I apologize for the delay in the HQ Updates. Unfortunately I've been out of commission for the past three weeks with back trouble that resulted in surgery last Friday. I expect to return to NAATS Headquarters by March 26. I'll promptly begin the updates just as soon as I get back.
In the interim I want to reassure everyone that there has been no interruption in our efforts. NAATS Administrator Ward Simpson is coordinating all headquarters issues and EA Regional Director Ron Maisel is handling our congressional concerns and meetings.
Please remember that you can always contact your Regional Directors with any questions or concerns; they are knowledgeable on all of our national issues.
Wally Pike
As you may already know, the Bush administration is supporting privatization of the ATC system. Both DOT Secretary Mineta and Administrator Garvey are opposed to privatization. NAATS as well as the other FAA unions are also opposed to this approach. We�ll keep a close eye on this as events develop.
The appropriations hearings are in full swing and we�ll be submitting our testimony next week. Expect us to focus on staffing, OASIS and personnel reform, including pay negotiations. Once the testimony is finalized a copy will be posted on the NAATS web page.
The NAATS PAC Poster is being mailed to the FacReps at their facilities this week. The poster accurately portrays the way business is done on Capitol Hill and is appropriate for posting on the NAATS bulletin boards. Obviously we need to raise more money in our PAC fund if we�re going to be as effective as we want in this forum.
Nine NAATS representatives attended arbitration advocacy training in Kansas City this week. The idea is to train a cadre of advocates who can conduct arbitration hearings for NAATS. Once these advocates are up to speed we�ll be able to conduct many more arbitrations, both regionally and nationally, than we�ve done in the past.
Our Public Relations Team (PRT) is continuing its work on educating the aviation public on who we are and the services we provide. For more information on PRT contact Chairman John Dibble or visit the NAATS Web page.
We are soliciting interest from members who would like to serve as NAATS representatives to workgroups or for one-year details to FAA HQ. If you are interested please forward your name and a brief resume to NAATS Headquarters. It would also be helpful if you would indicate your specific area of interest (e.g. operations, labor management relations, equipment, etc.)
Our next pay negotiations meeting with the FAA is scheduled for April 17. Once again we will meet at the offices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services. Our proposal has not changed.
Wally Pike
The next pay bargaining session is April 17. The NAATS team will press the management team for a serious offer. We have no intention of moving from our comparability position.
I'm happy to announce the arbitration advocate training I mentioned in my last update went very well. Our nine advocates are ready to go and they will address all arbitrations with the possible exception of removal cases. These advocates will allow us to arbitrate many more grievances than we've done in the past. The advocates will receive additional training to sharpen their skills.
Our congressional testimony has been submitted to the appropriations subcommittee and will also be posted to our web page. We are working closely with our congressional liaisons and several meetings are planned with congressional members and their staffs. We are also targeting key members of the appropriations and transportation and infrastructure committees. We may ask that some of you who are in these key districts to fly in and help us with our lobbying effort. I'll provide you with more details as they are developed.
I have a meeting on April 18 regarding the new Air Traffic Oversight Committee. Hopefully this will answer the many questions about the future structure of the FAA.
There is a national FacRep/Manager meeting scheduled for the week of June 4 in one of the following three locations; St. Louis, Kansas City, or Phoenix. The purpose of the meeting is to allow the FacReps and managers to discuss the GA Summit and 7110 issues. ATP Liaison Donna Holmes is working to finalize the arrangements. We are planning a BOD business meeting in conjunction with the above.
Lastly, the results are in on the special election in the GL Region. I want to welcome Jack O'Connell as the new Regional Director and I also want to thank outgoing Director Larry Burdick for all the fine work he's done over the years for NAATS.
Thanks also to outgoing ARW Liaison Margaret Hamilton for her hard work during the past year. Welcome aboard to Kerryaine Mazziotti who will replace Margaret later this month.
