FAA Issues Photo ID Rule for General Aviation Pilots

FAA Press Release, October 24, 2002

WASHINGTON -- In a move to further balance security and the needs of the aviation community, the U.S. Department of Transportation�s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing revised rules that provide a readily available, low-cost way for pilots to carry acceptable photo identification when flying. FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey announced the new rules today at a conference sponsored by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) in Palm Springs, Calif.

The new regulations also require pilots to present that ID when requested by the FAA, Transportation Security Administration (TSA), National Transportation Safety Board or any law enforcement officer. Both rules are effective immediately.

The FAA expects the most commonly used photo ID will be a valid driver�s license issued by a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory or possession. The agency based its rule changes on a petition submitted by AOPA last February. AOPA suggested that a valid driver�s license would be an immediate, cost-effective solution to address security concerns about pilot identity in the general aviation community. The organization also proposed that pilots be required to present photo identification on demand.

Other suitable forms of identification under the new rules are a valid federal or state ID card, a U.S. armed forces� ID, credentials that authorize access to airport secure areas, or other identification that the FAA accepts. The rules published today were developed in response to provisions contained in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), enacted in Nov. 2001.

The TSA requested immediate adoption of these rules to help prevent hazards to aircraft, persons and property within the United States, and the FAA agreed. The TSA has issued other regulatory documents that became effective immediately to minimize security threats and potential security vulnerabilities. The FAA has issued the new rule changes without prior notice and public comment for the same reason.
The new regulations can be viewed by clicking on the "Recently Published Documents" link at http://www.faa.gov/avr/arm.

  A76 Update

Kate Breen, A76 Representative -- [email protected]

AOPA�s Brief

Let me start on the very first line, "A-76 process: A Congressionally Mandated Competitive Sourcing Study of the Flight Service Station (FSS) Program." The A-76 process is not congressionally mandated it comes out of the White House and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), hell most if not all of congress didn�t even know the FAA was doing an A-76 study on Flight Service. This is just the first in a line of "misperceptions" in this brief, let�s go over the others.

The Issue

The first two paragraphs are pretty factual up to the point where they talk about an approximate cost of $15.00 per pilot contact. That comes from only counting certain aspects of the job we do, when FAA Management and NAATS got together to look at how we currently count traffic the group noted several different pieces of work that we have been doing for decades that never gets counted. If you are going to put a price tag on something wouldn�t it be nice to know what the real cost is and not just an estimate. There is no current valid cost accounting system set up and when the FAA A-76 team was asked what they were going to use, the response was we are going to develop it as we go along.

The A-76 process will result in a private contractor taking over if the Government�s Most Efficient Organization does not cut staffing by at least 30 percent and also show significant cuts in salaries and benefits. People don�t like to use the word "privatization study", can you tell me please what the difference is between a "privatization study", a competitive outsourcing study or strategic outsourcing study.....huh......? They were right when they said the FAA as the current service provider has a key role in the process, the one part they left out was FAA Management has a key role in the process. The Bargaining Unit Members can participate to a limited extent but do not have a "key" role in a "plan for maximizing those services in the future."

The Importance to Our Members

It is true the Air Traffic Controllers in Flight Service have been working with old/outdated/antiquated equipment for years now. The FAA�s response to that was to put someone in charge of developing a new computer system that had no idea what we do and how we do it. The result a modernization plan that is behind schedule and over budget, so how do they fix that? The FAA does an A-76 study to look at just making it all go away, what a plan! Let�s look at ways to do our job better and stop the continuing degradation of FSS provided service, but let�s be smart about it, let�s not sell safety and security to the lowest bidder.

Background

This was my favorite, AOPA did their members a service here by simply cutting and pasting from an FAA "page of relevant facts". They really did their homework here, simply taking this at face value and never validating it. Sounds just like the feasibility study that Grant Thornton did, no need to validate issues just use statements like "outsourcing will not compromise safety or homeland security". Could someone please tell me who this expert is that came up with that statement, seeing this is the first "privatization, competitive outsourcing, or strategic outsourcing study" the FAA has done on Air Traffic Control Services. No they did not complete the A-76 study on the level one towers! The process steps were pretty much on the mark, the only change is at the very end it runs for up to 3 years from start to finish at the cost of approximately $9,000,000.00.

AOPA Position

I�m glad to see AOPA recognizes that the current system is in "serious jeopardy", mainly due to this study! The powers to be at AOPA think they can pick and choose what parts of the study or outcome they want.....NOT IN THIS STUDY! Once this study gets past the solicitation phase, there is virtually no turning back. If the FAA does not provide the Most Efficient Organization and the PRIVATE contractor wins the competition AOPA has no say in the matter. If AOPA feels strongly enough that the FAA recognizes that the provision of aviation weather services is a "government function" (I guess that�s different than INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL) they should actively oppose now or face the consequences. Mr. Boyer has said on many occasions that his members use both DUATS and still call Flight Service to back up and get any further information they need. Someone using DUATS for winds aloft is not the same thing as briefing from a professionally trained Air Traffic Controller. There is a web site out there call WEBMD, does that stop someone from going to the Doctor if they don�t feel well? AOPA needs to service their membership by asking questions and not just taking everything the FAA feeds them as fact. The Agency has tried to sneak this whole A-76 debacle through the congress and senate by canceling their original press release and then by simply sending out a "page of relevant facts" that AOPA has swallowed hook line and sinker.

That�s it for now, as always any questions [email protected].

  OASIS UPDATE

Jeff Barnes, National OASIS Representative

M1FC/OASIS Coexistence

It looks like we have a solution to the problem of having OASIS and  M1FC co-existing on the floor between the time OASIS is first installed till the facility begins OASIS operations after training is complete. The question was how do we accommodate having both systems out there at the same time.

What we have found is that since OASIS has changed from 21 inch CRT monitors to 19 inch flat panel displays there is now room in the consoles for both M1FC and WSI displays and the OASIS displays, one in front of the other. You will need one or two OASIS positions on the floor so that those who have completed training can stay refreshed and get practice time, but the rest of the positions will have M1FC and WSI out front. Where OASIS is out front M1FC and WSI can be in back, ready to be moved forward if needed. Where M1FC and WSI are out front OASIS would be in back ready to be pulled forward as soon as the facility becomes operational on OASIS. This also allows 100% installation of OASIS instead of trying to figure out the 50% as things were. This solves a lot of problems for us. This solution is tentative. The program wants to do a formal study to make sure everything fits. Once that is done they will be going out to all the sites that have been site surveyed up to this point to work out changes in the installation plan for OASIS.

Bureaucracy Inaction

The survey of satisfaction with your equipment placement in the OASIS consoles is languishing on a bureaucrat�s desk at the moment. The reason...it has to be negotiated with the union according to this person. Unfortunately to this point this person has not listened when told that the union actually wrote this survey. Well, she has, sort of...her response was to ask why the union hadn�t sent it out and left the FAA out of it. She was told that while the union wrote it we wanted to make sure we had agreement from both union and management at the facilities, so it needed to go out from the FAA. Scott Malon is working on getting it moving out to the field.

WMSCR�s Snafu

We had a lovely problem with WMSCR week before last. WMSCR went down at a bad time for OASIS and left us without the NOTAM information that was needed to do NOTAM cleanups at Anderson (AND) and Seattle (SEA). In trying to work around the problem, a shortcoming in OASIS was found that was causing AND and SEA to request the same NOTAM info from WMSCR over and over again using WMSCR�s Request/Reply Function. When WMSCR finally noticed this, they turned off Request/Reply functionality to AND and SEA.

There were two major problems here. First, if WMSCR had been paying attention they could have called BOTH facilities to them to stop doing what they were doing because it was endangering WMSCR. Second, they not only didn�t call AND or SEA, they failed to inform them of the action until the following day, and then it was only by e-mail. I have stated in no uncertain terms that if any service has to be turned off to OASIS for whatever reason then the OASIS facilities MUST be notified immediately by phone. There is general agreement on this point within the OASIS program. I have insisted on a National written agreement to cover this for the future. Unfortunately, the WMSCR organization has been the most difficult organization to work with in my time on OASIS. They are an FAA system, but they are only concerned about their "customers." Their customers? The AIRLINES. The airlines mean more to them by far than any FAA users. Because of this, I am doing all I can to push for getting data from other sources as much as possible with new interfaces to OASIS that bypass WMSCR to get us the information we need.

Pilots Want DUATS/OASIS Interface

I was at the AOPA Expo in Palm Springs. Darrell and Mike and the gang at the NAATS booth did an excellent job getting our word out to the pilots there. Guylan Roberts and I were there to demo OASIS. It was very informative for us. I know that AOPA reads my articles, so this is for them as well as for you. The response by the pilots after having seen the capabilities of OASIS, without exception, was "when do I get to see this on my computer?" My response was that we were looking at incorporating DUATS into OASIS, which would give them access to the capabilities we were showing them. I was fair and told them that AOPA has concerns about technology enhancements if the service is not provided by competing vendors, but we were working to ensure that technology refresh would continue through the lifecycle of an OASIS/DUATS system.

The pilots were especially interested in a truly interactive briefing. This flies in the face of what we got from AOPA who said their priority for interactive briefings was low to moderate. The pilots would love to be able to click a button and be able to speak with a briefer with the info that either one is looking at appearing on both of their screens.

Another benefit of integrating DUATS into OASIS is the strong desire by DUATS pilots to be able to call their AFSS and amend flight plans filed the night before. The first three pilots in a row to stop by our booth asked us why they can�t do that today. They considered it a major annoyance. One said he stopped filing in DUATS because of it. Also, the pilots are very concerned that Flight Service not be moved out of the government. They see this as a first step to inevitable user fees. They are aware of the failure of privatization elsewhere and want no part of it for us.

WARP Encounter

On the airplane from Washington to Los Angeles I had an interesting encounter. I was sharing a row with a person from the WARP (Weather And Radar Processor, primarily supplies weather data to the centers and the command center) program. We were talking about issues facing our programs when a gentleman a couple rows forward of us said he worked for AOPA and couldn�t help overhearing me talking about OASIS. We talked about OASIS for a bit before I steered the conversation to the A-76.

He stated that AOPA believed that the A-76 would result in modernization of Flight Service, not contracting out. I told him that I believed AOPA�s reasoning to be flawed and that the PRIMARY purpose of an A-76 was to contract out a service. I said that NAATS was hitting this issue hard. His response? "I know, we�ve been getting the cards and letters." I then said that our president was pretty much living on the Hill because of this issue also, and his response to that was "Yeah, we�ve been hearing about that also." Then I found out during the Expo that AOPA had come out with their position on the A-76, less than a week before their scheduled meeting with NAATS on the subject. Looks to me like AOPA felt enough pressure on the subject that they had to respond -- perhaps sooner than they would have wished. Of course that�s just idle speculation on my part. I found out later that my conversation on the plane had gotten back to Phil Boyer and was mentioned at the meeting with NAATS.

OASIS Demonstrations

This week Alice Haines and I will be demonstrating OASIS at the Air Traffic Control Association�s convention here in DC. I don�t expect anything of import to come from that, but we do want to increase visibility of OASIS as much as we can.

Members of the Human Factors Team will be doing facility demos as we are able. Burlington (BTV) is scheduled for next week, as are Alaskan facilities. We will be working on other Alaskan Region facilities and other regions as we can get them scheduled. Things are a bit fluid at the moment since we are under a continuing resolution, and there is word floating around here that some people wouldn�t be surprised to see us under the CR until the third quarter of the fiscal year. Oh joy.
 

