I apologize for recent lack of HQ Updates. Unfortunately I was out of commission for three weeks with back trouble that resulted in surgery. In the interim, NAATS Administrator Ward Simpson is coordinated all headquarters issues and EA Regional Director Ron Maisel handled our Congressional concerns and meetings.

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 submitted our testimony in March, focusing on staffing, OASIS and personnel reform, including pay negotiations. Our complete testimony to the appropriations subcommittee will be posted on the NAATS 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.

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 during the last week of March. Our nine advocates are now 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 periodically receive additional training to sharpen their skills.

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, contact PRT 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.)

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 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.

In 1996, with the enactment of Personnel Reform, the FAA was given the authority to develop and implement a pay and compensation system that is different than the current GS pay system that is used for most of the Federal Government. The FAA developed the "Core Compensation" pay system with the intention to recognize individual and agency contributions to the success of the organization, to eliminate time in grade increases and to tie an individual's pay to the private sector. For those employees within a bargaining unit, the agency is required to negotiate with their representatives.

Unprofessional and inexpert behavior

As a coincidence, good or bad, this was about the same time our contract came up for negotiation. The "contract" has taken on new meaning. The new contract will include elements of the current contract (red book) and the new pay and compensation system. Although the two elements of the new contract, work rules and pay began at the same time, they took different paths. In the summer of 1999 the separate paths of each element of the contract joined in traditional labor/management negotiations. I will not recount the torrid history of the pay and compensation effort, except to say that the FAA leadership displayed very unprofessional and inexpert behavior. As a result, we must view the agency, as a whole, as untrustworthy and lacking integrity. From that point through the spring of last year, it became clear that the agency had little desire or impetus to discuss a pay and compensation system that is "fair and equitable". From the fall of last year through the spring of this year mediators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliatory Service (FMCS) have worked with the parties to find some common ground and to get the negotiations moving forward. 

Mediation has been unproductive

Generally, the mediation effort has been unproductive. The agency still is unwilling to discuss a "fair and equitable" pay and compensation system, the agency fails to acknowledge the relationships between other negotiated agreements and our agreement. It appears that unless the agency has an epiphany, the mediation effort will fail. 
Last year the Union began to sense the agency had no desire to negotiate a "fair and equitable" pay and compensation system. Although a negotiated agreement with the agency is preferred, the Union began to develop alternative strategies. The Union solicited the assistance from a well-respected firm in Washington D.C. The Union, with the assistance of this firm, began an effort to educate the appropriate members of Congress and their staff of who we are and our issues.

Congress will play a role in the resolution

It is becoming apparent that Congress will play a role in the resolution of our effort to seek a "fair and equitable" pay and compensation system.

As we look to the future, there are two basic scenarios in which our negotiations will be resolved. 

First, in traditional negotiations, there is a great difference between the agency's proposal and our proposal. The FMCS has been unable to bridge the gap. The process indicates that if the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the Administrator, Jane Garvey, may present the agency's proposal, with our objections, to Congress. Congress will have 60 days to intervene, and then Jane Garvey may implement a pay and compensation upon us.

The other scenario involves our effort to educate members of Congress and their staff. Our solution to the issue is based upon the clear relationship with a negotiated agreement with a similar bargaining unit within the FAA, further any increases are mitigated by identified cost offsets. With the able assistance of the firm, the Union must make the case that although the parties made a serious effort to reach an agreement, the parties are unable, the most appropriate means to resolve the issue is by legislation. 

In the recent months, Wally Pike, with members of the firm, have been meeting with many on Capitol Hill. The education effort has taken hold. To be successful, the education effort must have a few key elements, a justifiable need, able presenters and a sufficient PAC Fund. The need is clear and reasonable. Those presenting the issue are gifted and eloquent. However, our current PAC Fund falls well short of the challenge at hand.

By law, the Union is unable to use general membership dues for Political Contributions. The PAC Fund was established to pool many small contributions and to use those funds selectively for the greatest impact and effect. Currently, the PAC Fund generates only a small portion of what is needed. As discussed earlier, Congress will play a significant role in the resolution of our pay and compensation. We must significantly increase the capabilities of our PAC Fund to meet the need before us. To be successful, this PAC Fund campaign must be overwhelming, for a short term. This PAC Fund campaign is limited, confined to the time period needed for our success. 

$5.00 per pay period for six months

The goal is for every specialist to contribute $5.00 per pay period for six months. The goal is for 100% participation, dues paying members and non-dues paying members alike. Everyone should be able to invest $5.00 in his or her future. Or anyone may send $60.00 directly to the NAATS office. This will provide the needed tools necessary to achieve a "fair and equitable" pay and compensation system.