Wally Pike
Just a quick update on how the pay negotiations went today. The Director of the FMCS attended along with the other mediators we've been using in the past. After the NAATS and management teams were brought together the FAA attorney made an announcement.
He stated that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has so far refused to approve the AFSCME pay agreement with the FAA and that this meant the management team was withdrawing its 5.5% offer to us from the negotiations. He further stated that he could not negotiate on wages until OMB made a final determination on FAA pay agreements.
At this point the NAATS team asked the FAA attorney several questions regarding his authority to negotiate in good faith. He then revised his statement to say that he could only negotiate pay agreements that did not result in pay increases. We told him that we weren't interested in the 5.5% offer; much less any offer that did not include an increase of any kind. The management team then stated that they felt it was better to wait on further negotiations until OMB makes some determinations about FAA pay agreements.
After talking with the management team and the mediators we agreed to adjourn the meeting. Nothing further of substance was discussed. Both teams are subject to recall by the FMCS.
The NAATS team analysis of the situation is as follows:
OMB does indeed review and approve the FAA pay agreements,
AFSCME has a ULP against the FAA for failure to implement their pay agreement,
The FAA attorney has cried "wolf" so many times, it's hard to give him any credibility on this matter.
It's an old negotiations ploy to withdraw an offer and then force the other team to argue back to the previous point. The idea is, of course, to convince the other side that they've gained something by taking the original offer they had rejected. That's not going to work here. We are not moving from our "comparability" position.
I'm checking with some sources that can verify the AFSCME and OMB information. We are also checking with our legal counsel to see what our options are in that forum.
Additionally, I'm contacting our congressional representative to develop a strategy for this latest event. This will no doubt involve a request for increased activity from our membership.
For the most part, we regard this as the latest in a continuing series of posturing by the FAA negotiators. They seem to mix in some elements of fact in their positions, then they resort to bad faith bargaining and threats to try to force the NAATS team into agreement. Ironically, this could strengthen our position in the long-term. If it turns out that OMB has no problems with the FAA pay agreements, then the obstacle can only be the FAA attorney.
We keep you advised of developments.
Wally Pike
I attended a meeting this week on the Proposal for Safety Oversight of the Performance-Based Air Traffic Organization. This deals with congressional direction regarding separating the safety and regulatory functions of the FAA. The proposal appears to be mostly transparent to us but we do have a commitment that we will be involved in the development at the pre-decisional stage. At this meeting I talked briefly with NATCA President John Carr and we agreed to meet again in the near future.
We have finalized the next round of arbitration advocacy training. The session will be held June 11-12 in St. Louis at the conclusion of the FacRep/manager conference and the BOD business meeting. Again, the purpose of this training is to allow our advocates to conduct their own arbitrations thereby allowing us to arbitrate more of our grievances. If you have any questions regarding this please contact your regional representatives.
For the past several weeks we've been trying to get the dual traffic count stopped. As you know, the management pay team has no intentions of entertaining any form of true reclassification so NAATS changed its pay proposal to retain the current architecture. Since both teams agree on that point, it makes no sense to continue to dual count. Although we have heard that Air Traffic agrees with us, the matter seems to be temporarily stuck in ATX. I've asked our ATX Liaison Kate Breen to give a priority to moving this along. If you have any questions or comments regarding this please contact Kate directly at 202-267-8028.
I meet with Deputy Administrator Monte Belger next week to attempt to get the pay negotiations jump-started. Secretary Mineta has requested a meeting and this is the number one issue I'll talk with him about.
NAATS lost 59 members during the drop period this year. Historically, this is about half the number we usually see. Your support of our union during these challenging times is essential and very much appreciated. Of particular note is the fact that SW Region only lost two members. Congratulations to that region and to Regional Director Ron Dawson.
I've received invitations to visit both MIA and BDR. I plan to make both those trips as soon as possible. A special pat on the back to BDR AFSS and the NE Region for their contributions to the PAC fund drive. Thanks also to NE Regional Director Kurt Comisky for all his work on this.