  LIAISON UPDATES

ARS Report

Jim Perkins, ARS Liaison -- [email protected]

The Friends and Partners of Aviation Weather held their 2002 National meeting October 23 in conjunction with the AOPA Expo 2002. User groups represented included ADF, ALPA, AOPA, ATA, NASA, NAATS, NATCA, NBAA and SAMA. Also present were representatives of the FAA (from AAT, AUA and ARS) and the NWS. While the meeting mainly dealt with future product development, there were also some discussions on improvement of current products and services.

Specific areas where products were sited as needing improvement included the following:

• Improved acquisition and dissemination of international weather

• Wind shear detection systems (especially at lower-tier airports)

• Winter weather observation and forecast systems

• NOTAM support

• Volcanic ash detection

• PIREP dissemination

During the discussion on NOTAM support, I stressed the need for continued support for the NSTS and Graphical TFR programs that are currently in development.

The discussion surrounding needed improvement of PIREP dissemination was prompted by the user groups feeling that most PIREPS are not getting disseminated after being given to ATC. I pointed out that PIREP solicitation had become a high priority on recent facility evaluations and that on the whole, if Flight Service gets a PIREP we get it into the system. The Barbara Walton (the NATCA rep) admitted that often when they (ATCT/ARTCC controllers) receive a PIREP that it often falls through the cracks and do not get entered in to the system. The user panel asked that the FAA look into developing some type of automated PIREP coordination between ATC facilities to facilitate more PIREPS getting into the WMSCR. The user group also asked the FAA to look into the possibility of allowing airline dispatchers to enter PIREPS into the WMSCR directly. I�m sure this will end up being something the evaluation teams will continue to look at carefully, so we need to continue to be vigilant on the solicitation and dissemination of PIREPS.

Briefings were given on the status of several new weather products, which are currently under development, by the NWS. Most of these products are currently available of the ADDS website, even though they are not all designated as "operational" products. The address for the site is http://adds.aviationweather.gov/ if you would like to take a look. I have web addresses for other experimental products at my office, contact me if you would like that info. Discussions on future weather products stressed that aviation weather products need to be developed using a system engineering type approach in which the "users" define what the requirements for these products are, rather than the developers telling us how products will look. This process needs to ensure the coordinated development of suites of products to address each weather phenomenon and each category of user.

The discussions that seemed to be most significant to the future of Flight Service were held with a panel comprised of Jeff Griffith AAT-2, Don Stadtler AUA-2 and Lynn Sherretz Chief of the Aviation Requirements at NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory. While NAATS is fully supporting the continued deployment of OASIS, which will house most of these new weather products, the users panel agreed that the FAA needs to find a faster interim solution to getting these new products to the Flight Service briefers. Jeff Griffith stated that it might be possible to house these products on the hardware slated to be deployed for SUA/ISE and NSTS. He went on to say that ATP-1 is still committed to SUA/ISE deployment by the end of FY03, as well as the relatively rapid deployment of NSTS. AUA was given an "action item" to look into possible inclusion of these new products on this hardware. This will be something that Scott Malon, Art Finnegan and myself will be following up on in the future.

ARU Report

Art Finnegan, ARU Liaison -- [email protected]

The Juneau Alaska airport (JNU) has a single runway 8-26, a part time VFR tower (6a-11p) an AFSS (provides airport advisory service when the tower is closed), and is served by ZAN for instrument approaches. JNU is on an island along the southern coast of Alaska. It is almost totally surrounded by mountains, and sits at one end of the long, deep Gastineau channel. The dramatic and imposing topography around the airport requires aircraft to execute procedure turns with steep banks at low altitudes and slow airspeeds where loss of control could occur if wind shear or turbulence (moderate or greater) is encountered.

Alaska Airlines recognized the need for objective and quantitative information on the occurrence and/or possibility of hazardous terrain induced turbulence after their aircraft experienced difficulty operating at JNU. The airline installed anemometers on ridgelines along the Gastineau channel with displays in their dispatch offices in Juneau and Seattle. They then began an effort to transfer further development/maintenance of this system to the FAA by enlisting congressional support. In FY94 Congress asked the FAA to review flight safety in the Juneau area. Congress began providing research/development funds in FY97 to research and install a prototype wind alert system. The prototype remains under development and is maintained by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) under contract with the FAA.

The prototype, commonly known as the Juneau Airport Wind System (JAWS) has been expanded and refined. The JAWS nomenclature includes seven anemometers (three on the runway and four on remote mountain sites), three Doppler radar wind profilers (placed very close to sea level), five JAWS display units (JNU ATCT, JNU AFSS, ZAN, Alaska Airlines dispatch, NWS), and a central processor. There is also some maintenance/monitoring equipment.

Researchers at NCAR are attempting to develop an algorithm for analysis of system data in order to identify specific areas where mechanical turbulence and wind shear are present. That information is expected to enable controllers at the ATCT, AFSS, and ZAN to issue some type of an advisory (yet to be determined) quickly with minimum phraseology.

The program office at FAA HQ that currently manages the JAWS program is of the opinion that this system has "transportability," or could be considered for use at other locations.

ATP Report

Scott Malon, ATP Liaison -- [email protected]

SUA/ISE

During the week of October 21-25th, a Human Factors Team convened to take a look at the latest UNIX-based version of the SUAISE program (SUAISE2). The Board of Directors selected 5 participants: Derek Buchanan/BNA, Oscar Hinojosa/SJT, Chuck Kuennen/RNO, Curt Lasley/DCA, and Kirk Leander/FTW. Using FTW AFSSs SUAISE as the baseline, all aspects of the program were evaluated for their usability/functionality, with comments made on necessary changes. I want to thank the team members for their commitment and effort. All involved were optimistic that with certain adjustments made, the "SUAISE2" has the potential to be successfully fielded for our operational use.
Some update item(s):

• An official �timeline� has not yet been determined, but it should look something like this:

• End of November > Follow-up CHI activity

• End of CY�02 > Equipment purchased for all facilities

• Early CY�03 > Training

• March �03 > Begin installation based upon the regional waterfall/priority lists

• September �03 > full national deployment/usage of SUAISE2, IAW our OASIS MOU

* This all is with the assumption that the required negotiation with both NAATS and PASS is complete.

• ATP-200 would like to re-visit the training plan for the SUAISE2, however, it appears that the 1-day Academy course concept will remain, with 2 employees being sent from each facility (1 BUE + 1 Non-BUE). Those that already attended would have to be re-trained, as the new version changes the course content.

Inter/Intranet Access in Operations

ATP-400 initiated the Identification of Operational Need document to ARU-200, the folks responsible for "making it happen." It clearly indicates the criticality of the need, as well as the need to have this need met "as quickly as possible." The quick fix for this will be 2 PCs for your operations area, with �end-state� usage at every operational position (i.e. within an informational display system). This platform will enable our AFSSs to finally benefit from the work of the FSOSC in viewing graphic TFRs overlaid on charts and maps (see their report).

ATX Report

Beth Gerrits, ATX Liaison -- [email protected]

I am Beth Gerrits the new NAATS ATX LIAISON and I come from Altoona AFSS in Martinsburg, PA. Ron Maisel has moved on to Elkins AFSS in West Virginia and is in training and excited to be briefing pilots again. My thanks to Ron for all the work he has done at ATX over the past year and on his 18 years of service to NAATS before that. Best wishes to him in his "new" career. I would also like to thank those at Altoona who are working harder so that I might be here at ATX.

Staffing is an issue this past month. The staffing standards are the calculated need for staffing over the next year and in the future. This standard was issued at the end of September. As of September 30, 2002 we have a grand total of 2104 Bargaining Unit Members and the staffing standard anticipates the need for 2302 Bargaining Unit Members in Fiscal Year 2003. That means that without anyone retiring the FAA should hire 198 new controllers. However the Academy only has the capacity to train 98 new employees. This will limit the new hires to 98. We are working to make sure none of those slots are empty in the coming year. Negotiations are pending on how those new people will be allocated to the regions.

The FAM program is still active. The airlines are slowly allowing more categories of participants. There is no idea at this time when we will included but I will keep you updated.

Article 9 Briefings were done on:

• ASOS. Product Improvement Implementation Plan- Dew Point Sensor Replacement. This will include a replacement of the dew point sensor and a change from a 5 second wind sample to a 3 second wind sample. Initial installation will be in 5 facilities with all ASOS to be updated eventually.

Lower minimum en route altitudes (MEA) based on GPS. Testing to be done in Southeast Alaska on some airway segments.

FSOSC Report

Tim DeGrazio & Patsy Rowe FSOSC Liaisons

The Flight Service Operations Support Center continues to work on the TODS (TFR Operations Display System). Our TODS program still performs better than any other system we have seen, hands down. We are anxious to get it to our folks in the field. Unfortunately we still have no idea when that will happen. Apparently, there has been no movement to purchase equipment for the field. We are dealing with the daily roadblocks and controversy while the FAA continues to try and figure out what to do with us and how all the upcoming programs can be incorporated into one system. The FSOSC still resides in our temporary home at ATA100. Latest information is that they need their cubicle back for storage. We will not be going to the 10th floor as originally planned. This is due to the money involved in getting Top Secret clearances.

Our main objective is to provide NOTAM support to the field and within headquarters. We have received several mentions in the NAATS chat group and have responded in an attempt to alleviate some of the concerns from the workforce. At this point, one of our prime objectives is to tackle questions from the field, to clarify and rectify problems presented by the verbiage and contradictory nature of the TFRs. Our lines of communication and contacts continue to grow and progressively result in a positive manner. We have been instrumental in bringing attention to and alleviating confusion caused by the issuance of 2 contradictory FDC NOTAMs (FDC 2/1257 and FDC 2/4584). These NOTAMS cover airports within the DC TFR. Through lengthy discussion, we were finally able to explain that the 2 contradictory NOTAMS should be cancelled and 1 NOTAM issued which stated all the valid information. On 9/30 NOTAM 2/4584 was cancelled removing the conflict with 2/1257. We have been working closely with ATA100 (Cartographic Standards Program Managers) on information concerning presidential TFRs and FDC 2/0523 that has to do with USD and UARs. As a result of our discussions, expect FDC 2/0523 to be cancelled on the 31st of October and the information issued in its proper place, Notice to Airmen Handbook, Part 4 Section 1. Public RNAV Departure Procedures and Standard Terminal Arrivals. Recently, it has been brought to our attention that the term of exclusion contained in the FDC TFRS, "unless authorized by ATC," has caused a little "heartburn" so we are in the process of getting clarification. We continue to identify incorrect NOTAMS and suggest improvements (most of which, have been accepted).

During a meeting with ATP320, NAATS ATP Liaison and FSOSC it was decided that there was a need to standardize the use and format of "Pointer NOTAMS." Advance information was sent to the field via email identifying the results of the meeting.

We had the opportunity to tour the Command Center in Herndon. We were there to participate in a demonstration of the new SUA program and compare it to SUAISE side by side. I might add that both Tim and I have field experienced with SUAISE.

Tim has recently sent cc mail to all FacReps in response to FDC NOTAM 2/0199, concerning TFR in vicinity of sporting events with list of FAA websites that contain specific stadiums and events that are covered in the NOTAM. We have also sent a proposal to specify responsibility.

We look forward to the equipment making it to you. In the meantime, if you have any questions please call us at (202)267-9303. We are available 7:30-4:30 EDT Monday through Friday.

Note: Tim is on vacation for the next two weeks. Gone sailing to the British Virgin Islands. I�ll be here to answer your questions.

