April 2024 New England Bi-Monthly Regional Update #1
From Mick Devine, NATCA New England Regional Vice President
Brothers and Sisters of New England,
The NATCA Constitution implies that the job of the Regional Vice President is to represent the region on the National Executive Board. To do this, it requires direct engagement with the membership. By being in every building every year enables me to get the feel of the desires of our New England membership. We do weekly calls with your FacReps not only to get a feel of what is going on so we can assist the reps in fixing issues as they arise but also to gauge the FacReps on where the membership is on certain topics. These are methods by which I get the information on how I should vote as your direct representative on the NEB.
Recently, a topic that directly impacts your future, and the organization’s future, has boiled up. This topic will ultimately require a vote on the NEB and I feel like we need direct communication with the membership of New England in order to make the right decision on your behalf when an inevitable vote is taken. As a result, NATCA New England will be hosting a town hall for its membership on this topic, and that will be followed up with a poll to you, the New England membership. We will be setting that up in the upcoming days. Stay tuned for more information on this soon.
As you should be aware, we are in campaign season for every position of the NEB. That means that you, the New England membership, will be able to cast three different unique votes in the next few months: President, Executive Vice President, and the New England Regional Vice President. This vote will only be conducted through paper ballots which will be mailed to you. Participation in elections is the single most important role of the membership. Regardless of who you will or want to vote for, you will not be able to unless you get mailed a ballot. Those ballots will be sent out directly to your address in MyNATCA. Please reach out to a member of your local executive board to ensure that your address is correct so you can participate in this election. You can also find details later in this email about how to log into your myNATCA account to update your information on your own.
From Scott Robillard, NATCA New England Senior Advisor
Hello New England. Being a Union Member, a Union Leader, or a Union Representative sometimes presents a unique question that can be hard for people to reconcile. Who do I work for, the Union or the FAA? What I will tell you is you are asking the wrong question. Unless you are the President or Executive Vice President of the Union, you always “work” for the Agency, they are the “employer”. The better question is WHOSE INTERESTS are you representing, the Agencies or the Unions? This is where it becomes important to understand the CBA and how you were placed on the task you are on. Let’s take a look at a couple of examples.
For all three instances, you are a CPC at PVD Tower, and you have been assigned 3 tasks. Whose interests do you represent, how did you get there and how can you be taken off each task?
Task 1: You have been put on a workgroup to change the Letter of Agreement with ZBW. How did you get on the group? Whose interests? Who can remove you?
Answer: You are appointed by the FacRep. You represent the interests of the Union in how work is performed. You can only be removed by the FacRep.
Task 2: Your facility does not have a Staff Support Specialist (SSS). Every month, you spend 3 days downstairs in the office reviewing tapes and logs and completing Quality Control Checks (QCC) and Quality Control Validation (QCV). How did you get the Article 17 assignment? Whose interests? Who can remove you?
Answer: You are appointed by the FacRep in accordance with Article 17, Section 5, you are representing the interests of the Agency, and your assignment and evaluation are by the Agency. You can only be removed by the FacRep. The Agency can discontinue the Article 17 work.
Task 3: You are a member of the Local Safety Council (LSC). Every month you brief out the safety bulletins, you participate in System Service Reviews (SSR), and you participate in other safety situations that present themselves at PVD. How did you get on the LSC? Whose interests? Who can remove you?
Answer: You are appointed by the FacRep. The interests are shared by the Agency and the Union. You can only be removed by the FacRep.
Always keep in mind that there are Agency interests, Union interests, and there are shared interests. Safety predominately falls into the “shared” category.
To protect your Rights, you have to Know Your Rights.
Travel Compensation is an issue that comes up from time to time. Your CBA does not cover when you are expected to earn Travel Comp or when it should be on overtime. You have to go to other places to find a clear answer.
Knowledge Check: If you are the employee or the Rep, what are you expecting in these situations?
Situation 1: You work at PVD Tower and must travel to OKC for RTF. Your travel day is Monday and class starts Tuesday. Your travel from PVD to OKC takes a total of 11 hours and 45 minutes.
Should they compensate time over 8 hours (3 hours, 45 minutes) as overtime, travel comp, or not at all?
Situation 2: You work at BED. You have been assigned an 8-hour shift at BOS for the tower simulator. Your normal commute is 30 minutes. Your travel from your home to BOS is 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Should the FAA compensate the time over 8 hours as overtime, travel comp, or not at all?
See you next month for the answer.
Safety
From Seth Myers, NATCA New England Safety Rep, ZBW
A facility Safety Rep is designated by the FacRep of each facility. Facility Safety Reps are the point of contact for all Partnership for Safety, Local Safety Councils, and Quality Control programs at their respective facilities. Here in New England, we have been growing our network of Facility Safety Reps for the past few years. Our goal several years ago was to have a facility safety rep in each facility to oversee these programs. We have had a lot of success growing our safety network here in New England. In fact, we are now having some of the original cadre of facility safety reps moving on and onboarding their replacements. Thank you to all the members who initially responded to stepping up and helping their facilities in this role. Some of those whom we would like to thank are, Erik Miller (PVD), Nick Monahan (BED), Jesse Belleau (A90), Denton Green (ACK), Kristy Johnson (PWM), Scott Bragg (BTV), Nick Flickner (BOS), Hysum Willis (BDL), Dave Provencher (MHT), and Jay Sauvageau (Y90). Having this robust network of Facility Safety Reps here aids our region in having a high-functioning safety network capable of not only handling local facility issues, but working issues between multiple facilities across the region, or throughout the NAS.