Together our voices will be heard. 

Ward Simpson, Acting Hq. Administrator
[email protected]

The Kenai AFSS work group finished the first stage of the 7110.10 rewrite last month. The team spent many months collecting data, discussing change recommendations from the field, editing out sections of the old 7110.10 as well as adding to the new draft. The draft is now at the Flight Service Section (ATP300) of FAA Headquarters. The draft will go to all the attendees of the General Aviation Summit held last May for their comments. After that it goes to the field for comments. The field means everybody, including journeypersons. Please look at the draft. Will it ever become a reality? We believe it will! You have nothing to loose by looking through it and making comments. Firm dates as to when it will get to you should be in the next NAATS newsletter.

VNR Workgroup

A workgroup met at CMD the week of March 5th to ponder over the many questions concerning the infamous "VNR" Statement. Approximately 18 people attended. Management, supervisors, union representatives (besides myself, Fran Doody of BDR AFSS, Chuck Kuennen of RIU AFSS), and even a representative from legal, FSDO and the Safety Office were present. AOPA, who has a membership of about 350,000 members was there also. All were in agreement that the "VNR" statement was broken! After fours days of workshops concerning Policy, Procedures, Training, Implementation and Verification many things were fixed.

There should be no debate using the VNR statement when a destination is reporting ceilings 500 overcast and visibilities a half mile in fog and forecast to remain that way all day, this is an easy scenario. The rub is when the forecast has not been amended but the trend is toward VFR; i.e. the temperature/dew point spread has increased sufficiently where a chance or slight chance of fog forming is nil. Would you tell the pilot "VFR flight not recommended?" Would your supervisor write you up for not using the VNR statement in this instance? Most important, what would evaluations guidance be on this issue?

Will "VFR Flight Not Recommended" (VNR) be dropped out of our briefings and be replaced with "VFR Flight only is doubtful" (VOID)? - Find out the answers to this and many more questions in the upcoming NAATS Spring Bulletin to be mailed directly to you, the members, next month.

Customer Service 

The customer service workgroup is scheduled to meet the week of April 15th at CMD. Once again the workgroup will consist of 18 to 20 participants. Representing NAATS besides myself will be Tom Forte, MIA AIFSS, Fred Kent, RIU AFSS , Mike Ramsey, BNA AFSS, Linda Sterling, JBR AFSS and Linda Whitaker, MIV AFSS. Purpose of the workgroup will be just as the workgroup is titled, "Customer Service." How have we done business in the past versus how we will do business in the future.

National Meeting - FacReps & Managers

Current Users: Promote our image and service to the general aviation community through conventions, user forums, and articles in aviation magazines.

Limited or non-users: Promote Flight Service to other areas of the aviation community where we could provide specific services to pilots and/or operators who do not currently use us, such as the military and the airline industry. There is a lot we can do for both these groups that for one reason or another, we don't do routinely. I would like to increase our service to both groups and that is largely an education piece. How many times have you flown in the cockpit of an air carrier and they have said "Are you still open?" This shows how poorly the agency (and we) have promoted our services.

General Public: Promote Flight Service and the vital role it plays in aviation safety to the general public through press releases, news articles, education, forums, etc. This involves contacts with the media and letting them know who we are and what we do and offering to advise them on news articles pertaining to aviation, in particular as they relate to FSS and weather.

Congress: The President will be handling most of the congressional activities for the Union, but PRT will assist in educating the members on what they can do with their own representatives.

Membership Initiatives: We are working on a Congressional packet for members to take with them when they visit their representatives. The packet will contain information about who we are and how vital our service is to both aviation safety and the safety of the general public.

We also need to work actively to get everyone involved and behind NAATS. I have some ideas on what we can do, but it will take a bit of time to implement them.

Note: The views expressed in this section are strictly those of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Union or its governing officials. Neither unsigned nor unaccredited material will be published.

Pay - It's About Respect and Survival

Elinormarie Morrissy, NAATS News Editor

Somewhere along the line, Flight Service Controllers - the FIRST air traffic controllers - wound up with a lousy image. Many in FAA Headquarters see us as less than our brethren who work in Towers and Enroute Centers. In their eyes, we're rejects who washed out of the more prestigious options of air traffic control. This is significant obstacle to negotiating pay with the FAA. I doubt that Management's representatives have said it specifically, but I'm sure the thought has been in the back of their minds when facing the question of pay parity between Flight Service Controllers and Tower and Center Controllers.