  AIR TRAFFIC PROCEDURES ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Terri Michel, NAATS Representative

ATPAC 109 was held Monday October 7, 2002 through Thursday October 10, 2002 in Washington, DC. Our regular meeting room at FAA HQ was not available. NATCA volunteered a meeting room in their HQ. and we met there. NATCA�s facilities were nice and their personnel were very accommodating.

There are over twenty-five issues being worked by ATPAC at present. Two of those primarily concern FSS.
Dissemination and Receiving of L NOTAMS

This is a concern to both general aviation and air carrier operations. ATPAC has been working on this issue since January of 1998. Two official recommendations have been made: Recommendation 1. FAA should channel its limited resources into developing a plain text system that integrates all NOTAMS into a single system. This system should be modeled after the existing Dept. of Defense Internet NOTAM System. Recommendation 2. ATPAC drafted a letter to the FAA expressing concerns about NOTAM issues and included wording from recommendation one. Periodic updates have been given to advise ATPAC on progress. We received a briefing during this meeting from Gary Bobik, ATP-320. The NOTAM Short Term Solution (NSTS) is a program that will place additional computer equipment in FSSs and towers enabling towers to access NOTAM information. There are two proof of concept sites, MCN and CID.

Testing of the program at these two sites was to begin September 2002 and now has been delayed until February 2003. If testing proves successful, all this will accomplish is transferring NOTAM information from FSS to towers within a specific geographic area via automated means. This is a very small step to address a very large problem.

Entry and Dissemination of PIREPS

This is a concern to many service providers and users of the National Airspace System (NAS).

ATPAC has been working this issue since October of 1999. One official recommendation has been made: improve the PIREP collection and dissemination system with a common database for controllers, pilots and dispatchers. ATPAC has received periodic updates. One of the NATCA reps provided information on a system that is being developed for them that will have a touch screen PIREP mask so that they may enter data in a more timely manner. Their input would go to their CWSU and then to Kansas City. A prototype of this system is being used at Boston ARTCC. Willie Copeland, ATP-300 briefed us on current FAA initiatives. FAA is reviewing several proposals and still believes that the EFAS position is a focal point.

Proposed Continuing Resolution

Peter Challen, ATS-2, briefed the group on a proposed continuing resolution. This would basically mean that FAA would be operating with only about 80% of last year�s budget. Generally a continuing resolution would last through mid November. Challen advised that Congress might defer until March. We asked about budget with regard to ATPAC meetings. He made a commitment to make our planned January meeting in Orlando happen.

Some of our time was allocated to reviewing and editing our ATPAC guidelines. Consensus was reached on all changes.

Many thanks to Andrea Chay. She has been a great help to me and served NAATS well as the ATPAC representative for eight years. Please contact me with concerns or questions at [email protected] or [email protected].

NAATS BOD Meeting Minutes

NAATS Business Meeting
The Clarion Hotel
Fort Worth, TX
October 7, 2002-October 9, 2002

DAY ONE-October 7, 2002

9:00 am -- Call To Order

Simpson fell while he was in Ohio and will not be attending this meeting, Darrell Mounts is covering for North West Mountain with full voting rights as agreed between McLennan and Pike. O'Connell is absent.

President�s Report

A-76 - Discussion on next ad and target audience.

Congressional Activity --

Pay and Work Rules -- Implement work rules immediately, the Administrator�s office should let Pike know by Monday afternoon. Printing could actually take months, the contract would be effective the day it�s signed, probably the first pay period in January. Hoover will start the list comparing the old contract to the new one, Dolan will get together a few directors to proof read the TAU�s. Agency and NAATS want 60 days to train advocates. Hoover will feather out:

Agency�s Obligations

Negotiations

Money, travel, per diem

Union Timeline Requirements

Other significant Articles.

External Union Relations -- NATCA is concerned about the A-76. They do have ideas, but are not ready to act yet. PASS was originally in on the ad, but opted out. NAATS is continuing to work closely with both unions.

Real Estate Report -- Looking at properties in Old Town Alexandria, nothing really what NAATS wants at this point. The current appraisal of current building is $300,000.00, paid $230,000.00 in '93. Keep an eye on current market and situation, if something comes up the real estate agents will let the national office know.

Senior FAA relations -- Still have not been able to get into see the new Administrator, no significant problems with Air traffic or ATS. No word on the new COO.


Discussion around the chief negotiator and office administrator being kept in the loop, i.e., being included on BOD telcons. Discussion on policy. There will be a staff meeting by Dolan to help educate the new Liaisons and remind the old Liaisons of their responsibility.

Discussion about finalizing next ad and meeting timeframes.

Runway Safety Program Briefing

John Chadwick and Inez Kennedy briefed the board on updates to the runway safety program. The Office of Runway Safety is looking for NAATS representative on the program. Pike will work with AT-1 to get a full time representative/liaison. Every runway incursion out there is due to human error, spent lots of money studying the human factors end and still have no answers. Roughly 60 percent of all runway incursions involve general aviation.

Chief Negotiator�s Report

Liaison reports have been distributed in a timely manner. The Board of Directors had no questions about the reports. SUA/ISE will be a separate discussion. TFR information is being sent out to the directors and the directors are being asked to distribute to the Facreps with web sites. Are these web sites supposed to be used for briefing? Dolan with check with FSOSC on the web sites and how they are to be used. Does ATC authorized mean in contact with ATC or a waiver need to operate in that airspace? - Dolan to check.

Voice Switch Human Factors Team needs to replace a member. Pike recommended John Dibble to fill the slot, Hoover second, vote unanimous.

CRU-X -- There was a memo sent out from FAA Headquarters that said all unions had agreed upon CRU-X issues, not true, NAATS has still not signed the MOU. Dolan will finish it up and let the BOD know when it�s complete. Breen would like to give the CRU-X representative duties to the new ATX Liaison, because it was in her line of business.

Government Charge Cards -- Article 9 notification of some changes to the program. They briefed all the unions, but not listed as an official Article 9. Dolan waiting for the agency to contact him for an official article 9. The ratification of the work rules will cover some of the issues.

Staffing -- Dolan is setting up a meeting with ATX to get a briefing on the package sent out regarding the staffing standard and the voice switch program. Pike got a commitment from AT-1 that the 300 cuts in air traffic services will not be coming out of flight service bargaining unit numbers. The cuts should come out of overhead positions. The staffing standard is used as a guide only, there is no way to enforce it. Eastern region has a list of every facility, what positions are filled and when people are eligible for retirement. The rest of the directors should try to get that same report. Make sure the training slots are filled in every region. The ATX liaison will get a list of slots at the academy for FY03 to each region out to the directors.

A-76 -- Dolan had a meeting with AT-2 on getting a NAATS A-76 Liaison to the agency�s work group or what is called the A-76 Integrated Product Team (IPT). The BOD will get a name for the liaison position as soon as possible. NAATS needs to make sure people know about the "right of first refusal" before they start working on the A-76 process. Dolan will try to have a Union 1 proposal for the BOD by the end of this meeting.

Day Two -- October 8, 2002

9:00 am -- Back In Session

O'Connell now present.

Budget Discussion

Wesselhoft (outgoing treasurer) and Lackman (incoming treasurer) were both present and handed out the financial status report and 2003 budget draft. Discussion regarding line items in budget.

Wesselhoft went over the budget for CY2003 line by line.

NAATS should be funding travel for the President to travel to all user group forums, Holmes would like to see NAATS fund the President and not ask the FAA to pay. General agreement.

MOTION - Increase the imprest fund base by $250.00 per region per month, increase the per member rate by a $1.00 per month. Effective November 1, 2002, regional imprest will be $750.00 base and $4.50 per member, per month. Motion by Jaffe, Second by Baker. Vote -- All in favor. Motion passes.

Discussion- With all that is going on right now (new contract/pay/A-76) the directors need to get out to the facilities more often. With the FAM program still not in effect, the increased cost of travel and frequency of visits to facilities, and equipment costs there is an increase to the cost of doing business.

Update On Pay Rules

Pike spoke to ALR-1 and the only line of business absent from the meeting this morning to see if the agency would sign the pay rules was Air Traffic. The agency is just about ready to sign the contract, pending the approval from Air Traffic. It would become effective the first pay period in January. BOD discussion surrounding the training of the FacReps on the new contract, Pike requested that the training hours for the FacReps be used in this calendar year and the training hours for CY2003 stay in tact. This would allow training of the FacReps in the first/second week of December. Possibly do a split of two training sessions east coast/west coast. East coast possibly Cleveland or Baltimore in the first week of December, west coast training in Las Vegas the second week of December. Dolan will check his schedule to see if he can accommodate the Alaskan region separately. Holmes will handle the arrangements for the east coast training and Mounts will handle the arrangements for the west coast.

Budget Continued

Discussion of imprest fund records.

MOTION-The regional coordinators stipend be 50 percent of the directors stipend. Motion-Mounts, Second-Baker. Vote -- For --Terry, Holmes, Baker, Mounts Against-Jaffe, O�Connell Abstain-Stafford - Not Voting-Hoover, Comisky. Motion failed.

Discussion -- This might not be the right time for any increase to stipends. The reason Mounts would like to see the increase, is not for the increase itself but the premise that the coordinators are getting less than half of what the directors get.

Trip to FTW AFSS to see SUA/ISE and TAP / Lunch

Budget Continued

Wesselhoft would like to see some kind of compensation for the time/annual leave that a treasurer for NAATS has to spend doing union business. We as a union have to communicate better with the treasurer, getting them minutes from the BOD meetings and any financial decisions made by the BOD. Look at the possibility of using official time from other union officials to help defray some of the official time problems.

MOTION -- Award John Wesselhoft a $250.00 service award for his years of dedication as the NAATS national treasurer. Motion by Hoover, Second by Baker. Vote -- All in Favor. Motion passes.

Make a new category for training 637.3 Training for National Contract $80,000.00, this is mostly a one-time expense and is necessary. Who will make the call on training national officers? Pike will make the decision on the training that comes up once in a while, to see if funding is available and directors are interested.

MOTION -- The union will pay up to $200.00 actual travel expenses for all members attending the national convention that are properly vouched. Motion by Hoover, Second Stafford. Vote - All in Favor. Motion passes.

Discussion -- Leave a higher amount in the National Meeting budget to cover this expense. Incentive to get people to go to the convention.

MOTION -- All employees of NAATS will receive the government cost of living increase provided they have been employed by the union for at least one year. Motion by Hoover, Second by Comisky. Vote -- In favor -- Terry, Hoover, Comisky. Apposed -- Holmes, Jaffe, Baker, O�Connell, Mounts, Stafford. Motion Fails.

MOTION -- All employees of NAATS will receive the government cost of living increase. Motion by Jaffe, Second O�Connell. Vote -- In Favor- Terry, Jaffe, Holmes, Baker, Comisky, O�Connell, Mounts, Stafford. Abstain-Hoover. Motion Passes.

Action Item Administrator-Make sure the calendars/planners are ordered for distribution to the members at Christmas.

MOTION -- The NAATS Board of Directors approves a $300.00 Christmas Bonus to be given Shirley Gordon and a $150.00 Christmas Bonus to Denise DeStefano. Motion by Hoover, Second by Holmes. Vote -- All in Favor. Motion Passes.

The budget is going to show a big deficit this year due to the national training bill of approximately $80,000, with the new contract being implemented. Again, this is extremely necessary and is mostly non-recurring. Out years should balance expense.

 

Day Three -- October 9, 2002

Back In Session

Discussion surrounding pay, Hoover would like some clarification on the OMB holding the FAA to the 5.5% raise. Need to establish what our positions/bottom lines are. Hoover would like to call executive session or just the negotiating team members before lunch.

