and one person volunteered. That person is Byron Andrews in the C area. I want to thank him for stepping up, congratulate him on his new opportunity and wish him the best of luck in his new area.

As for the second position management intended on filling with the solicitation, I have talked them into putting out a bid for a six month detail that will begin sometime in late spring. This bid prevents a forced move by the least senior controller in the building. The details of the bid are still slightly unknown, but management has agreed to honor any leave that the volunteer bids in their current area. I will share more of the details once we finish crafting the bid and are ready to get it out to the workforce.

Finally, it’s almost time to begin the BWS and AL bidding process. The Eboard will be working diligently over the next few days to finalize everything in bidATC. We should be all set to begin bidding on Monday. I’m hoping to begin around ten AM. In the meantime, please be sure to register for bidATC so we are all ready to go once bidding begins. I will be in the office most of the week next week to assist in bidding and you can also bid through your area reps or any other member of the Eboard. I have a feeling the bid may take a little getting used to during round one, but I am confident we will be full steam ahead come rounds two and beyond.

That is all I have for now. Please reach out if you need any assistance over the weekend. Otherwise, I will see you next week and happy bidding.

In Solidarity,

Derek Adams