I've attached an OASIS status report from NAATS National OASIS Representative Jeff Barnes. Jeff can be reached at 703-582-6616.
Wally Pike
OASIS Status Report
Jeff Barnes
April 20, 2001 � I completed a couple meetings with Harris Corporation on OASIS this week. Next week we will be testing the software upgrade due to be loaded at Seattle on June 1. The following week the OASIS Human Factors Team will be meeting at Harris to continue our work of identifying solutions to problems with the system.
For the May newsletter Guylan Roberts and I will be writing an article about the human factors team, but a brief overview is that the OASIS Human Factors Team was chartered by NAATS and the FAA for the purpose of resolving issues that arise during the development of OASIS. This team does not work only in classical human factors areas, but also resolves issues in any area of OASIS that are brought to it. That team is composed of members from the union and management representing the controllers in the field and the interests of the headquarters lines of business that are involved in OASIS.
The members of the Team and who they represent are:
- Jeff Barnes, BNA AFSS � Co-lead and NAATS OASIS National Rep
- Dave Hoover, GNV AFSS � Alternate Co-lead and NAATS Southern Region Coordinator
- Dennis Detrow, ABQ AFSS � Team member and ABQ FacRep
- Alice Haines, SEA AFSS � Team member and SEA FacRep
- Arnie Holmes, IPT AFSS � Team member and IPT Alternate FacRep
- Guylan Roberts, JNU AFSS � Team member and NAATS Acting Alaskan Region Director
- Cindy Moran, ARU-300 � Co-lead and Acting Integrated Requirements Team Lead
- Scott Chapman, ARU-300 � Alternate Co-lead
- Tim Trudgeon, RDU AFSS � Team member, RDU Supervisor, SUPCOM Rep
- Tess Gilliam, AOS-540 � Team member and AF issues focal
- Barbara Jackson, ATP-420 � Team member
- Dino Piccione, AUA-400 � Team member and Human Factors expert
- Alfred Moosakhanian, AUA-400 � Team member
This Team has faced a great challenge to turn a system that was basically unusable into something that will not only meet our needs today, but also into our future. Their work has been excellent and they have much more to do before they get to rest. Lately they have been faced with two telcons per week and a face-to-face meeting each month grappling with OASIS issues. They have made considerable personal sacrifices to see this through, and I for one owe them a big debt of gratitude for what they have meant in making my job manageable.
The OASIS system has changed hugely over the last two years that I have been the Rep. It has been a troubled program from the time I took the position, but it improves continually. With continued commitment from the Agency it will be a great success for us. If you saw OASIS two years ago much of it would be unrecognizable. In a lot of areas it has undergone a complete redesign to make it comply with the needs of controllers, not the perceptions of programmers. At the same time, continued interaction between the human factors team and the Harris programmers has led to a better understanding of our needs so that the time needed to resolve problems has decreased.
In his testimony to Congress Wally stated that we considered the Seattle prototype system a success. However, the Independent Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E. Performed by a team led by ATQ, the FAA�s independent test organization.) Early Operational Assessment (EOA) labeled the OASIS a failure. I have been asked how can those two statements be resolved.
There are two elements to this. First, we agreed to the Seattle installation under an MOU with strictly defined contingencies in case our controllers there encountered difficulties. This MOU enabled us to unilaterally halt the operation of OASIS if we had to, without agreement by management. These protections and the desire of the controllers in Seattle to work on this system gave us the comfort level needed to go forward with an operational prototype at Seattle. Some in management don�t like the term prototype, but that is what the Seattle system is. Out there to prove that the system can be used operationally. Not well on some positions, and missing some key parts, but usable with workarounds and backups to cover the deficient areas. One of our key goals of this was to develop good information on problems in the system. Sure it can do the job in most areas, but it has impediments to efficiency in it that we can correct if we find them. Well, it�s hard to find much more than the glaring errors in a two-week test even by people fresh from the field. Seattle controllers using the OASIS system day in and day out were able to identify the more subtle issues that the standard testing overlooked. These were written up and forwarded to the human factors team. I could not put a number to it, but I am confident that the human factors team through its life has evaluated well over a thousand problems with the system. These range from obvious personal preferences to problems so significant they held up the program in the first place.