ULP�s filed against the Union that should be sent to the national office through the regional director. We need a process to handle ULP�s to make sure the national office is in the loop and our attorney is brought in. General agreement, Pike will notify membership that ULP's must be reported to the appropriate regional director who will then forward to NAATS HQ as necessary.

Discussion of BOD policy on votes concerning abstentions.

Public Relations Team (PRT)

Dibble reported out on the activity from last quarter, there were approximately 4800 pilots that went through the booth at Oshkosh. He has put out several press releases but has no idea how many actually get picked up/published. The hits to the web site after a press release increase to around 400 a day. Currently running around 150 hits to the web site daily. There is a specific web site address now that will bring people interested in A-76 right to the information. www.naats.org/a76.htm. PRT went to Oshkosh and AOPA fly-in, did not go to NBAA. Mounts will be going to AOPA at the end of this month with Mike Puffer. Dibble has prepared a power point presentation on A-76 he will finish making some changes and send copies out to the BOD. Hoover would like to know are we getting support from the pilot community? Should we be spending out money and energy elsewhere?

Dibble would like the BOD�s input on PRT, do they want a PRT, what does the BOD want to see PRT do. Maybe the money from PRT should be put into mailings and other ways to get our message out to the flying public. Can NAATS HQ pick up some of the duties that Dibble does now? Pike doesn�t see a problem with NAATS HQ picking up some of the duties (support for airshows, take over the software for the press releases, and order/keep the handouts for the shows at HQ). Mounts will assume the AOPA meeting duties with support from HQ.

The BOD does not want to continue the PRT in its current form. Dibble would keep the duties of the web master.

MOTION -- The union approves a $250.00 service award for John Dibble for his years of dedication as the NAATS PRT representative. Motion by Hoover, Second by O�Connell. Vote -- In Favor-Unanimous. Motion passes.

Budget Continued

Discussion on line items in budget.

Final on the budget for CY2003 total expenses $988,312.00 total income $900,159 for a net loss of $88,153.

OASIS

Oasis budget got cut $5 million this year, we could see a gap (approximately 6 months) in installations after CXO#14. The agency will install 12 systems this fiscal year. The next buy after CXO would be another 24 sites in the next fiscal year. The other problem is OASIS is running on Windows NT which Microsoft no longer supports they will have to migrate to a new software program (Microsoft 2000 or their newest platform). It will be a couple of months before Harris gets a handle on the systems and delays, worse case scenario is a delay in installation of 6 months. Barnes feels OASIS is moving along with some good improvements it�s just the budget constraints that are holding things up. The software updates are coming out with some great new products. The $5 million looks like it will be added to the OASIS budget by FY2004, ARS is trying to take it from other programs. The directors (except WP) need to get Barnes a point of contact from the facilities who want to be designated the OASIS point of contact for the individual facilities at least up until the installation of CXO. NAATS has already negotiated the number of consoles at facilities and there should be no change in the number of consoles. The agency has to abide by the MOU.

Contract Team Session

Open Topics

Drug and alcohol representative will be selected at a later date, after it�s posted on the web site and resumes are submitted.

Stafford read a letter from Eli Morrissey regarding the newsletter. There was a discussion about the directors getting better about their timeliness. The BOD all agreed that Eli does a great job and the timeliness of the newsletter as a whole has gotten much better.

The NAATS e-mail has still had some problems, security, and viruses are being sent through the server. Glowacki wants to shut the email system down. The BOD concurs to shut the email down, Pike will talk to Glowacki to get it done.

Baker wants to see a Vice-Presidents position created to help with the national office duties. The constitution would have to be changed and there would be a need to find official time. Pike is not sure if this workload would keep up, if it does, he would appreciate help. He (Pike) also thinks this individual would have to be elected and be in the national office full time. The constitutional re-write committee needs to take a look at the positions as well.

O�Connell has some slots left from the Karrass training, wanted to know if any of the other directors wanted to pay for any. The price $495.00 per person.

MOTION -- Any regional director that chooses not to stay for the entire BOD meeting will reimburse national for the last days per diem and previous nights hotel room. Motion by Hoover, Second by Mounts. Vote -- In Favor Terry, Hoover, Holmes, Jaffe, O�Connell, Mounts, Stafford Abstain-Baker Absent-Comisky. Motion passes.

Discussion -- This would not be applied if someone has an emergency. The directors represent the members and should stay for the entire meeting. One of the problems we could encounter is there may not be a quorum and business would come to a halt. BOD policy states that an individual should make the meeting their priority and if there is an emergency a regional coordinator can take over. Have the minutes of the meeting reflect who is in attendance throughout the meeting, not just at the end.

Update-NAATS HQ been contacted by WTOP (radio station in Washington DC) and also the Washington Times as the result of the ads in the Congressional papers today.

Update-FacRep training on the new contract will take place in Ft. Worth for the east coast and possibly for the west coast as well. Mounts is still going to check out the room rates in Las Vegas, and will get back to the BOD.

SUA/ISE -- Kirk Leander from FTW AFSS came into brief the BOD. The SUA/ISE is ready to go to any facility that has a computer and is tied into the ADTN network can access the download from the web site 10.40.156.11 by next week. The computer needed to run this program is a Pentium II, 400 mhz, 32 meg ram, and 1 gb hard drive space. It is only available on ADTN 2000, you cannot get it otherwise for security reasons. There is a training program on the web site.

Selection of the SUA/ISE chi team (5 people). Pike recommended and the BOD approved Kirk Leander FTW AFSS, Curt Lasley DCA AFSS, Chuck Kuennan RNO AFSS, Derek Buchanen BNA AFSS, and Oscar Hinojosa SJT AFSS.

Union Name Change-FAA credit union would help design a new logo. Is this the time to do it? What do we need to do in terms of the membership? This would have to be done as a constitutional amendment, the constitutional committee will handle it.

Hoover requested names and addresses of Southern members to perform union business. Headquarters agreed to provide to directors for their regions. May not be used for elections. Action Administrator.

The rationale for the new contract will be done shortly, certainly by the facrep training. Action Dolan/Holmes.

The changes to the constitution need to be addressed and should be done shortly. Action Holmes.

Holmes, Terry, Baker, and Jaffe volunteer to form the re-write on the constitution committee with Holmes as leader, she will select two others.

BOD meeting times/locations cy2003-January 13-17, 2003 Washington, DC
April 21-25, 2003 San Antonio, TX
July 14-18, 2003 Minneapolis, MN
October 06-10, 2003 Washington, DC

Board of Directors at the end of this meeting were Terry, Hoover, Holmes, Jaffe, Baker, O�Connell, Mounts, and Stafford.

5:00 pm
Motion to adjourn Jaffe, Second Terry, all in favor, meeting adjourned.

 POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Volunteers Requested for Finance Committee

One more person is needed to serve on the NAATS Finance Committee. The Committee is responsible for preparing the proposed budget annually. It also reviews the organization�s financial records maintained at NAATS HQ. The Committee normally meets twice a year a NAATS HQ for those purposes. All expenses are paid but members may need to travel on their own time for those meetings. If you are interested please send a resume or letter of interest to: Marc Lackman, P.O. Box 6809, Great Falls, MT 59406 or [email protected].

Other Volunteer Positions Available

• Air Traffic Satellite Operational Implementation Team

• Critical Incident Stress Management

• Drug/Alcohol

• EEO

• MWE

• CRU-X

• FSDPS Coordinator

• Gulf Of Mexico Program

• GPS

• OASIS Human Factors/IOT&E

• OSHA

• Weather and Radar Processor

All of these are workgroups, not details. Occasional travel is required but no relocation. If you are interested in one of these you must send your name and resume to NAATS Headquarters as soon as possible. If you already have a resume on file please contact us and advise which position you are interested in and that your resume is on file. A current resume (within the past year) is necessary for consideration.

 A76 PROCESS: A Congressionally Mandated Competitive Sourcing Study of the Flight Service Station (FSS) Program

AOPA Air Traffic Services Brief, Oct. 24, 2002

The Issue

The FAA is conducting a study to compare the costs of providing flight service station services by the FAA versus the costs of contracting services to commercial companies. The 18-month study will be conducted under the guidelines of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76, which directs government agencies to examine functions that might be performed by commercial sources. The circular recognizes that some functions are inherently governmental, and that government employees may be the best providers of the service.

The driving factors of the FSS A76 study were General Accounting Office (GAO) and Inspector General (IG) reports, published in 2001 that were critical of the current FSS program. These reports outline the escalating cost to maintain the current FSS program, the FAA�s inability to effectively modernize the current FSS computer system, and widespread inefficiencies in the current FSS program. The current FSS system costs more than $500 million annually, which breaks down to an approximate cost of $15.00 per pilot contact. The reports recommend consolidation of FSSs in conjunction with OASIS deployment, citing significant cost savings.

A common misperception of the A76 process is that it results in privatization of a government function, this is not the case. The A76 is NOT a privatization study, nor is it a foregone conclusion that services studied will be contracted out. Most important, the current service provider (i.e. FAA) has a key role in the process, in that it submits its own business case analysis of its service and a plan for maximizing those services in the future.

The Importance to Our Members

The Flight Service Station (FSS) system is the only official source for aviation weather and is therefore an essential general aviation service. Unfortunately, the current FSS system is in a state of decline and disrepair. It relies on obsolete 1970s computer technology that no longer meets today's operational requirements.

Compounding the problem is the fact that current modernization plans are behind schedule and over budget. Without significant changes and a serious effort to explore opportunities for efficiency, reduction of system redundancies, and elimination of outmoded products and processes, pilots will experience a continuing degradation of FSS provided service.

Background

The FAA operates 61 automated FSSs throughout the United States. The FSS functions in Alaska have been excluded due to its unique nature and requirements. Approximately 2,700 employees at 58 FSSs will be studied. Before initiating the competitive sourcing study the FAA, assisted by a feasibility study prepared by Grant Thornton LLP, determined that: a substantial portion of the FSS functions are commercial in nature; industry is capable and interested in performing the functions; and outsourcing will not compromise safety or homeland security.

The steps of the A76 process are as follows:

1. A Feasibility Study is done to determine whether it is "feasible" to conduct a study on the service in question.

2. A Business Case Analysis is completed to establish the scope of the study, identify the solicitation strategy and structure of the study.

3. A Communication Plan is established that outlines the method for talking to and delivering important information to affected employees, outside stakeholders and other interested parties.

4. Next, an Action Plan specifies activities, milestones, roles and responsibilities of participants in the A76 study.

5. Performance Work Statement is written that describes activities and work to be accomplished. This includes interviews with managers and employees to develop requirements.

6. A Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan is established and used as a tool to monitor how well the service provider is meeting the performance standards.

7. The next step is publication of a Management Plan for the Most Efficient Organization (MEO) and a Technical Performance Plan. The MEO includes an opportunity for the current FSS provider (i.e., the FAA) to propose an in-house organization designed to perform the function in the most efficient manner at the least cost. Eventually the study will compare the in-house cost estimate to the contractor proposals.

8. An Independent Review is then conducted to validate results.

9. Finally a Solicitation and Source Selection occurs and a tentative decision is made. This is essentially a contracting mechanism to review proposals and make a final decision. The A76 guidance requires that a contractor proposal must beat the government proposal by at least 10% of the labor costs to be considered.

10. Following the decision there is an Administrative Appeals Process that is the final step to address any oversights, errors and provide an opportunity for challenges to any final decision.

The study process will take a minimum of 18 months to complete.