While it's true that there are a number of us, myself included, who either washed or bailed out of a tower or center job, it doesn't make us less intelligent or valuable than certified NATCA controllers. I have great respect for those who do that job day in and day out, but that doesn't change my belief that a controller working in the tower or center has, in some ways, an easier job mine as a flight service controller. Here's why.

First, it takes a certain type of mind (usually logical and analytical thinkers) and personality to separate aircraft for a living. And while it takes a great deal of knowledge of separation standards, aircraft performance, and computer skills to be a good controller, it's also a fairly cut and dried job. After all there are only so many ways to safely keep aircraft away from each other. So, a tower or center controller needs to know a lot about a fairly narrow subject.
Second, since they deal with a very narrow (however vital) field of endeavor, the rules and standards governing correct conduct of their jobs can be contained in a single FAA Order, the 7110.65. 

Third, giving air traffic control instructions to pilots in the tower and center environments requires few customer service skills. It's understood that controllers at busy facilities don't have time for niceties, but they also have no competitors. For the pilot flying in the National Airspace System, polite or not, they're the only game in town.
On the other hand, flight service controllers must be well versed in the dynamics of weather, aircraft performance standards, airport equipment and approach information, computer skills, and the psychology of customer service. Weather briefing alone requires volumes of written material, both for performance standards, as found in the 7110.10, and scientific standards, as found in the AC0045 and the meteorology textbooks we keep on hand at our facilities. Weather is not cut and dried. In fact, there are times when I think weather forecasting is still as much an art as it is a science. When dealing with weather, flight service controllers need to know a lot about a very broad, often highly changeable, subject.

Weather isn't the only subject in which flight service controllers must be proficient. They must also have a firm grasp of aircraft performance, navigation, and airport and NAVAID conditions in order to provide meaningful assistance to pilots filing flight plans, as well as to aircraft in distress or in need of search and rescue services.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, flight service controllers must have good customer relations skills. They can't afford to be brusque with their customers, because they know they have DUAT vendors who happily scoop up dissatisfied Flight Service customers. But even beyond basic courtesy, the flight service controller has to be ready serve a wide range of pilot skill levels. I know I spend at least part of every day on Preflight helping student pilots overcome anxieties about getting a weather briefing, while providing the information they need. Sometimes it takes a lot of creativity to get a pilot to "see" and understand the charts I'm looking at while talking to her (or him) on the phone. The Flight Service Station is also the first place that concerned family members call when a loved one is late back from a flight. This task requires not only courtesy, but also compassion and a good deal of common sense.
When NATCA's new pay system was being negotiated, a lot of attention was paid to the "complexity" of tower and center work. Yet FAA Management's negotiators have given little attention and even less respect to the complexities faced by flight service controllers in their day-to-day tasks. This is a terrible mistake.

Flight service controllers provide as vital a safety service as tower and center controllers. We just get to do it using outdated equipment. We also work with more complex and changeable subjects - weather and human psychology. We are not refugees from towers and centers! We are highly competent air traffic controllers in our own right and we deserve the same respect as our better-known counterparts.

John Dibble, ANM RegCo & NAATS Webmaster

Once again, rumors are flying and management has proven themselves to be an unreliable source for what YOUR Union is negotiating for YOU! I received a frantic call from a FacRep saying his supervisor had heard from another supervisor, who heard it from a manager who heard it from a 501 that NAATS has signed off on a 1% annual pay raise! This is a FLAT OUT LIE! And it is a shame (and also, probably illegal - we will look into that) that a manager in the 501 position would spread a rumor like this. (I have, since the initial call, heard from a second FacRep who heard it from the first supervisor in the rumor chain.) 

The negotiating teams have not met since the management team promised to bring documentation "proving" that the other 2152-GS12's only got 13.2%, not the 18+% we have offered to settle for. So why would anyone conceive that NAATS would settle for such an insulting offer? The next meeting is scheduled for April.

The lesson to be learned? Don't blindly believe what management tells you your Union has negotiated. Call someone up the chain (the chain that is looking out for YOUR interests) to see what the facts are. 

Also, I was a little disappointed to see the article in NAATS News this month decrying the FacRep training that was conducted on a cruise ship. With the FacReps picking up half the cost of the cruise, it is my understanding, the cost to the Union was comparable to what it would cost to do a training session in most areas of the country. (I was wondering that myself, but I chose to ask about it first!) 