The second part is what the failure on the EOA report meant. We knew that the IOT&E Team would find problems sufficient to label this system a failure. If they hadn�t it would have meant that the system WAS operationally suitable which could be interpreted to mean that full installation could begin (with some exceptions). Say hello to Model One all over again in that case. Instead the report identified critical problem areas. Areas that could be worked around on the prototype, but would have to be fixed in some cases before summer traffic increased at Seattle, much less before another system could be installed. I was surprised by the priority placed on some of the items, but not surprised by the items themselves. The EOA Report has been a valuable tool in making sure that we take care of the big issues first and not get too lost in the weeds with the smaller stuff to the detriment of critical problems.
That is how the Seattle prototype can be a failure and a success at the same time.
When an FAA procurement overruns either cost or schedule by more than fifty percent it is slated for automatic termination by law. The OASIS program overran both. The law says that this can only be disregarded if the FAA Administrator defends the program to the Congress. In mid-December Jane Garvey sent a letter to Congress defending the OASIS program, saving it from termination, so the program has been defended at the highest level. However, time and money have been set for this year�s budget. We are working to develop an MOU with the Agency that will allow the program to go forward and stay within that time and budget constraint, shifting some of the program activities out to later years. There is a lot involved in this MOU and we have not yet begun to work it with the Agency. To accommodate their goals we anticipate that we will benefit from this MOU. I will not speculate further on it other than to say that the NAATS members of the human factors team will have input into it. We had a rough start with that due to communications disconnects mainly on my part, but we are working on the framework by which the human factors team members will contribute to the development. Their OASIS expertise will be critical to addressing the operational aspects of the MOU.
I will be at Harris corporation next week to observe testing of the software upgrade scheduled for Seattle in June. In addition to this new software overtime money has been provided, and two controllers from MMV will be TDY�d to SEA to work through the increased summertime traffic. Not an ideal situation for reducing the per controller workload through the summer, but it will hopefully work. We will watch this closely.
Also there is a planned software upgrade for Seattle in September. Between these two upgrades the most critical areas identified in the EOA Report will have been addressed with the possible exception of a portion of the Search And Rescue function which is undergoing further redesign right now. Mixed in with this is continued enhancement of the weather graphics capabilities and improved functionality and performance of the system.
I intend to have the OASIS on display by remote workstations at least twice this year. The system with the June software upgrade will be available at the Manager-FacRep Conference and GA Summit in June, and with the September software upgrade at the NAATS National Meeting in October. There are still some details to work out, so these are not yet set in concrete, but I am confident they will be resolved for both events. I want to get more exposure for the system, but I�m not sure how much money will be available to get it out there.
I would like to thank the NAATS members who participated in the OASIS ICAO assessment in Seattle a couple weeks ago. Their input regarding OASIS ICAO functionality will be forwarded to the Human Factors Team for disposition. The NAATS members on the assessment were
- Guylan Roberts � JNU AFSS
- Tom Forte � MIA AFSS
- Mike Salimbene � ISP AFSS
- Major Miller � SJU AFSS
- Dominic Cunningham � HNL AFSS
As I always seem to say, there are still plenty of issues to work. The Human Factors Team is going to remain very active for a while, and it is our intent that it remain in existence throughout the life cycle of OASIS so that there will be an established forum for addressing system issues. I thank the Human Factors Team and the controllers of Seattle AFSS for their hard work and dedication to reshaping OASIS into a tool that we can be proud of. As long as the Agency continues to support the work we are doing and continues to understand the dedication and seriousness with which we are doing it we have a good future with OASIS.