AOPA Position

Aviation weather services are critical to public safety and should be provided by the government without fees. However, AOPA recognizes that the current FSS system is in serious jeopardy and that there may be better ways of doing business. AOPA is working to ensure that the A76 study looks at alternatives for providing modernized flight services to pilots with the government still retaining the ultimate responsibility for providing the service. Clearly, it is paramount that the FAA study recognizes that the provision of aviation weather services is a government function and these services should not be fee based or privatized. AOPA would actively oppose any measures that would remove responsibility for flight services from the federal government. The use of outside resources for FSS functions is not unprecedented. In the 1980s, FAA implemented the DUAT service, with private contractors providing aviation weather services directly to pilots.

AOPA continues to work closely with FAA and union leadership representing the hard-working corps of FSS specialists. The association is playing a key role in identifying general aviation requirements related to aviation weather services, NOTAMs, and other safety functions performed by FSSs. AOPA is committed to seeing that all pilots benefit from this effort to identify the needs for a more modern FSS system.

Status

• August 2002 -- FAA announces it is moving forward with the A76 study and releases feasibility study.

• October 2002 -- FAA currently conducting the Business Case Analysis to determine the scope of the study, identify the solicitation strategy and the structure of the study.

  FEDERAL EMPLOYEE NEWS

Brought to you by FedWeek.com

New TSP Computer System Delayed Again

The Thrift Savings Plan has delayed yet again the launch of a new computer system, saying that testing showed the system was not yet able to accommodate the periodic high-volume contributions that flow in. During the summer the TSP had said it expected the long-awaited system to be operative in November, but in its latest announcement it set no expected date for the switchover. The new system will be designed to bring numerous changes in investment, withdrawal and administrative policies, including: a switch to daily valuation with accompanying freedom to make inter-fund transfers as often as every business day; the option to mix and match withdrawal options and to take partial withdrawals; the option to take out general purpose loans over as many as five years rather than four; and new automated account management features.

FLTCIP Open Season Winding Down

With only two months remaining in the open season for the new Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program, about 100,000 eligible individuals have applied, according to the Office of Personnel Management. With the eligible applicant pool of about 20 million-including active and retired federal employees, certain family members and similarly situated members of the military community -- that translates into a take-up rate of about 0.5 percent. Officials had not set any firm goals for sign-ups, although they have noted that private sector employers offering similar programs have average acceptance rates of about 6 percent. The large majority of those applying are expected to be accepted for coverage.
Later Sign-Ups Are Possible

The application rate for the FLTCIP program might increase before the December 31 end of the open season as eligible persons who have been putting off making a decision finally decide whether to act, officials say. Also, enrollments will be allowed at any time after the open season. For retirees, signing up during or after the open season effectively makes no difference except that the older any applicant is, the higher the rates and the more likely it is that some condition that would be disqualifying has arisen. Retirees have to undergo full underwriting regardless of whether they sign up inside or outside an open season. However, active employees and their spouses are subject only to a limited form of underwriting during the open season and would have to undergo full underwriting if they applied afterward. While OPM has promised that there will be future open seasons, it has not promised that limited underwriting would again apply to active employees and their spouses.

Social Security Contributions Maximum Increasing

Federal employees covered by Social Security -- primarily those in the FERS retirement system-will be paying Social Security taxes on salary up to $87,000 in 2003, up from $84,900 this year, the Social Security Administration has determined. That maximum applies to the 6.2 percent "FICA" tax. Thus, the maximum Social Security tax will increase by $130.20 to $5,394. There is no dollar limit on the 1.45 percent Medicare tax that sometimes is lumped together with the FICA tax and the two labeled the "Social Security tax." In addition, most FERS employees pay 0.8 percent of salary into the civil service retirement trust fund toward the civil service portion of their annuities. The exception is those covered by the special retirement provisions for law enforcement and firefighting personnel pay an additional 0.5 percent.

Payroll Taxes Differ by Retirement Systems

Employees under the "pure" CSRS system do not pay Social Security taxes; they pay 7 percent to the civil service retirement fund plus the 1.45 percent Medicare component. However, those under CSRS-Offset pay the Social Security FICA portion up to the Social Security maximum. Unlike FERS employees, though, CSRS-Offset employees continue paying the 6.2 percent withholding on amounts above the Social Security maximum, with the money going into the civil service fund rather than the Social Security fund. Those under CSRS or CSRS-Offset who are covered by the special retirement provisions for law enforcement and firefighting personnel also pay an additional 0.5 percent into the civil service retirement fund.

Regional Supplements

ALASKA REGION

Alan Baker, Director and Phil Brown, Coordinator

Kenai AFSS

Hale and farewell to Dwight Kramer. Dwight has stepped down as FacRep as he prepares for a well deserved and earned retirement. Dwight will be sorely missed and we all thank him for his hard work and dedication to the Union. Bill Worsfold was elected by the Kenai membership as the new FacRep. Bill has already hit the ground running by signing several new members. Additionally, Bill and the Kenai membership have forwarded over eighty letters of concern to their political representatives regarding A-76. Way to go Kenai! "Local testing" for new hires is also being conducted at Kenai.

Fairbanks AFSS

Fairbanks welcomes two new Union members into the fold. Jim Mooney from RDU and Bill Tyson from TKA. We also welcome Marion Moore from BOI. FAI is also abuzz with the fight against A-76. The local newspapers are very cooperative and are publishing nearly everything that we send them regarding the Union�s position on A-76. We have also forwarded anti A-76 public service announcement to the local radio stations in hope of attaining "air time." Our efforts in the political arena are also proving to be very productive as we approach Election Day in Alaska. The Alaska public relations team is expecting the "Flight Service joint resolution proposal" to pass with the next session. "Local testing" for new hires will be conducted in Fairbanks this January.

Juneau AFSS

Our brothers and sisters in Juneau continue to struggle with staffing issues as their numbers fall dangerously low. It is still unclear as to what management�s plan is to solve the problem, as staffing numbers seem to fluctuate without regard throughout the region. On a positive note, however, the JNU NAATS bargaining unit continues to be very well represented by FacRep Guylan Roberts. Hats off to Guylan as his hands are full with representational issues at JNU while simultaneously working on the OASIS team...THANKS GUYLAN! Additionally, John Newell is providing excellent service to our Union as the Juneau Airport Wind System (JAWS) NAATS representative. The JAWS initiative is utilizing advanced technology to develop a wind warning system that will eventually be used by all options of air traffic. The Juneau International Airport is located in a region of extremely variable terrain that exhibits abrupt vertical rises over relative short horizontal distances. Furthermore, the Juneau area is subject to intense non-thunderstorm winds. Terrain and wind frequently combine forces to generate severe to extreme turbulence and strong wind shear. Approach and departure corridors serving the single runway of JNU are not "straight-in" or along the runway centerline. Therefore, aircraft are often executing steep banking maneuvers at low altitudes and airspeeds and are encountering sufficient turbulence and wind shear to result in loss of control. Thanks to John and the JNU membership for keeping NAATS on the cutting edge of developing technology.

If you don�t stand for something, you�ll fall for anything!

Northway FSS

The season for ORT has drawn to a close. The ORT Union brothers and sisters received more kudos this year than any other in recent memory. Providing professional, quality, friendly service to our customers is what FSS is all about. Thanks to Pat Kerber, FacRep Mort Forsko, Rachel Reynolds, Mike Arnold and Mike Welch for furthering our "PR" goals and for a job well done!

Palmer FSS

Special thanks to PAQ FacRep Jeni Hunter for her "PR" efforts as we continue to fight the FAA�s A-76 agenda. Jeni has the ear of Congressman Don Young and we appreciate her "bending it" with NAATS input as often as possible. PAQ still does not have a computer with Internet access anywhere in the building, much less on the operations floor. This is unacceptable to the Union and NAATS Alaska is working toward a swift resolution.

Deadhorse FSS

Our deepest sympathy goes out to "Toby" and his family as he was shot on the second floor of the local Prudhoe Bay Hotel in Deadhorse Alaska this month. Toby is (probably) survived by several partners and just as many offspring! You see, Toby was a ten-year-old grizzly bear that had been scrounging around the area for several years and finally got too familiar with (or hungry for) humans! There is no local village near the Deadhorse FSS, only the support companies for the Prudhoe Bay oil field operation. Prudhoe Bay is about five miles from the Deadhorse FSS and is the northern terminus of the great Alaska pipeline.

Kotzebue FSS

Another hale and farewell...Charlie Holubeck�s last day at OTZ was October 30th. For years now Charlie has been the northern most permanently assigned Air Traffic Controller in America. We wish Charlie the best of luck as he makes the move and transition to the Columbia AFSS. Charlie�s replacement is already at the academy now. Jason Erickson, a local hire from Kotzebue, reported to the academy on October 16th. Good luck to Jason and we all look forward to working with him soon!

Quote of the month!

"While we are always willing to negotiate as equals, the era of union busting, contract trashing, and strike breaking is at an end."

"Today, we say that when you pick a fight with any of us, you pick a fight with all of us! And that when you push us, we will push back!"

CONNIE�S CORNER: Summer in Fairbanks

Connie Cloud, FAI AFSS

Moving to Fairbanks last October might not have been the best time of the year to do so. Snow was already on the ground and it didn�t leave until April. Through out the winter, every time I made a comment about how cold 40 below seemed, invariable some one would come back with "But the summers are wonderful." Toughing it out through the short dark winter days with the temperatures way below zero with all these crazy people, holding out for this distance summer, was a trial all it�s own. Summers in Fairbanks are held up as a trophy to be earned by those who have survived the winter. At long last the days started getting longer and the temperatures started to warm up. Then the mosquitoes and the tourist came out at about the same time.

Through out the winter I knew working at the AFSS at Fairbanks was very different than working at Kenai, but with the coming of summer it became even more obvious. Kenai is a wonderful place; it�s just not at the top list of places to visit. Very few tourists ever make their way to the Kenai AFSS. Fairbanks, on the other hand, is one of the top places to visit in Alaska. I love dealing with the tourists that stop by Fairbanks AFSS. They come from all over the world and each has a story to tell. Even if they are on weather hold everyone seems to have a great time. For some, their trip to Alaska is the fulfillment of a life long dream, for others it is a trip they make every year.

Pilots, fresh from the Lower 48, just glow with enthusiasm of having made it to Alaska. The vast majority of Lower 48 pilots I talk with are on their first trip to the Last Frontier, a fulfillment of a dream, years some times a lifetime in the making. It is always a joy to ask pilots where they come from and where they are going. Out of all of these pilots, there are few standouts.

One gentleman flew his Cessna 210 up from somewhere on the East Coast, just him and his dog. That wasn�t too strange, but how he talked his wife into driving their camper up is beyond me. I don�t recall if they met up every night or not, but from Fairbanks they did do a few trips together as a family, to Nome and to above the Arctic Circle.

I can�t help but wonder how some of the folks ever made it to Fairbanks. Two couples walked in and wanted to fly to where ever the weather was good. On their list of places to go was Anchorage, Bettles or any other place of interest. As we were talking one of them mentioned something about having a hard time getting their GPS to lock onto Fairbanks. The GPS just wouldn�t take KFAI. I took out an Alaska Supplement, (the Alaska version of an AFD) and explained that all Alaskan identifiers started with a PA and the last two letters could be most anything. The Alaska Supplement lists each identifier, both the three and the four-letter under the airport information in the upper right hand corner. The gentlemen took the Supplement out of my hand, looked at it, and said that was too cool, and just where could he get a copy! I was shocked that anyone would leave the Lower 48 and head to someplace without what is basically an AFD. But there they were, standing in Fairbanks wanting to know where they could buy one. Obviously they had made it to Fairbanks, somehow, without one. (I just read Jack Madden�s story about his trip to the Alaska convention and his trouble with just this problem.)