Election

It's hard to believe the process is upon us again. The election committee will be sending out the "Notice of Election" by May 15th to be posted in your facility for a month for the national and regional positions. Be thinking who you would like to nominate to represent our union for the next 3 years in these positions. The new officers will be taking office on October 1, 2001.

Pay Negotiations

The next round of pay negotiations/mediation for us will be April 17th. Don or Wally will be sending out an update shortly after the meeting.

New Members

Welcome to the union David Bates, Fort Dodge. Neil Person, Columbus retired. My thanks to him for serving the union in different capacities. We wish him a long and healthy retirement.

Quarterly Meeting

The meeting was held in Kansas City on February 27th and 28th. The minutes have been sent to your FacRep. If you have any questions, ask them or give me a call.

The next quarterly will be on June 12th and 13th. If you have anything for the agenda pass it along to your FacRep. Tuesday evening, (6/12), we will be going to the KC Royals versus St. Louis Cardinals ball game. If you are interested let your FacRep know.

Grievances

Two grievances were settled at the regional level. They both involved changing their shifts either before or after the day when leave was approved. Two grievances at the national level and two grievances at the regional level are still pending.

CISD Representative

More of Less

Patrick Less, AEA RegCo

FACREP Training 

EA FacReps & SO FacReps Train Together

During the week of February 5, EA & SO FACREPS took part in a combined training course. The benefits of the combined training were quite evident from the start. The EA FACREPS are generally less tenured than their SO counterparts. This lead to an excellent forum for the exchange of thoughts and ways to handle different situations. You might or might not be surprised by the fact that the situations encountered by FACREPS from both regions were similar, yet techniques to gain corrective actions differed. The sharing of these experiences was key to this successful training.

The training was conducted by Pat Spatarella. She patterned the training to be a hands-on experience. This setting allowed for thought provoking exercises in both individual and group settings. The training looked at the Federal Labor Relations Statute and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA-commonly referred to as "the Red Book").
Detailed discussions and exercises focused on formal meetings, Wiengartien meetings, conduct and discipline, representational duties, and negotiations to touch upon a few of the topics generating the most dynamic discussions.
All of the Representatives are to be congratulated on making the most of this training experience. 

NAATS EA was represented by AOO-FacRep Beth Gerrits, BUF-FacRep Pat Ersley and Barbara Westermeier, DCA-Vanessa Blake, EKN-FacRep William "Hawk" Hawkinberry, and Alternate FacRep Penny Pavicka, ISP- FacRep Deb Shea, IPT-CISD Representative Paul Chilbert, MIV-Alternate FacRep Gary Gallup, Ron Maisel and yours truly.

NAATS/AEA Quarterly Meeting

Number of Grievances way Down.

A dramatic decrease in the number of grievances reaching the third level permitted the focus of the January 24, 2001 quarterly meeting at IPT AFSS to be on Article 10 briefings.

The number of grievances has steadily declined during the period that we have been meeting with AEA-540 Dave Siewert and his team. The reason for this decline needs to be explored. Is it that our grievances are being resolved at the local level as the Collective Bargaining Agreement meant and allows for, or are the Controllers of the EA region simply not filing them? I think that only the membership can answer those questions. I know that the FACREPS have been receiving the training that is needed in enforcing our Agreement. Without enforcement, the contract is worthless. Feel free to let Ron & I know what you think.

A detailed report on the quarterly meeting will be sent out shortly. Take a good look at it and talk with your FACREPS about the issues.

TMP Happenings or More

Appropriately Not Happenings!

NAATS honors its Agreements but Agreements by Definition require more than One Party to act.
Ask any NAATS Representative present at the last TMP meeting if there was any lack of statements made by members of the management team promising to provide information. No problem, without a doubt, and I can have that by next week at the latest, were phrases so confidently thrown around that one had to duck to avoid being hit by these statements of bravado.

Well those statements were made in late October and early November. Guess what? We still do not have what was promised. The NAATS Representatives need what was promised to them, so that they can effectively make intelligent decisions affecting us as controllers, and the pilots that use our services.

It is imperative than we enforce the TMP Agreement, as it is to enforce the Red Book, as the agreement is an extension of the Red Book. That is what our Union is about. Honoring and enforcing our agreements and holding management accountable to do the same.

Issues, What is going on Nationally and Regionally?

