#01, 27 September, 2001  Status of Compensation Comparability Effort

All the House office buildings remain closed so I met with Chairman Young at the home of a personal friend of his. I reminded the Chairman of his statements to me during his fundraiser and told him I was trying to update where we are at this time with our pay issue.

He replied that he is working with our lobbyist on language to address our comparability issue but that he has to respect the Administration�s wishes to keep the Airport Security Bill clean. The Chairman went on to say that there would be an opportunity to correct our problem and that he�s going to do it with corrective language attached to a bill or with report language. He said that he preferred to put the language on a bill but he would have to see how the joint conferences were conducted.

Chairman Young said that he wants our membership to know that we have his commitment to resolve this problem and that he sees it as a fairness issue. He asked that we not give up on him and that we give him a little more time. It was an excellent meeting; very cordial and informative. I felt the results were all that we could reasonably have expected.

This commitment comes from the Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the person who is in the ideal position to make things happen. In light of the above we�re asking that our membership now �stand down�. Your response to our previous requests to contact your congressional representatives has been all that anyone could ask. Now we need to temporarily stop our other congressional activity on comparability and let the Chairman work our issue in his own way. I�ll continue the coordination with Chairman Young, his staff and our lobbyist.

We�ll keep you posted as more details become available.

Wally Pike

#05, 26, October 2001

I�ve coordinated my Chairman Young meeting with our lobbyist. She met with him last Thursday and she confirms that he was extremely positive in that meeting also. We both feel that the best course now is to let him proceed at his own speed and in his own manner. Even though everything sounds good, there will probably be some bumps along the way but the only important thing is the final result.

As I mentioned in my update yesterday, we�re asking that the membership temporarily pause in your congressional efforts on pay comparability. We do feel, however, it would be very appropriate for the membership to thank Chairman Young for his commitment to resolve our pay disparity with the FAA. It would be particularly meaningful to him if his constituents, our Alaskan members, contacted him and expressed their appreciation.

I plan to continue the meetings with other congressional representatives and staff. The goal of these meetings now is just to ensure they know who we are and what we do. I�ll explain our issue(s) but avoid any coordination problems with Chairman Young and his staff.

Shortly before the BOD meeting last week, I received a letter from the FAA Office of Human Resource Management (AHR) responding to my August meeting with Administrator Garvey on our pay impasse. The letter repeated several of the misleading and inaccurate statements we�ve seen in many of the FAA responses to our congressional letters. What was particularly disappointing about this letter, however, was that someone who knows better � the management Chief Negotiator - signed it. You can find both his letter and my response on our web page.

I�ve also sent the minutes of our BOD Business meeting to NAATS Webmaster John Dibble for posting on our web page. Feel free to contact your Regional Director or me for more details.

Wally Pike

The following is an OASIS update from NAATS National OASIS Representative Jeff Barnes.

10/19/01 - I have just returned from Las Vegas where I briefed the new board of directors on the current status of OASIS. I was impressed by the professionalism with which the board did its job in the meeting. My first impression is a good one. I want to thank them for the recognition they have given to the Human Factors Team for what it has accomplished in the OASIS program. I am sure the Team will continue to deserve it into the future.

We are working to figure out how testing will work and who will be involved. The board has selected Richard Anderson PIE, Steve Jones MIA, Tal Haley AOO, Ron Gray BGR, and Major Miller SJU to participate in the testing for the AND In Service Decision. This will involve testing at the Tech Center and at AND. AND has selected four specialists from there to participate also. I will have their names for you in a future update.

Next week SEA gets the latest software upgrade and the hardware upgrade I have talked about here before. I am looking forward to hearing their thoughts on it after it's in place.

I am committed to ensuring that we have an OASIS demo available whenever and wherever our rescheduled national meeting takes place. I am also working toward getting a demo for our new board.

#5A, October 31, 2001

I talked with AT-2 Jeff Griffith yesterday afternoon regarding FDC NOTAM 1/1763. DOT, NSA and the FAA were very busy trying to decide the best way to comply with Attorney General John Ashcroft�s announcement of a possible terrorist attach within the week. Some of the discussion involved the possibility of limiting all Part 91 flight but this was determined unnecessary.

Mr. Griffith was very apologetic about the failure to coordinate this matter with NAATS and to provide our facilities with advance notice. Of course the problem was worsened by the fact that AOPA had the information on their website before our facilities and controllers were briefed.

We agreed that a procedure was necessary to eliminate this problem in the future. We decided that the best procedure would be for Air Traffic to coordinate these matters with NAATS Chief Negotiator Bill Dolan as was done when the situation room was in operation.

Please contact Bill at or 301-346-6592 with any questions
or comments.

Wally Pike

#6, November 2, 2001

If you happened to be watching CSPAN yesterday afternoon you may have seen the House debate regarding H.R. 3150, Aviation Security. Of particular note is the wording in Section 123 in Chairman Don Young�s amendment: �It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration should continue negotiating in good faith with flight service station employees of the Administration with a goal of reaching an agreement on a contract as soon as possible.�

I was contacted by our lobbyist yesterday morning and advised that the Chairman had placed the above language in his amendment. She told me that we should appreciate the Chairman�s effort on our behalf since John Mica (R-FL) and Secretary Mineta had both been adamantly opposed to any language at all. She further stated that at least we now have potential statutory language on our pay impasse. My reaction was disappointment in that the words don�t accomplish our goal. We all know how the FAA had negotiated or rather refused to negotiate in good faith and I communicated this to her. She advised that the Chairman would be furious if the FAA didn�t initiate good faith negotiations immediately. She further stated that in that event, Young would do specific legislation. I again reiterated that some wording needed to be added to make the FAA comply. Our lobbyist replied that she would try to �beef up� the language but she was concerned about offending Chairman Young. She also mentioned that, if Young�s amendment passed the House, there would be a joint conference and there might be an opportunity to reword the language. There is also the possibility of losing the language altogether in the conference in which case the Chairman would look to another bill for the language.