Later I was to find out there are other pilots out there, flying around Alaska without knowing the difference between Alaska and the Lower 48 identifiers. The other pilot we ran into had learned to fly in the Lower 48 and then moved to Alaska where he had bought a plane. It wasn�t until a group flight, not long after he had gotten his plane that the subject of not getting his GPS to work by identifiers came up. Over lunch he mentioned he couldn�t get his GPS to work by punching in KMLY. (We were going to Manley Hot Springs, MLY, or PAML.) He knew something was wrong when the GPS told him KMLY was over 2,000 miles away. The only way he could get his GPS to work was by punching in the lat/longs for the location.

The other story I love from last summer was when I ran into two gentlemen out in transient parking. I noticed a strange looking plane parked there for several days and I was hoping to run into the pilot to find out what it was. The plane was long and graceful, no propeller to be seen, and if I didn�t know better, I would have thought it was a glider. But the mystery plane wasn�t sitting lop sided like a glider and how would a glider taxi over to transient parking or how would a glider get to Fairbanks from the Lower 48? A day or two later, when I went for a walk during my lunch break, the pilots were pre-flighting their plane. The two gentlemen explained that they had started in California and it was a powered glider, made in Germany. They cruised at about 120 mph and they burned almost nothing in the way of fuel. Granted, they couldn�t take home any of the fish they had caught. Anything that wouldn�t fit inside of their shaving kit had to be left behind. Later, I learned the day before, Sunday, they had decided to fly to Barrow. Either they didn�t read the Supplement, which mentioned that there was no fuel available on Sundays or they didn�t care and headed north. Once there they called the fuel guy out for the 10 gallons they would need to get back to Fairbanks and then found out the call out fee was $175 plus the cost of the gas!!!!

The last of my favorite pilot stories came from a corporate jet type. Driving into work one morning I noticed a small corporate jet sitting in transient parking. I don�t know about you, but I always get nervous when an aircraft of that type is parked close to me. I am just afraid of what their jet blast could do to my plane as they power up to taxi out. The next day the pilot of the jet came in for a weather briefing. He wanted to go up to Barrow so "Mrs. Cunningham can take her grandchildren to lunch." I had to question the pilot a little further and found out that he worked for a retired gentleman and every year they brought the grandkids to Alaska for a few days and always had to do lunch in Barrow before heading home to Texas. Somehow, I don�t expect my retirement to be quite the same as the Cunningham�s.

Not to have you think that all the entertaining stories come from transits pilots. One of my co-workers, who I shall leave nameless (hint-ORT FacRep), was working at the seasonal FSS in Northway. During his off duty time he decided to try his hand at duck hunting. In order to get out to the ducks he took a canoe onto the old FAA Honey Bucket Lake where all the ducks seemed to be congregating. The name of this lake came about when way back when, before the FAA compounds� sewage system was connected to the rest of the town the FAA�s treated sewage was released into "Honey Bucket Lake". Remember this has been years and years ago and I am sure that it�s a clean lake by now. My co-worker headed out to the lake and even joked around about falling into the lake. Sure enough, when he stood up to take a shot at a duck (we�re not sure just why he felt the need to stand up, maybe to get closer to the ducks.....?) over he went, turning the canoe over in the process. He managed to hang onto his brand new shotgun, until he realized that turning the canoe over was a two handed job. Since he doesn�t know how to swim, the debate was rather short lived as to which he should do, drop the shotgun into an 8-foot deep lake or use two hands to turn the canoe over. The shotgun lost. After the locals stopped laughing at him one of them generously went out and retrieved the shotgun for him. I�m not sure how the duck he was aiming at faired.

CENTRAL REGION

Michael Terry, Director and Jerry Van Vacter, Coordinator

Travels & Meetings

Another month has gone by. The way the weather has been so far, this winter is promising to be pretty bad. During the first week of October we attended the Board of Director�s meeting in Fort Worth. Jerry was glad to get back to the sunshine in Iowa, all it did in Texas was rain. (I bet he would like to be in Texas during the winter!!)

We are tentatively planning to have training for the FacReps on the new contract the first two weeks of December. We are trying to have two different locations to make it easier for people to get to one or the other.

The next Regional Quarterly meeting will be held the first week in November, if you have any concerns that you believe need to be expressed in that forum let us hear from you.

Solicitation of Volunteers

Wally has sent out a solicitation for volunteers for National workgroups/liaisons. If you are interested in being considered, send a resume into headquarters.

In the region, we need volunteers for (1) Regional Drug Coordinator (2) Runway Incursion Team Representative (3) GPS Workgroup. If you would be interested in taking on one of these duties let your FacRep know or give us a call.

Regional Web Site

We have been working on a Regional web site www.naatscentral.org. It�s still in its development stage. Take a look at it and let us know what you would like to see.

Local Information

How secure are we? At OLU no one seems to be responsible for the parking lot, frequently, unidentified vehicles park near the building. When management is notified of this, the idea of who the parking lot belongs to is passed around from public to private. Who is going to care if an incident occurs because they would not investigate or tow the vehicle off?

The FacRep at OLU has filed an UCR on the MOCC. He also indicated that NATCA has filed one also.
If the FAA really wanted to find the rehires for AFSSs in the Western Pacific Region, why put the memo in our binders on October 16th at 3:00 p.m. with an October 16th deadline? We wonder where the breakdown was.
Sheryl Scott has rejoined the union. Welcome back Sheryl!

It�s that time of the year when schedules are being developed. Sometimes it seems impossible to get the coverage and shifts we would like when our staffing keeps going down. You would think FAA would wake up and realize that we need people NOW! To those that didn�t get what you wanted on the schedule, your FacRep has tried their best. If you and the manager can�t come to an agreement, go to impasse and keep working what you�re on.

We wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
 

EASTERN REGION

Donna Holmes, Director and Ron Consalvo, Coordinator

New FacReps

Elections were held at both MIV and BUF AFSS. Barb Westermeier is now the new FacRep at BUF and Carol McAteer is the newly elected FacRep at MIV. I would like to thank Pat Earsley for her time as FacRep at BUF and also thank Robert Ingram for his time as alternate at MIV. I have known Barb and Carol for a long time and am confident that they both will be outstanding FacReps.

Staffing

The Eastern Region informed us of the new hiring numbers for fiscal year 2003. The number of new hires for 2003 is 101. According to management, the Eastern Region will only be hiring 1 specialist. I don�t believe these numbers were discussed or negotiated with NAATS either regionally or nationally. The Eastern Region has 7 facilities and almost all are significantly understaffed. Our facilities have been impacted greatly by 9/11 and its aftermath. We need staffing help and we need it now. I don�t know how Management came up with 1 new hire in our region. It is time for all of our FacReps to contact their elected representatives and bring this issue to their attention. I guess this is the thanks we get for the hard work we have done over the past year.

BUFFALO AFSS LOCAL NEWS

Phil Gundel, ATCS

On the night of September 28th, we had a fatal plane crash near N03, a small, uncontrolled airport near Ithaca, NY. The weather was low IFR (VV002, 1/4sm fg) with the remnants of Hurricane Isidore working its way up the east coast. The pilot was killed while flying a VOR approach in these conditions. The sad part (besides the fact that a person died) is that if weather was a factor, this accident could have been avoided altogether. After making a few calls, we found out that this pilot never contacted any flight service station for either a preflight brief or while airborne. We figured if he had gotten any weather from DUATS or another source, it would have been sometime around 23z or earlier, and everyone working that night knew the forecasts (both before and after 00z) were not worth snot. We were briefing pilots all night about how inaccurate the forecasts were and how IFR conditions would continue regardless of what any of the forecasts said. I�m sorry for being so long winded, but if the FAA wants to reduce the workforce and contract out, I hope they budget classes in grief counseling, because situations like this crash will increase as more pilots self-brief because of reduced Flight Service resources.

My heart sank Friday night when I told the Airport Manager the call sign of the downed aircraft, and he told me it was a friend of his. Then to make the situation worse, the Airport Manager called back to our supervisor to say the dead pilot�s wife was at the field waiting for him, wondering why he was so late.

I know all the briefers in the world can�t prevent a pilot from crashing if he�s got "get-there-itis" and never even speaks to us, but reducing our resources and /or replacing some of the workforce with less experienced and knowledgeable "contractors" is NOT going to improve safety at all! Anybody can read a forecast verbatim, our strengths as specialists lie in our abilities to convey what�s NOT in a forecast, or to interpret local weather patterns and microclimates, or to use our vast and varied aviation experiences to answer almost any question posed to us, etc, etc. Emphasizing these intangibles of our job is a tough sell, but it�s one of our strongest arguments for justifying our existence. Hopefully, we�ll be able to stop A-76 so we can continue providing our invaluable services to all pilots. And then maybe I won�t need to worry about having many more nights like Friday. I�ll get off my soapbox now.

GREAT LAKES REGION

LANSING AFSS LOCAL NEWS

Kile Pitts, FacRep and Craig Marcus, Alternate FacRep

Congressional Visit

One of our FPLs, Joan McBride, noticed a unique opportunity when reviewing her daughter�s elementary school Charity Auction List. Congressman Mike Rogers, (R-MI) had donated "Breakfast with Congressman Rogers" and Joan was able to successfully bid enough to win. She coordinated with his Lansing office for not only breakfast but a quick AFSS tour and finally October 28th was set. When we advised our Facility Manager of the planned tour, he quickly pow-wowed with the RO and we were advised that the Facility Manager must conduct the tour.

When the morning arrived, Congressman Rogers and his Lansing office manager, Ann Belzer, were greeted out in the parking lot by the NAATS contingent. As we entered we explained that Joan was not actually conducting the tour, the manager was. Mike was savvy enough to say something like, "That�s okay, after the walk around, we�ll have time at breakfast to talk." The tour was very well received. Neither the Congressman or his office manager had been in any Air Traffic facility and they were impressed.

While Ed Simpson conducted the official tour, Jack O�Connell, Kile Pitts, Joan McBride and myself were able to draw Rep. Rogers or his aide aside to talk about various positions in ops. We took time to demo TAPS, the TFR display software, and ENL, the Electronic NOTAM Program, developed here by Whit Johnson. We also showed them the just installed SUA-ISE display we bartered from FTW at the Inflight position.

My guess is that they didn�t expect an operation as large, as interesting, or as complex. After a tour of about 40 minutes, Joan, Kile and I took them to an local restaurant. At breakfast we were able to talk in depth on "Inherently Governmental," the "A-76 Process," possible future consolidation of AFSSs and even a last-ditch hope that their influence might effect whether LAN AFSS stays open when the consolidation ax starts to swing.

Union Business

We had a meeting a few weeks ago, 15 of us discussed, had pizza and a few beers, and agreed on a few things. Randy Lueders volunteered to act as our facility's focal on A-76 and has stayed in contact with Kate Breen as additional details on the process unfold. We decided to draft a letter to Representatives for all of us to use that had not yet written. We did that and mail merged each FPL�s name and their reps into them. These were then all faxed out over a few weeks.

