March 2023 New England Bi-Monthly Regional Update #2
From Bryan Krampovitis, NATCA New England ARVP
Are you within seven years of retirement?
Did you know Article 41 of the contract says if you are within seven years of retirement the agency SHALL allow you to attend one agency or union-sponsored retirement seminar on duty time or excused absence? Sections 4, 5, and 6 of Article 41 in the slate book give the details.
One of your benefits as a NATCA member is the ability to attend a union-sponsored retirement seminar put on by 4 Square Financial. These briefings by 4 Square are designed to explain the retirement benefits specific to the jobs our members hold and help with planning around the issues specific to our members’ retirement (age 56 retirement, increased FERS annuity percentages, social security supplement, etc).
The contract lays out the deadlines to inform the agency of your attendance. Your requests to attend shall be submitted to the agency at least 45 days prior to the date of the briefing, and the agency shall approve or deny your request for excused absence no later than 28 days prior to the briefing. Keep in mind, while this approval or denial is subject to staffing and workload, the agency still has an obligation to allow your attendance on duty time if you are within 7 years of retirement. Any issues with this should be brought to your FacRep or Area Rep for resolution.
I bring all this up because we have a 4 Square retirement seminar coming up in the region. On May 9th and 10th in Burlington, MA, a union-sponsored 4 Square seminar will be held. The deadline to sign up and be timely for excused absence is April 25th, about one month away. There are also virtual options for this seminar which are held monthly.
If you are within 7 years of retirement and have not already done so, please sign up and attend. This is a union-paid benefit for our members that offers tremendously valuable information on your retirement. There are choices you will have to make when you retire that will have long-lasting effects on your life post-retirement. Everyone who has attended these seminars has had nothing but good reviews.
Collaboration
From Curt Fischer, Collaboration Facilitator, Eastern Service Area North, A90
Over the past month, your ESA-N Collaboration Facilitators held collaborative skills training (CST) with leadership at RIC, HEF, PHF, ADW, POU, ZDC, and ZNY. We conducted a week-long collaboration assessment at JFK and look to assessments at IAD and BED in the next few weeks. Facrep and ATM consultations, the third leg of the stool, continue to be facilitated monthly in an effort to encourage and promote collaboration at the facility level.
Collaboration takes time, commitment, courage, and trust. Whether having an Interest-based discussion or scoping a CWG your collaborative skills will sharpen them over time and your facility will reap the benefits of better decisions, increased ownership/buy-in, and improved work life. Remember if you encounter roadblocks in the process your collaboration facilitators work for you and are only a phone call or email away.
Labor-Management Relations
From Carrie Cassano, NATCA New England LR Coordinator, BDL
Quarter 1 pre-PAR was held on February 14th and lasted less than 20 minutes as the agency did not want to discuss the grievances. We had 7 grievances from 3 facilities including ZBW, BOS, and A90. All 7 were elevated to PAR.
Quarter 1 PAR was scheduled for today Wednesday, March 15th but because of the forecasted winter storm, it has been postponed. Currently, we are working with all the parties involved to find another date and time to hold these proceedings.
Quarter 2 pre-PAR is scheduled for May 15-17th. We currently have 6 grievances from 3 facilities: ZBW, A90, and Y90.
FACREPS please continue to advise us that you are filing a grievance. Nicholas Marangos (LR Lead) and I are here to help with any questions or concerns. You can contact us at [email protected] or [email protected].
OWCP
From Steven Spiller, NATCA New England OWCP Rep, BOS
Have you ever been told you should file a CA-1 but don’t know where to start? Check out https://www.ecomp.dol.gov/content/help/HowToFile.html.
Just like a COVID-19 CA-1, the easiest place to start is on ECOMP. From there, you’ll need to register for an account if you haven’t already. Then you’ll fill out an OSHA-301. Once that’s submitted, you can use that to “File a claim based on this form” to start the CA-1. You don’t need to wait for a response to the OSHA-301, you just have to get it submitted in order to unlock the CA-1 link.
While the ECOMP site has help sections and instructions, I find the information on the following site a bit easier to decipher and more user-friendly:
https://www.justice.gov/jmd/hr-order-doj/employees-guide-reporting-work-related-injury-or-disease
And as much as injuries can be similar paperwork-wise, they can also be seemingly very different. Since I can’t begin to cover the nuances of each specific case here, feel free to reach out if you need help or assistance.
Drug & Alcohol
From Jim Basford, NATCA New England Drug & Alcohol Rep, A90
One of the best benefits we have in our contract comes in Article 73. Section 3 gives you the right to request a union representative as long as one is available and doesn’t delay the testing. A key caveat to this language is you have to ask for one. Unlike other parts of the contract where management has to offer you a representative with substance testing, you must ask for one.
A trained representative should know the ins and outs of the testing process. They can help you spot discrepancies and be an extra set of eyes for you. Some things to watch for would be proper air blank testing for alcohol testing, a drug collector using “spare” collection bottles from an unauthorized source, or touching the inside of containers.
It is always a good idea to have a backup, ask for your rep. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].
We are running a 5-part Drug and Alcohol series on our social media accounts focusing on reporting requirements. Make sure you’re following NATCA New England and look for these posts on Fridays!