Just The Facts

During the week of March 5th the Johnstown (JST) ASOS went awry and was sending only partial weather or no weather at all. (Johnstown is approximately 25 NM to the west of Altoona) According to the local newspaper this cost the commuter airline serving the airport in excess of $10,000 in lost revenue. This is not the first time the system failed to perform. I happen to live two air miles from the Johnstown Airport and can see the Control Tower from my kitchen window. I usually call the ASOS telephone number daily or listen to my aircraft scanner to get an idea of the local weather. Being a certified weather observer I feel qualified to scrutinize the reports given. A good portion of the time my observations do not match that of the ASOS.

The system was commissioned in the Fall of 2000 and at that time seven weather observers lost their jobs as a result of the transition to the Automated Weather System.

The project was a joint effort between the FAA, NWS and DOD to "improve weather technology at airports," with the installation cost of approximately $120,000. A quote from an FAA spokesman in Washington said prior to the commissioning that, "The studies show it is just as good as weather observers."

The ASOS equipment is housed in the new control tower at Johnstown but the controllers are not permitted to augment it even though they are weather observers.

The interesting fact about the ASOS failure is that during the week of March 5th the eastern portion of the United States experienced a very strong low pressure area which has not been rivaled in several years. This not only impacted commuter operations but many general aviation flights as well. Another startling fact is that the local congressman has brought about $100 million into the Johnstown Airport, with approximately $76 million allocated for military facilities and $23 million for airport improvements. Apparently, reliable weather equipment was not included.
A contingency plan is in the works for the local commuter airline to provide weather observers if the system fails again, said a spokesman for the airport authority.

Not To Be Outdone

The Altoona DF site was almost lost due to the future construction of a corporate hangar on the southern end of the airport. The DF antenna must be moved and the corporate operator did not want to incur the cost. The airport also refused to pay the cost of relocating the antenna. As a result, the airport manager sent a request to the eastern region to have the antenna decommissioned, without contacting the Altoona AFSS.
Fortunately, when the orders to remove the site were sent to Altoona AF they notified our Manager who took appropriate action.

Efforts are being taken to stop the decommissioning of the DF antenna because it is a designated site for the Allegheny Mountain Range for safety reasons. These sites include EKN, AOO and an antenna to be installed at BUF.
At present, a decision is pending.

From the FacRep

Beth Gerrits

While some of my membership was and still is opposed to the FacRep training conducted on a cruise ship this year, many others were very supportive. I want to emphasize that the training was conducted at cost savings of approximately $100 per FacRep from previous training sessions. FacReps also paid a portion of the costs. The training was also very effective and the most important aspect of the trip, not the location. I hope we do it again in the future.

Don McLennan, ANM RegDir

Address Update for RegDir
Don McLennan, ANM Regional Director 
31500 33rd Place, SW Q-204 
Federal Way, WA 98023 

NAATS Office 253-815-0307 

NAATS Fax 253-815-0327 

Cell Phone 253-653-6465 

E-Mail [email protected]

SEA AFSS 206-764-6606 

I would prefer that all communication and correspondence be accomplished at these new numbers/addresses. 

Quarterly Meeting Highlights

There was a quarterly meeting held between the Union and management in early February.

Staffing

One of the first issues discussed was staffing opportunities and shortcomings for this coming year.

The staffing issue at McMinnville concerns who is on the watch schedule and persons detailed out of the facility. New information was presented to the RO that one individual on detail may be working so few hours on position that it might be more appropriate to not consider the individual as being a part of the watch schedule. However, the individual is not detailed and apparently comes and goes at random. Management has hired a person to backfill behind the detailed person but an issue remains that it would be better to have the person off the operational floor altogether as opposed to working less hours than monthly currency requirements.

The staffing issue at Denver is about the potential shortages due to year-end retirements. Darrell Mounts shared the picture at Denver claiming he knows Denver AFSS is going to loose five persons through retirements. Alice Haines noted that in the next twelve months Seattle AFSS would lose three people to retirements. Jim Hayes admitted this is a real problem the management must deal with and he acknowledged that there are staffing shortages in some facilities. He also noted that he is not getting any complaints from the facility management about staffing issues. They know there is a "potential" attrition issue but currently are not developing a pipeline or maybe even developing a plan to address the issue.

Under our CPP MOU we asked for an update on CPP moves to this region. Specifically about Donna Minnie and Lisa Rosenthal. The pickup date for Donna Minnie is 3/26, and for Lisa Rosenthal it is 5/26.