Kile Pitts and Management negotiated a new set of staffing numbers which meant that our current schedule really needed a drastic overhaul or a new one designed. Kile was the only person to work up a schedule, it met the new staffing requirements, so we began bidding lines on the new schedule immediately. We begin our Prime Time Annual Leave process 12/1 so we�re on target at this stage. We kid him about it being the "most complex schedule known to man" because he explains it takes a full 120 weeks for all the 56 lines to rotate back to the beginning. We met again on November 6th, this time a slightly different 15 folks showed up. We discussed the schedule process underway, then Randy updated us all on the A-76 Process. We talked over our strategy for the informational picketing we did at DTW and refined our plans regarding LAN picketing on Nov. 20th & 27th. We talked about how to find out what other facilities were doing and decided the newsletter and the NAATS/Yahoo site offered the best information.

MOUs Signed

Kile has negotiated several new agreements with local management. All were posted on the NAATS board for a period, and may now be reviewed in our MOU binder. The new MOUs concern "Watch Schedule Coverage," "Leave Approval for Training Developmentals," and "Individual Assignments to the Watch Schedule." The Nov.�02 update of our "Prime Time Annual Leave" MOU includes the full text of "Amount of Employees on Summer Prime Time Leave" MOU, which was then canceled.

Time Off Award System Broken

Last year "nearly everyone" in the facility (that worked through the OSH period, not those on annual lv.) received a TOA for their support of the EAA�s Oshkosh Air Venture, EXCEPT for the 2 FPLs that work straight mids. NAATS eventually won grievances for those 2 FPLs by arguing that the TOA awards were so non-specific and generically written that they also described the additional workload that we showed impacted the overnight hours during that period. Well, we might have won that battle, but we seem to have lost the war. This year, only 25 TOAs were issued to FPLs, plus 5 for management folks, written with much more specific descriptions than previously used. So... even though we seemed to be busier this last OSH than ever before, about half of our FPLs won�t be recognized because their individual efforts weren�t sufficiently documented.

UPDATE!

12 more EAA Time Off Awards have just been added to the list. So I take back almost everything I�ve written. It�s not broke after all, and I don�t think there is anything dysfunctional about taking more than 3 months to recognize an employees efforts.

Picket a Success at DTW

On November 1st, 8 AFSSers met even more PASS and NATCA folks for a 5-hour informational picket at DTW�s new MidField Terminal. It was a huge success and we have scheduled to repeat the event here at Lansing on 11/20 & 11/27. Additional pictures of the DTW PICKETING, as well as PDF files of our signs, can be viewed at: www.grandledgesun.com/naats.

Pending Issues

We are still waiting for the Regional Office folks to put enough pressure on LAN Airport Authority to allow all of our employees unrestricted access to adequate parking. An FPL lost his access card and they want $25 to replace it. Our lease contract says we�re to have unrestricted access to a 70+ car parking area.

The Airport Authority claims to be studying our HVAC system. It�s been inadequate for years, designed solely to redistribute the heat generated by the electronic equipment in the building. It worked okay back when we had twice is many computers and modems in the back room putting out lots more heat than they do now. We�re being told it should get it completely replaced by around next July. Brrrrrrrr.

Just Received - FLRA DECISION on the Bottled Water at LAN

AFSS ULP: Management was ordered to again supply our BUMs with bottled water! In a meeting with Management immediately after the decision was received, a call was made to start water delivery back up, then management attempted to deliver a letter announcing their intent to enter into negotiations to end the bottled water again! KP smoothly replied that he could not accept that letter until such time as the bottled water was actually back in the building.

NEW ENGLAND REGION

Kurt Comisky, Director and Tom Halligan, Coordinator

A-76 at Center Stage

The A76 study has taken center stage. Although, both the work rules and pay rules still remain to be resolved. We are awaiting the agency�s MOU on implementing the work rules, hopefully we will be able to implement and put them behind us. The pay rules however, seem to be languishing. But the pay rules are different that the work rules. The premise of the pay rules is that if the agency chooses to change the current way compensation is determined, the agency must negotiate those changes before implementation. That is to say, the agency, under the Transportation Act of 1996, is under no obligation to change our compensation system. I view the OJTI and CIC differential as not part of a new compensation system, the core plan; rather it pertains to a work rule, differentials, similar to nighttime and Sunday.

Grant Thorton Misleading Congress

The A76 study threatens our very existence. The agency and Grant Thorton are doing a good job of distorting and misleading Congress, AOPA and the employees of what the results of the study will be. Experience has shown that once the A76 study is completed, the functions will be contracted out. Contrary to what the agency may say, that is a fact. It is my belief that the FAA briefed AOPA and AOPA believed the propaganda. By the effect of the propaganda, I could almost characterize the agency as outright lying to Congress, AOPA and the employees. I think that AOPA thought this process would not lead to contracting out; rather they thought we would get our much-needed new equipment. At the recent meeting with Wally and Phil Boyer, our consultants painted a clear picture of what the A76 process and historically what the results have been, which is contrary to what the FAA has been saying. We need to give Phil Boyer and AOPA a little while to digest what is happening and see what they do, will they oppose the A76 study, time will tell.

Timing is Everything

At the National level, there have been efforts to confront the A76 issue. The first was the USA Today ad. This was meant to be the beginning of a process. The efforts are designed to have an effect on congress to take specific action. The belief is it will take an affirmative action by congress to stop/derail the process. This is where the effort is directed. Wally is working congress on the personal side to address the issue. He is working the issue, one on one, with those who can address the issue. The advertisements are designed to support Wally�s efforts. The ads are designed bring our issues forward, on a national scale, and then to re-enforce the issue with Congress. As with any effort, timing is critical. The effort last month was to effect the appropriations, however Congress avoided the appropriations issue by passing a continuing resolution till mid November. Depending on the results of the election, there may be more continuing resolutions till the new congress. Our efforts must be timed for maximum benefit. There have been several grassroots efforts, such as informational picketing and letter writing campaigns, which will have a positive effect; this is where our success will come from. Many political insiders will say, members of congress are most effected by the constituents at home. These efforts directed at the key members, in their home districts will have the most impact. Wally will be able to help the members determine the issue and the solution, but it is the constituents at home that will provide the necessary motivation for the Members of Congress.

Growing Frustrations

On a reflective note, I understand there is considerable and growing frustration with the agency�s actions on the work and pay rules, add to that the agency�s determination to conduct an A76 study. With this frustration and growing anger, there are rumblings of work actions. From what I understand, these are not localized; rather these discussions are taking place in most facilities. I suggest we refocus that anger and resentment towards a more productive undertaking.

Regional Happenings

Regionally, we have submitted a grievance to arbitration. The grievance involves the initial pay setting of a member applying the concept of "highest previous rate." The written brief and rebuttals have been submitted, with a ruling expected by the end of the month. The results of which may have a far-reaching effect. Our next grievance for arbitration concerns nighttime differential, slated for the January or February time frame.

NORTHWEST MOUNTAIN REGION

DENVER AFSS LOCAL NEWS

John Dibble, Acting FacRep

Greetings from the Mile High City!

Once again, I am acting FacRep at Denver AFSS! Elections are coming up in a couple weeks and no one has stepped forward to run yet.

Working Issues with Management

2003 Schedule

Like most facilities, there aren�t enough controllers to cover the traffic. In a facility that is authorized 52 FPLs, we are bidding a schedule with only 44 lines. We have four people in training, and at least two planning to retire before the end of the year.

Flextime

Flextime benefits everyone, but management panics on those rare occasions where flexing-out causes a shortage for up to a half hour. We are trying to explore ways to alleviate the problem without making to many alterations.

The New Contract

We are trying to look at the newly ratified contract to prepare for implementation. Things like "no more than two hours without a break" and "non-briefing positions for the last two hours of a mid-shift" need to be implemented.

These items are in the contract, and if we don�t apply them from the start, we allow a past practice to develop. It is up to FacReps to uphold the WHOLE contract.

Public Relations

PRT Status

If you haven�t read my notes on the WebPage, you should. Briefly, the Board of Directors has split up the duties of the PR Team, and I am no longer chair. There were too many conflicts between what was being done and what different people felt needed to be done, and I stepped down. I have no regrets; it took up a LOT of my personal time and annual leave. HQ will handle most of the functions and I will still help out as needed.

WebPage

I will continue maintaining the WebPage, which is averaging 100-150 hits per day. I think it is a great tool for getting information to our members, to our users and to the public. I even had a call from a researcher at the Library of Congress, who was doing some research for a Congressman.

The PowerPoint presentation we are using at the AOPA convention in Palm Springs is also online. Feel free to download it and use it in pilot meetings.

NAATS Email

We have turned off some of the email functions on the NAATS server because of problems with viruses. I will be talking with Steve Glowacki next week about where we want to go with it. I think we will probably end up just using it as a forwarding server for those who want to use the service.

News Focals

This idea never really seemed to work nationally. So, for now, if something newsworthy occurs, forward it up through your Regional Director and/or HQ.

A message For Each Of Us

Remember, the pilots are the ones who need us and use us, lets remember this on every contact we have with them. They are the ones who can stop the contracting out.

Aviation Safety is Our Business & Our Business is NOT For Sale

SOUTHERN REGION

Dave Hoover, Director and Tom Forte, Coordinator

News from Around the Region

BNA AFSS

Mike Ramsey, Nashville FacRep extraordinaire and all around good guy, has been representing NAATS recently on the Friday morning Telcons when Dave or I are not available. We wanted to thank him for taking care of all of us and letting folks know that NAATS is alive and well in the Southern Region!

GNV AFSS

Gainesville�s FacRep, Marty Neilson, has stepped down and the election process to replace him has begun. We should know who the new GNV FacRep is by the first part of December.

Acting Gainesville AFSS FacRep Larry Dupree held a Union meeting on Wednesday, October 23rd. Dave and I were invited to attend and enjoyed a very pleasant and informative evening with a number of their members. The process of electing a new FacRep was discussed along with several other facility items. Dave was then asked to discuss the latest on A-76, pay, and the new contract, which provided the membership with some "straight and unfiltered" answers on all these issues. We would like to thank Larry and the GNV Members for inviting us and look forward to visiting them again in the near future.

LOU AFSS

Congratulations to FacRep Francine Cannon and Alternate FacRep Ollie White on being reelected at Louisville AFSS. These two ladies have done an exceptional job of representing the bargaining unit at LOU. We appreciate the work they�ve done and know they will continue to represent the facility in the aggressive and professional manner for which they are known.

MIA AIFSS

Al Osborn has stepped down from the position of FacRep after serving as the Miami AIFSS FacRep for the past year. Al has been the Miami FacRep twice, representing the bargaining unit during the 80�s & 90�s (9 years), and now the early 2000�s (1 year). He had agreed to represent the bargaining unit for a year, giving the facility the continuity it needed between elections. We appreciate the leadership he provided the facility and the assistance he has provided NAATS when they needed him over the past three decades.

Congratulations to Steve Jones on being elected as the new FacRep at Miami AIFSS. Steve has been at Miami for over 16 years. He has held positions as an ATCS, Plans & Procedures Specialist, and even a Supervisor for several years. He returned to the bargaining unit in January 1997, immediately joined NAATS and eventually served as the Alternate FacRep for two years. We welcome Steve and look forward to working with him in the Southern Region.

RDU AFSS

Congratulations to Raleigh-Durham AFSS FacRep Greg McGann and his new bride. They tied the knot on October 19th. We wish Mr. & Mrs. McGann the very best of luck!

Southern Region Quarterly Meeting

The NAATS/FAA Quarterly will be held at Anderson AFSS on December 4, 2002. This will give us an opportunity to see OASIS in action as well as deal with regional issues and grievances. We look forward to visiting with the membership in Anderson as well as spending some time with attendees from other facilities.

Why Should Everyone Be a NAATS Member?

