NATCA Thanks Steve Dickson for Leadership, Collaboration During Challenging Period 

WASHINGTON – National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President Rich Santa issued the following statement regarding the announcement that FAA Administrator Steve Dickson is resigning: 

“On behalf of NATCA’s National Executive Board and the more than 19,000 dedicated aviation safety professionals we represent in 15 FAA bargaining units, I thank Administrator Dickson for his strong leadership and for strengthening the successful collaborative relationship we have built with the Agency.  

“We are proud of our work with Administrator Dickson during a two-year period of unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. NATCA and the FAA swiftly worked to make decisions and create new procedures to protect the aviation safety professionals we represent, so they could ensure the continuation of the safe and efficient operation of the National Airspace System. 

“From the earliest opportunity, we pressed for FAA employees to be included with other essential workers receiving priority for personal protective equipment (PPE), and we helped the FAA distribute it across the country. Since March 2020, we have consistently negotiated to ensure that the use of masks at FAA facilities was in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidance as we collaborated with the Agency to mitigate member exposure to the virus. We have valued the leadership of Administrator Dickson throughout these efforts. 

“NATCA members are also proud of the work we have done during this difficult time. Our members, and all of the FAA under Administrator Dickson’s leadership, have been responsible for the safe and efficient delivery of PPE throughout the pandemic and have helped deliver hundreds of millions of vaccine doses across the country and internationally.” 

MORE INFORMATION: Doug Church, Deputy Director of Public Affairs; 301-346-8245, [email protected].  

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The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) is a labor union and aviation safety organization in the United States that represents nearly 20,000 highly skilled air traffic controllers, engineers, and other aviation safety-related professionals. NATCA was certified in 1987 by the Federal Labor Relations Authority to be the exclusive bargaining representative for air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Today, NATCA is one of the strongest labor unions in the federal sector and represents a range of aviation safety professionals in 15 FAA bargaining units, 5 Department of Defense air traffic facilities, and 122 federal contract towers. These air traffic controllers and other aviation safety professionals make vital contributions to the U.S. economy and make modern life possible by coordinating the safe, orderly, and expeditious movement of nearly one billion aviation passengers and millions of tons of freight within the National Airspace System each year. NATCA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.