We also discussed the issue that the region has asked the Mangers to review their AWS watch schedules to see if they are spending their funds as efficient as possible within limited resources. He also addressed the issue that if we can find persons interested in IPP moves into this region management will work with us to try and make it happen. We are not at a "capped" personnel amount based on our current regional staffing numbers. I also addressed the issue there was moves within the region that had not been coordinated with me but was assured the management people had not been notified either. We agreed to look into it and discuss what moves may happen.

2002 OLYMPICS

We had asked for a briefing from management on what is the status on preparations for the Salt Lake City Olympic event? We also presented a NAATS Proposal to handle international traffic.

Jeff Walen gave us an overview briefing on what he has been assigned to do since joining the team in July. He advised that AOPA's Internet site has an excellent demonstration on VFR Waypoints and how they should be used. This is potentially a big issue, especially for helicopters using the special airways for the Olympics. Jeff addressed our issue of training other AFSS facilities where traffic may have to be off-loaded. There is not a definitive answer to the question but Jeff said they had a lot of good ideas and something would be settled on shortly. They may use cadre instructors from facility to facility, hold a large training session for everyone or let someone from Cedar City AFSS visit other facilities to train them one facility at a time.

Jeff advised us that the Special Traffic Management Plan being developed for the Olympics would be something that anyone getting a briefing into the Salt Lake City area would have to be familiar with. This means all of our members will have to know about, and understand it, well enough to not have to waste time looking it up with a customer on the line.

OASIS

We had requested an update briefing on OASIS at Seattle. We received a briefing from Barb Hayes on OASIS. She had been in Washington, D.C. last week but the briefing she received was a relative high-level one and as such there was little specific information. In fact, Alice Haines had the most current information, which is always good to know.

Tower Light NOTAMs

There seems to be a problem with the current procedure dealing with tower obstruction light outages. The procedure has us faxing information to the FCC on tower light outages if an outage is not fixed or extended by the tower operator. However, we don't fax the info if the operator extends the NOTAM before the 15 days limitation is up. Tower operators have extended their NOTAMs several times. If this tower light NOTAM activity is a safety issue, then this procedure is counterproductive to that allowing tower operators to leave their lights out indefinitely.

GTF AFSS

In the Great Falls AFSS, Don Caruthers the Manger for the last year or so has moved up in the world and is now down as the Deputy Tower Manager at Salt Lake City. He was much admired for his work in the facility and we all wish him well. In his absence the Regional Office management has decided to move one of the ATCT Supervisors into the AFSS as the acting Manager. This is a move that is not supported or respected by the FSS option people. In our eyes there is no reason to not have moved the Operational Manager in the AFSS into the acting slot. However, as with any move the Regional Office makes they have their reasons and have given us assurances this is a temporary fix and that we can look forward to a permanent solution somewhere in the near future. Wes Donnelly, the facility FacRep has done a very good job in keeping us involved and in developing a dialog that has explained many aspects of the decision.

Hawthorne AFSS News

Elinormarie Morrissy, HHR AFSS

� And the "Freeze" Goes On... �

The winter rains are squeezing out their last gasp over Southern California. Can it already be April? I'm still recovering from Christmas and New Years! I must be getting old, time seems to have speeded up a lot lately - except on my "Fridays." Hmmm...

Speaking of old things, the hiring/promotion freeze continues to drag on. The question on everyone's mind is, When will it end? The other question on many minds is, Will there be any new hires into Flight Service before I retire? I haven't heard any good answers to either one yet.

D�j� Vu All Over Again

Briefings for the Model Work Environment were held at our facility a while back and I couldn't help getting that feeling of "d�j� vu all over again." Maybe I wasn't listening well enough, but the MWE Committee sounds a awful lot like the old NFP Committee dressed up in a new suit. We'll wait and see, good things may come out of it yet.

New NAATS Member

Welcome aboard to our newest NAATS member, Mike Hiett. 

Shades of Fred MacMurray!

On the brighter side of things, congratulations go out to Stuart and Anna Macofsky on the birth of a son, Matthew. This makes it a total of three sons. Congratulations, Stu!

So Long Hugh

Best wishes go to former HHR AFSS co-worker, Hugh Thompson on his move to Honolulu. He got a bit of a rocky start with his move, but we hope everything is turning out well for Hugh and his wife. Hugh, old man, you will be missed.

Get Well Soon

Get well wishes go to Cynthia Rietz who is recovering from surgery. Carlos DeMoss who is currently doing time in the Admin side waiting out a medical disqualification.

With Deepest Sympathy

Finally, our condolences go to HHR OM, Bob Dean on the loss of his father. It's never easy to lose a parent. Our sympathies and prayerful thoughts go out to him.