At my facility, we maintain a current list of all our NAATS members in a View Sequence. In a recent facility newsletter I asked the people to take a good look at it sometime. As far as our jobs and careers are concerned, NAATS Members are the most significant and valuable people in any facility. These are the coworkers whose union dues are paying for the fight against the A-76 process, so that everyone will have a job, a career, and a future. These NAATS member's dues are the reasons why we can continue to take the fight to the FAA, instead of sitting around waiting for them to take our jobs. These are the coworkers whose dues enabled us to access the technology and have the capability to send hundreds of letters to our congressman and senators so as to inform them of the FAA�s plan to get rid of us. These members� dues allow us to place ads in USA today and other major newspapers alerting our pilots as well as the public of the FAA�s intent to sacrifice their safety. These members� dues allow us to send representatives to Capital Hill to speak with our congressional leaders on these and other issues that are vital to our option.

Union Members� dues are the reason why we didn�t get a pay cut as did several other unions during pay negotiations over the past few years and the reason why we are still in the fight for better pay. For those of you too stupid to perform basic math, 5.5% over five years with zero the first three years is a pay cut! Have a fifth grader explain it to you if you can't figure it out. Their dues are the reason that our Union Leaders were able to get to a Federal Mediator who has recommended that the FAA give us the back pay they promised when the fight for a pay raise is finally resolved. Will we win? I don�t know, but I do know that because of Union Dues I haven�t lost anything over the past 4 years.

Your Union coworkers� dues are the reason why we have a new contract, which will allow all of us to sell back our sick leave, earn OJTI & CIC pay, and to earn almost unlimited credit time.

For those of you not in the Union, your Union coworkers are footing the bill to keep you employed. Are you so cowardly and cheap that you would sit back and let others fight for you? Why would you not want to fight for your job? Why are you not a member? Please see your FacRep today for a SF-1187. The larger our army, the better chance of winning we will have.

SOUTHWEST REGION

Mark Jaffe, Director and Dana Colquitt, Coordinator

HOLDING PATTERN

It�s been a real busy two months since the non-decision by FMCS but I can�t tell you exactly why because it seems like we�re in a holding pattern on all the major issues.

PAY ISSUES

On pay, the FAA has said that they will sit down at a high level and start to talk about pay again. They have finally admitted that they need to address retroactive pay. That�s all they are saying. They are not saying that they are giving in on full retroactivity or anything other than they need to address the retroactive piece. We will know more about that when Wally sits down with Ray Thoman and begins talking. We have not changed our stance about what we want from these pay negotiations. The BOD discussed this, at length, during the BOD meeting in October, and came away with same resolve that we have always had; we are Air Traffic Controllers and want to be paid comparably to the other controllers in this country. There seems to be some misconception that we can go to Congressman Young and he will legislate our raise. He never said that. He promised to legislate a decision from FMCS but since we did not get a decision from FMCS, Mr. Young is not obligated to do any legislation. We have talked to him and he is still very supportive and is helping with the pay and the A-76 fight.

A-76

On A-76, we continue to be very proactive in our fight against contracting out. You have all seen our ad in USA Today. We have also run different ads in the three newspapers on the hill. These ads are aimed at Congress and emphasize the fact that the FAA is lying to Congress about the whole A-76 process and would like to be able to complete the study without Congress having any authority to stop the process. I can�t stress enough how important it is to contact any and all politicians and tell them what the FAA is attempting and the adverse impact A 76 will have on their local communities. Ed Sizemore, MLC FacRep, is a prime example of how effective we can be at the local level. Ed and his wife sent a letter to the local paper in MLC about the possibility of the AFSS closing down. The front page story in the MLC paper was picked up by the AP and ran in the Daily Oklahoman, which is distributed statewide. The MLC mayor went on point and contacted his Congressman who has since contacted Ed. This is the kind of thing we can all do. There is not a small town mayor out there who wants to lose the financial base provided by an AFSS. Thanks to Wally for his interview in the MLC paper and thanks to Ed�s wife for contacted the paper initially. On staffing, we seemed to be catching up with our hiring of 17 people last year. We were initially told that our region would have 11 academy slots for 2003. D. C. came back 2 weeks ago and changed our number of slots to ZERO. I am currently working this issue at the regional and national level and will keep you posted on anything new.

As always, don�t listen to rumors. If you have a question, call and ask me. Mark.

WESTERN-PACIFIC REGION

Mike Stafford, Director and Bob Stanco, Coordinator

PAY:

There has been little movement on this, and the negotiating process from now on is likely to be slow. Just keep in mind we have not given up and will be working our hardest for the best deal we can get. If the Membership is not satisfied with the outcome, you don�t have to ratify it. Keep the faith and be patient, this is a work in progress, and things are moving, albeit slowly.

A76:

In addition to our USA Today ad, we placed 3 ads in Congressional Newspapers two weeks ago. They were in the form of 2 different ads. The papers are Roll Call, The Hill, and National Journal. These are subscribed to by your Representatives and are very influential political publications. The same day the first ad ran, we got responses from media and Representatives. The ads are on the web site, please read them. I believe Congress is finally getting the message on what is going on with A76, and are also realizing they will have NO oversight in this process. As anyone who has dealt with Congress can tell you, the oversight (meaning power) issue is a huge one for them. I think these ads were a great idea, and we will be placing more. The USA Today ad generated some response, but this is more difficult to gauge. I do know there have been a number of letters to Representatives regarding this issue, and this is all good publicity. We will be starting an awareness campaign on A76 in the next week or so which will target local FBOs, and Flight Schools. Kate Breen is working on the brochures with our consultants, and we will need everyone�s help at the Facility level to reach out to your local FBOs and Flight Schools to help garner your local pilot�s support.

On the political front, Wally has had a number of meetings and contacts with various members of Congress and the Senate. I do not want to go into this too much, as it gives the FAA a chance to target these people as well. There has been some Congressional pressure on Blakey already, and this will continue. Due to the election, we do not expect there to be any action on Bills till the next session, but this is a promising possibility as well. Bill Dolan is developing an MOU that outlines specifically what our role will be in the A76 process. Kate Breen is doing a great job of representing us on the A76 team, but we will be adding others. This is not a job that can be done by just a few people, everyone needs to write, call, fax and email all your representatives (Local, State, and National). Keep up the pressure.

CONTRACT:

The Agency initially tentatively agreed to implement the new Contract on Jan 1, although now it looks like it may slip to March 1st. This is theoretically so they can accomplish their training before implementation. As of this date, I am still hoping we will have our (WP) FacRep Contract Training the first week of December in RNO. There will be a BOD Telcon on this issue on October 24th. I would like to see 100% WP FacRep attendance at this training. It�s very important, and the training is going to be done by Wally, Bill Dolan, or both. This will be paid for by the Union of course, and will fall under the new contract rules for training (2 days travel and 2 days training), i.e., official time. I know there are many others who would like to attend, i.e., Liaisons, Reps, etc, but until we discuss this issue on our Telcon, it is just going to be for FacReps, RegCos and Directors, and if the FacRep cannot attend, the Alternate FacRep. The lack of FAMS is killing our budget for this, as I am sure you can imagine. There will training for everyone else at the April convention, and I hope to have some Regional training as well, so just be a little patient. I expect all FacReps who attend to brief everyone thoroughly on the contract after the training.

CRUX:

Bill Dolan is nearing completion on the operational MOU for CRUX, and in the mean time Management is free to start training on this. Training is a reserved Management right as you well know, however we have some serious issues concerning what data will be accessible and by whom, through CRUX.

SUA/ISE:

We were addressed at the October BOD meeting by Mr. Leander, a Flight Service Controller from DFW who developed the SUA/ISE program. You can hook up your facility to this system right now if you have the right phone lines.

Here are the equipment requirements:

Pentium 3, 400 MHz with 32m RAM; and 1GB Hard Drive space. The key item is the line -- you must have an ADTN 2000 line into your facility. Check with your Manager first! If you get all this hooked up, go to FTP site 10.40.156.11 and you will find an 8MB setup file. Just run it, and it will set up your machine for SUA/ISE. You will also find the latest "TAPS" image on this FTP site, which is the plot of the latest TFR image from the program that was developed by one of our Controllers at LAN AFSS. You can download this image file and put it on your WSI. Mr. Leander at FTW can provide you with help on the setup if you need it. If you are going to try it, get a pretty tech oriented person to do it. I don�t have Mr. Leander�s phone number, but you can call him at FTW AFSS. I know a few stations have already tried this, but I have not received any reports on what kind of success they have had.

OASIS:

The important issue is that $5 million was cut from the OASIS budget (this was pre A76 study), so the impact on the waterfall is as yet unknown. They are looking to grab some funds from another project to restore this money.

VOLUNTEERS:

Once again, we are seeking volunteers for short and long term details, please let me know if you are interested. If you have submitted your name before, please send it to me again, as I am trying to keep it current. I will pass on your name to Wally.

HAWTHORNE AFSS NEWS

Scott Morrissy, HHR AFSS FacRep

ARRIVALS & DEPTs

With a bit of sadness we bid a fond farewell to Bobbi Scoville who will be moving on to greener(?) pastures as an OS at RAL AFSS and Wayne Welde�s departure to retirement-dom may be postponed due to some family medical issues.

ON THE TRAINING FRONT

Our "senior" trainee, er, I mean developmental, Kevin "I don�t know, this might take awhile, especially after a day of training like this one." Bender (KB) is nearing the finish line on is last position, Inflight. David Graham (DG) continues to train on Preflight. Frank Cortes (FC) just received certification on the Coordinator-NOTAM position with only Flight Data and Inflight left for him. Victor Morales (VM) has begun is training regimen on Preflight. Finally, our newest developmental, Alicia D�vila (AD) has begun training on Flight Data.

Y2K3 SCHEDULE

The facility schedule gurus have submitted their schedule proposals to me and we are in the process of determining which one is preferred by our NAATS members. Schedule bidding should begin sometime next month.

THE REQUIEM DEAD POOL VER. Y2K3

The turning of the leaves, although usually not readily apparent in temperate So Cal, can not only mean it�s time for baseball�s Fall Classic and football, but it is also time to start sifting through all the tabloids, etc. to find out who besides Bob Hope and The Pope have one foot on a banana peel and the other in the grave. For the past five years, one of our own NAATS members, Winton Lemoine (JF), has been running a "Dead Pool." It is a pool were the participants try to prognosticate who they think will pass on to that "Great (fill in the blank) in the Sky." The participant who gets the most correct is the winner. If any Non-HHR AFSSers out there are interested in information or participating, contact Winton at [email protected].

ON THE FILM & STAGE FRONT

One of the "movie star" aircraft based here at HHR, N343AE, a Swearingen Metroliner, may be down for the count. A mechanical mishap on departure roll a few weeks ago caused the aircraft to veer off the runway and end up "parked" in some T-hangers adjacent to the runway. Rumor has is it that the pilot actually thought he was Luke Skywalker and that he was trying to fly his X-wing fighter right into the hanger instead of just taxiing it in...

This reporter and his wife, your NAATS News editor, recently attended a performance of "The Sound of Music" at a local Civic Light Opera theatre where said editor entered a contest to be a stage star in an upcoming production. Her entry was selected and if you come to the February 28, 2003 performance of "Damn Yankees" at the Downey (CA) CLO you will get to see her in a minor role for that show.

NAATS News Editorial Policy

Nothing that is inflammatory or scurrilous, libelous, attacks members by name or which contains words or phrases that are in poor taste and likely to be unnecessarily offensive, should be printed in the NAATS News or Regional Supplements. Individual(s) views expressed in the newsletter do not necessarily reflect the position of the Union.