Jeff Barnes
NAATS National OASIS Representative
May 11, 2001NAATS EA Regional Director Ron Maisel and I met with Deputy Administrator Monte Belger this past week. We made a presentation to him on the current status of our pay negotiations and concluded with two recommendations.
1. We asked that the FAA change the mindset of its negotiations team and begin treating us as air traffic controllers in these pay negotiations;
2. That we initiate a joint management/NAATS team to identify the true costs and savings of the NAATS comparability proposal.
No commitments were made at the meeting however we expect to get a response within two weeks. A copy of our presentation is available on the NAATS website.
Ron Maisel and I also met with our congressional lobbyist. Now is the time for an all out effort to convince our congressional representatives to pressure the FAA into treating us fairly. This will require a massive congressional letter-writing campaign. By Tuesday we will have the talking points developed and distributed to you but expect the above theme. The timetable of events then indicates that the next 7-10 day period will be critical to our ultimate success. Again, our goal is to get sufficient pressure on Administrator Garvey requiring her to treat us in the same manner as the other air traffic controllers. Please note -- our lobbyist believes we will achieve the desired end result if we just do our part. We're asking that everyone his or her individual congressional representatives. If you need the names and addresses of your representatives they are available on our website.
I want to emphasize that now is the time for action. If you believe that we should be treated as air traffic controllers then please write congress. Posted on our website is a letter from House Member Connie Morella to Jane Garvey. This letter is an example of the type of congressional pressure we must have in order to be successful. Your help is essential and appreciated.
In closing, we've had numerous requests for recognition for those who have made an extra contribution to the NAATS PAC during our drive. I plan to include a listing of contributors and amounts in the Spring Edition of the NAATS Bulletin, which is due out next month. If you are one of these and do not want your name listed please let us know.
Wally Pike
Thanks to all of you who have written your congressional letters. The response has been very gratifying and we fully expect it to be effective. A special note of recognition is due to our Alaskan Region members and Acting Regional Director Guylan Roberts for exceeding our expectations. If you haven�t contacted your congressional representatives I urge you to do so at the earliest possible time. These letters are the second step in a process that will culminate in our goal being achieved by October. It�s essential that we continue to do our part according to the timetable set out by our congressional lobbyist.
Again, thanks to all of you who are contributing to our PAC fund. Whether we approve of the system or not, it is the way business is done on Capitol Hill.
The Spring edition of the NAATS Bulletin is at the printers. We expect it to be mailed sometime next week. If you haven�t received your copy at your mailing address by June 1 please contact Gretna at NAATS Headquarters (email [email protected]).
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) notified the FAA this week that they are rejecting the tentative agreement between AFSCME and the FAA. Details are scarce but our understanding is that OMB is concerned about pay disparity between similar job classifications. If this were correct then it would only serve to strengthen our comparability proposal. AFSCME has already filed an unfair labor practice over the failure of the FAA Administrator to sign the tentative agreement. We�ll provide more details as we get them.
The next Board of Directors� meeting will be held June 9-10 in conjunction with the FacRep/manager meeting. If you have any items for the agenda please contact your regional representatives.
We will also be conducting the next round of arbitration advocacy training in June. Our goal is to make each region self sufficient in addressing their grievances all the way through arbitration hearings. For more details contact your Regional Director.A reminder that if you want to serve as a NAATS representative at FAA Headquarters please send us your name and a short resume. Your area of interest (operations, equipment, LMR) would also be helpful. The positions are details not to exceed one year in length. We also have occasional opportunities for those who would like to serve on workgroups/committees. These are not details but they do involve occasional travel.
Wally Pike
The membership response on the congressional letter writing has been very encouraging. The NAATS membership is certainly doing its part. I met with our lobbyist this week and they are now scheduling the necessary meetings to accomplish our goals. The timetable for completion remains the same, on or about October 1. We will have another meeting with our lobbyist to discuss strategy next week; I'll keep you advised of developments.
We are analyzing the impact of the change in the Senate leadership as it relates to our issues. A reminder that we lobby both sides of the aisle with no preference toward either party.