We have brought on many new members to the safety network and will continue to do so as they step up to ensure our safety systems are functioning at a high level protecting the flying public and our members who work within this system. Although we do not have a facility Safety Rep currently for every facility here in New England, those of us in these roles are already working toward several common goals. We are hopeful that at facilities that do not have a dedicated facility Safety Rep, someone is willing to step into this role soon. If you have any questions about becoming a facility safety rep or helping out with your facility’s local safety council or any of the safety processes, please reach out to your FacRep.
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce your NATCA New England Facility Safety Reps:
A90 – Stan Ankiewcz
ACK – Charles Merrill
BDL – Andy Brugger
BED – Ben Nutter
BGR – VACANT
BOS – Jessica Tavernini-Simrak
BTV – VACANT
MHT – Erin Taylor
PWM – AJ Garcia
PVD – Sean Hamm
Y90 – Rob Hernandez
ZBW – Seth Myers
Legislative
From Jamie Green, NATCA New England Legislative Chair, PVD
FAA Reauthorization – The House and Senate Committee leadership and their staff continue to meet to work on differences between both versions. The House version has favorable CRWG numbers and max hiring language. The Senate version falls short so NATCA is working on trying to incorporate the House language. NATCA Government Affairs is continually meeting with champions of ours on the Hill to make pushes to leadership to include CRWG number language (House version) and max hiring for the duration of the bill into the final bill. They are also meeting with Administration officials to educate them on the importance of our priorities. There is good bipartisan support for Senator Braun’s max hiring bill (31 cosponsors) which helps amp volume up on our staffing issues.
Appropriations – The FAA is funded through the rest of FY24. The numbers for FY24 FAA Operations budget increased to $12.7B (up from $11.9B) with the ability to hire up to 1800 new hires and the F&E Budget $3.2B (up from $2.9B). In an environment of budget cuts, this is good for NATCA.
President Biden’s Budget – In the President’s budget the proposed FAA Budget includes an increase to $13.6B for the Operations Budget (this includes the ability to hire up to 2000 new hires) and $3.6B for the F&E Budget. NATCA is anticipating tight funding caps for FY25 and is closely monitoring this.
On Tuesday, March 5, IBEW Local 103 hosted a local labor round table, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where local labor organizations were invited to speak to Congressman Seth Moulton (MA 6th). NATCA New England Alternate Legislative Chair Nick Monahan attended the roundtable. The Congressman is very supportive of labor organizations, as well as NATCA, which is reflected in his voting record.
Congressman Moulton spoke to the group about the impact of labor organizations in Massachusetts and throughout the country. Throughout his time in Congress, he has consistently fought for workers’ rights and the value of labor organizations.
NATCA would like to thank IBEW Local 103 for hosting this event, which provided us the opportunity to speak with Congressman Moulton, thank him for his support and efforts to keep the government open, and also get to know other local labor leaders from the area.
Finance
From Mike DiFalco, NATCA New England Finance Rep, BOS
The first quarter of the year is always a bit hectic for the National Finance Committee while we race to ensure every Local files their End of Year Forms on time with the DOL and the IRS. Once again, New England rose to the challenge and completed this process well before the deadline. A huge thank you to all FacReps and Treasurers for getting that done!!!
Your New England Finance Reps will now turn their attention to facility audits. LWM, OWD, BVY, A90, BDL, PVD, and ZBW are due for audits this year. FacReps and Treasurers from those buildings can expect me or Dave Provencher to reach out in the coming months to get those rolling. Finance audits are educational and not punitive. We are there to ensure Locals comply with DOL and IRS regulations. If they are not, we work with them to bring them into compliance.
As always, if you ever have any finance-related questions, please don’t wait for your next audit. Reach out to me ([email protected]) or Dave ([email protected]) anytime.
Announcements and Information
We spend so much time working, especially now for reasons that are out of our control. Sometimes it may feel like we are expected to be machines. We need rest, enough bandwidth to take care of not only our needs but the needs of others in our lives, and resources when the tempo becomes detrimental to our physical and mental health.
We understand that stress does not stop the second your shift is over. You are not alone in your plight to establish a state of balance in what can be a very chaotic life. Fortunately, we have multiple resources available that can assist you. Please join us on Tuesday, May 7th at 7:00pm for our first NATCA New England interactive “fireside chat” called “Controlled Chaos”.
Hear from EAP, CISM, Drug and Alcohol, and a controller actively involved with the SSRI program. Not only will you leave armed with knowledge, but you will know without a doubt no matter how hard life gets there is always somewhere to turn and you are never alone.
MyNATCA is the system that contains your contact information such as your mailing address, phone number, and email. You can also enter communication preferences, your spouse’s name, and even your shirt size. By keeping your MyNATCA information up to date, you will ensure you are receiving the most up-to-date information from NATCA.
NATCA utilizes this information for sending out updated Constitutions, Convention materials, and more. Your MyNATCA preferred email address is where you will receive updates from NATCA National and your Local’s listserve. Your contact information is also utilized for the preparation and dissemination of ballots in the upcoming NATCA national election. If you want to have your voice heard, it is critical that NATCA has a way to contact you.
Thank you for taking the time to update your MyNATCA profile! There are two ways to access MyNATCA:
Go to https://my.natca.org and log in.
Through the NATCA Website: https://natca.org. Click the “Members Home” link at the upper right corner. This will take you to a login page where you can enter your username and password for your account. Hover over “My Account” in the upper right-hand corner and click “Profile” to access MyNATCA.
