NSO FacRep Meeting Aims to “Educate to Advocate”

NATCA Southern Region (NSO) held a three-day meeting for all NSO FacReps in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., May 23-25, with NSO Regional Vice President (RVP) Jim Marinitti. The theme of the conference was “Educate to Advocate,” and 70 representatives were in attendance, along with NATCA President Rich Santa and Executive Vice President Andrew LeBovidge.

“NATCA’s membership is our voice,” Santa said. “Our members deserve and they want information. And information is disseminated through you in this room, the FacReps.”

“It was inspiring for me to see the energy and solidarity during our first full FacRep meeting since 2019,” Marinitti said. “We cannot overstate the importance of investing in our membership and building the future Leaders of our Union.”

Additional speakers included NATCA Director of Safety and Technology Tom Adcock, National Safety Committee Chair Chrissy Padgett, National Human Performance Representative Aaron Katz, NSO National Legislative (NLC) Representative Jenny Chhetri, NSO NLC Alternate Anthony Schifano, Training Committee Members Steve Wallace and Jamaal Haltom, Memphis Center (ZME) FacRep Chris Perdue, and NSO Labor Relations Representative Neil Caputo.

At the same time, NATCA’s Union Synergy held a meeting in the same location, and joined the FacReps for a joint solidarity event after the meeting.

“Having Union Synergy meet at the same time, brief us as a committee, and joining us during our meeting and after-hours activities was invaluable. It reinforced that we are one Union and we are stronger together,” Marinitti said.