The management negotiating team is now adopting the position that the OMB rejection of the AFSCME agreement temporarily ties their hands. This position fails to acknowledge the fact that before OMB became a concern they hadn't offered a proposal worthy of serious consideration. I'm not convinced that there is anything that prevents the FAA from coming to a fair agreement with us regarding comparable compensation. I'm continuing to meet with senior FAA managers but so far we've seen very little response from them. We are filing a 7114 data request on the OMB rejection of the AFSCME/FAA Agreement as well as a FOIA request to OMB.
Last week I went to BDR AFSS and met with FacRep Mike Sheldon and the membership. I congratulated them on their PAC fund efforts and asked that they stay engaged politically. There was a lot of good discussion and I thoroughly enjoyed the visit. My thanks to NE Regional Director Kurt Comisky for scheduling the trip and inviting me to the facility. Currently I have invitations to visit BTV, MIA and EKN AFSSs to meet with the members. Workload permitting, I'm coordinating these visits with the appropriate Regional Directors.
NAATS National OASIS Representative Jeff Barnes will have a status report for next week's update. He informs me that the OASIS testing at ACY went well this week.
Recently the NAATS Finance Committee met at NAATS Headquarters to draft our FY02 budget. I want to take this opportunity to thank Finance Committee Chairman and Treasurer John Wesselhoft (PIE) and members Bob Roose (PIE) and Mark Bunker (GRB) for all their hard work and effort for our union.
The May 25 AOA Highlights contained the following paragraph:
8. IT'S ALL IN A DAY'S WORK: There is an article in the latest Intercom ("A Hair Raising Flight Assist to a Pilot Who Never Left the Ground") about an outstanding flight assist that showed how FAA facilities and the aviation community pulled together to prevent someone from flying who had no business being in the air for a couple of reasons, including the weather.
In reading this, Ward Simpson, NAATS liaison and representative to the GA summit, said he didn't want to sound grudging, but on behalf of the flight service specialists around the country, he couldn't resist pointing out that every day, day in and day out, specialists routinely provide weather briefings to pilots that keep them from flying in dangerous conditions. Point well made.
Flight service specialists are one of those segments of the FAA community that provides a great service to aviation and don't enough nearly credit for it.
Nice job, Ward.
The following is an update of OASIS from our National Representative Jeff Barnes. This will be a recurring article in the Update.
OASIS
The OASIS Program has moved forward with the installation of new software at SEA AFSS last night. The main features of the new software is improvements to the system that address issues raised during the Independent Operational Test and Evaluation Early Operational Assessment of the OASIS system in SEA that was conducted last September/October. The next scheduled software upgrade is set for September with more fixes aimed at addressing those problems.
A few bugs have been uncovered in SEA with the new software. These are in the area of Graphics Overlays and Charts. SEA has been in contact with Harris to get the problems resolved as quickly as possible.
Members of the OASIS Human Factors Team were involved in the testing of this upgrade at the FAA Tech Center in ACY last week. None of these problems were encountered then. This was also the first opportunity for Steve Hannah, the new Supcom representative to the Human Factors Team to see and familiarize himself with OASIS. Also, Tom Brister from AND AFSS was there to give AND its first exposure to OASIS.I will be in St. Louis next week to demo OASIS and answer questions during the GA Summit. Several other members of the Human Factors Team will be there doing demos and answering questions when not involved with the meeting. For some reason OASIS was not included in the presentation schedule for the Summit, but there will be plenty of us there to talk about it during the meeting.
The following week the Human Factors Team will be meeting in St. Louis to continue work on problem descriptions and solutions and also to begin work on the OASIS installation waterfall. The only things that are set right now is SEA as the prototype site and AND as the Keysite scheduled for operations in June 2002.
In this week's meeting with our lobbyist it was decided to seek a legislative correction; we will let you know when the best bill is identified for this purpose. The letter writing campaign has been effective and we encourage you to continue your efforts to educate your representatives on our issues. AK Regional Director Guylan Roberts is scheduling two very important congressional meetings with Chairman Don Young and Senator Ted Stevens. I plan to attend both functions and our lobbyist will also be in Alaska during that timeframe (tentatively the last week of June). We will meet with as many members as possible during the trip.
Wally Pike
As a direct result of your letters to congress we have been extremely busy this week with meetings and telephone calls. Particularly well represented were Alaska, New Mexico, Vermont and New Jersey. Please continue to contact your congressional representatives and ask for their support. Our lobbyist has asked that you forward any information to NAATS HQ documenting SAR resulting in flight assists or saves. We remain on schedule to obtain our goals; if you have any questions please feel free to contact your Regional Director or me. Again, thanks for all your work and we'll keep you advised of our progress.
Last week all of our FacReps, Regional Directors, AFSS managers and some Regional Office personnel were in STL for the General Aviation Summit. The following is a brief note from NAATS GA Summit Representative Ward Simpson:
The largest gathering of Flight Service FacReps and Managers, in probably the last 25 years, took place in STL from June 4th through June 8th. The event kicked off with the General Aviation Summit starting around 1pm on Monday June 4th and ending Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday morning the FacReps and Union had the main conference room while Management visited STL AFSS, in the afternoon, the union visited the facility while managers used the conference room. Thursday there was an open question and answer period with Friday being a "brief out" to Jeff Griffith, service director for FAA's Air Traffic Procedures Branch.
Some of the topics briefed and discussed during the week included, recommendations from the VNR workgroup, Customer Service workgroup recommendations, status of the 7110.10 rewrite, Remote Airport Advisory Service (RAA), the possible procurement of the ACE - IDS display for all AFSSs, as well as SUA-ISE looking to be a reality to name just a few. Please do not hesitate to talk with your FacRep, or his or her designee who attended the meeting to get more details. Also, look for more details in the upcoming NAATS news additions.
We received notification yesterday that we won the CPP arbitration conducted last January. Copies have been sent to all the Regional Directors and Coordinators and I've asked Webmaster John Dibble to post it on our webpage. This makes us two for two on arbitrations concerning that MOU. The FAA will now be required to negotiate with NAATS over the distribution of bargaining unit employees to the regions, regardless of whether they're transfers or newly hired. This was certainly our intent when we negotiated the CPP MOU and it's unfortunate we had to go to arbitration to force the FAA to live up to its part of the agreement.
Speaking of the need to enforce our contract�the first part of this week we held our second arbitration advocacy training class. By all accounts it went well and we're now prepared to conduct our own arbitrations in every region as well as nationally. The BOD has approved continuing classes in arbitration training so that our advocates are continually trained. The next one will be sometime in the September/October timeframe.
I met this week with Steve Brown the Associate Administrator for Air Traffic Services, ATS-1. We discussed the staffing shortage and our training requirements at the Aeronautical Center for CY02. We agreed that the classes identified (7 classes with 14 students each) would not keep up with attrition and that night classes would be necessary. He will talk with Bill Peacock, AAT-1, and I'll follow-up. We also discussed the impasse on our pay negotiations; he is well aware of our comparability position. Again, he said he would talk with AAT-1 and the management team Chief Negotiator.
The BOD meeting was held June 9-10. A summary of the meeting will be published in the Summer Bulletin but I do want to tell you of one of the BOD decisions. Darrell Mounts, DEN FacRep, made a suggestion through ANM Regional Director Don McLennan. The suggestion resulted in a motion, the wording of which is reproduced below:
"I move that NAATS adopt immediately, a new budget line item, of a policy to reimburse all elected Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) for their full room rate who attend the annual, national meeting. The motion concerns only those individuals who actually are the elected Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) and staying at the hotel NAATS contracted for, at the hotel contract rate. If, however, an elected Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) chooses to stay elsewhere, they will be reimbursed up to a maximum of one/half of whatever the NAATS hotel contracted rate is or their actual room rate, whichever is lower. In no event will there be a reimbursement for Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) who are staying at the city location of the meeting but who are not attending the national meeting throughout the days they may voucher for."
The BOD passed this motion. The intent is to reward, in some small way, the efforts of our FacReps. Any questions or comments should be directed to your Regional Director or NAATS Headquarters.
Wally Pike
Attached is the MOA regarding presidential FDC NOTAMS with a rationale from NAATS Chief Negotiator Bill Dolan.
MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF AIR TRAFFIC SPECIALISTS
AND THE
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATIONNAATS rationale and comments in bold!!!
This agreement is made and entered into by the National Association of Air Traffic Specialists (NAATS or the Union) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA or the Agency) collectively referred to as "the Parties". The purpose of this agreement is to address issues regarding GENOT number 1/21, Presidential FDC NOTAMS. The Agency agrees to place a copy of this MOA in the Read and Initial (R&I) Binder at all facilities where NAATS bargaining unit members are employed immediately upon receipt. Note: All facilities should have received this MOU by 6/13/01.
Section 1. The procedures contained in this GENOT are being implemented to address inadequacies in the Agency's NOTAM dissemination system. The intent of this GENOT is to insure that this information is provided to facilities and individuals in need of it in the performance of their duties. Self explanatory.
Section 2. Events leading to the recognition of the system's deficiencies shall not result in any formal disciplinary measure or adverse action against any Bargaining Unit Employee (BUE). No formal action may be taken against any BUE that did not issue presidential TFR information prior to the issuance of Genot 1/21 and this MOU. Formal disciplinary actions are anything more than an oral or written admonishment. Informal disciplinary actions are local in nature and are not a part of your official personnel record
Section 3. Issuance of Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) Presidential FDC NOTAMS shall generate a M1FC "B" flag. Self explanatory.
Section 4. If no supervisory personnel are on duty and a Controller-in-Charge (CIC) is assigned to these duties, emergency situations and/or in-flight services as defined in FAA Order 7110.10 shall take precedence over compliance with the supervisory duties contained in the GENOT. Self explanatory.
Section 5. The Agency shall insure that any BUE assigned CIC duties receives a thorough personal briefing from a management official detailing their responsibilities in regard to the GENOT and this Agreement. This is a very high profile issue receiving Secret Service and Secretary of Transportation attention. If you are a CIC make sure you thoroughly understand your responsibilities.
Section 6. Presidential FDC NOTAMS shall be posted on all operational positions. They shall be clearly written or typed and annotated with the date, time, and posting supervisors initials. Self explanatory.
Section 7. It is the Parties understanding that most presidential movement is scheduled in advance. The Agency shall make every reasonable effort to transmit these NOTAMS to the AFSSs between 11 am and 8 pm. eastern standard/daylight time. It is understood that there may be occasions where the unscheduled presidential movement does not allow these requirements to be met. This was intended to insure that the majority of this activity happened during hours in which a supervisor is normally on duty.
Section 8. The parties agree that this is intended to be a short term, temporary fix for this specific issue. The Agency agrees to pursue a permanent solution to correct the deficiencies in the National NOTAM System as an extremely high priority. The Parties agree to work collaboratively to determine what this solution will be. The Agency knows this system has problems. They have known for years. Now it's time for us to turn up the heat and get it corrected. No more band-aids, we need a new system that works.
Section 9. This Agreement does not constitute a waiver of any right guaranteed by law, rule, regulation, or collective bargaining agreement on behalf of either party. The Parties at the appropriate level shall address issues not specifically covered by this agreement.
Section 10. This agreement shall remain in effect unless re-negotiated or cancelled by mutual agreement of the parties.
For The Agency For the Union Original Signed Original Signed Jeff Griffith, ATP-1 Bill Dolan, Chief Negotiator ___________________________________ ___________________________________
__________6/12/01______________
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