NAATS Alaskan Regional Director Alan Baker is an acquaintance of Don Young and he has volunteered to accompany me and meet with the Chairman. As soon as Alan can schedule the meeting we�ll express to Chairman Young our appreciation for his interest but our concern about any good faith on the FAA�s part. In the interim please feel free to contact your congressional representatives with similar comments.

I�m also attempting to schedule a meeting with Secretary Mineta and I still have the November 30 meeting with Administrator Garvey. I�ll keep you advised.

Wally Pike

The following is an OASIS Update by NAATS National Representative Jeff Barnes.

The OASIS Human Factors Team is meeting at AND AFSS this week. We are conducting normal team business, but this is the first of our meetings to be held in an AFSS other than SEA. From here forward we will schedule our meetings whenever possible in a different AFSS. This will enable controllers to see us and interact with us. We will be able to give OASIS demonstrations to the people in the facility while we are there and will be available to answer questions about OASIS. Further, our meetings are open, so if anyone wants to sit in on a meeting they would be welcome to. Our next meeting will be held the week after Thanksgiving at RNO AFSS.

Many facilities have a lot of energy around the supervisor's console. A workgroup is being formed to recommend a new design for the console. The workgroup will produce a recommendation which will be given to the Human Factors Team for a final decision. I expect that the Human Factors Team would adopt the proposed solution unless it finds a compelling reason not to. NAATS will have a representative on the workgroup.

Plans are being solidified for having a team of controllers and a supervisor from Alaska come to SEA AFSS and take OASIS training so they can conduct an assessment of the suitability of OASIS for operations in Alaska. As with having ICAO experts assess the system we want feedback from Alaskan personnel that will help us make the system better for Alaskan operations. This assessment will take place in December.

For our FSDPS members...there is a plan that exists for what will happen in the FSDPS's that I'm sure you are all familiar with. The problem is that I've heard at least three different interpretations as to how that plan will work. I have no familiarity with the plan, and I'm sure Kevin Kelley and Don McLennan are working the issue. There is more attention being turned toward it as the production deployment of OASIS gets closer, but it seems that everyone has their own understanding of what the plan says.

The following is from NAATS Chief Negotiator Bill Dolan:

All Directors,

Please forward this info to all FacReps. The Pete Quinn message is a little confusing and I don't know if the NOTAM D TFR instructions have made it to the field facilities. This should be cleared up tomorrow. The important part of this message is the Mike Cirillo message. I will be o leave tomorrow morning but try my cell phone if you need to talk to me otherwise contact Scott Malon. He has been working this issue with me.

Bill Dolan

____________________Forward Header_____________________
Subject: Fwd:NOTAM D and TFR
Author: Michael A Cirillo
Date: 11/1/2001 5:13 PM

Bill, Per our conversation, due to the current situation described in the message below concerning the cumbersome procedures and technological limitations involved with retrieving information on Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) around nuclear power plants, each BUE shall be granted immunity for all operational errors or operational deviations related to failure to provide information to pilots concerning the status of these TFR's in the enroute phase of the pilot's flight. This agreement will be in place until a solution is implemented that resolves the limitations.

Mike Cirillo, ATP-1

____________________Forward Header_____________________
Subject: NOTAM D and TFR
Author: Peter Quinn
Date: 11/1/01 4:11 PM

All Managers,

There has been a plethora of dialogue today regarding the issuance of NOTAM Ds for those locations effected by the multitude of TFRs flooding the Model 1 Full Capacity (M1FC) system in the Automated Flight Service Stations (AFSS). A last minute decision by ATP-1 this evening has endorsed the issuing of NOTAM Ds for those above effected locations. This is contrary to what we have stated during the course of the day and up to a few minutes ago. This will not solve the problem but may provide some relief for our AFSS specialists in their ability to retrieve NOTAM information by single location versus having to read through 50 some odd pages to get the same information.

Specialists need to be reminded that even though a NOTAM D exists, that unless that location is either the departure point, destination or alternate, the information will not automatically show up in a route briefing. This is due to the NOTAM filter which is programmed into the M1FC. Without the filter all NOTAMs would be displayed for every location along a projected route of flight causing more data for the specialists to peruse. Specialists shall use request/reply procedures to retrieve TFR NOTAM Ds.

We understand the necessity of the Aviation Weather Processor (AWP) sites to become more vigilant in monitoring the 409 capacity buffer for all states and issue a circuit notice (CIRNOT) when those buffers begin to exceed the limits. Specialists will be instructed through the CIRNOT to use the M1FC request/reply procedures to get the NOTAM information. These are the procedures that were enacted when the Texas buffer was exceeded.

More information will be forthcoming. Questions should be directed to Gary Bobik, ATP-320.4, at extension 202-267-9754, or me. Thanks for your patience.

Pete
Manager, ATP-320
202-267-3234

#7, November 9th, 2001

NAATS AK Regional Director Alan Baker and I will meet with Chairman Don Young next Thursday to discuss modification of his language in the Aviation Security Bill. We�ll express our gratitude for his interest in our issue but also our opinion that the FAA will not negotiate in good faith and that they require more specific language.

Meanwhile I�m continuing to meet with other congressional representatives to generate support for stronger language. Last night I met with Senator Mary Landrieu (LA, appropriations) and she expressed her support and offered the services of her staff to coordinate with Senator John Breaux (LA) who is involved in the joint conference to finalize the Aviation Security Bill wording. We�re working this so that we will have a Senate sponsor to go along with Chairman Young in the House. We�re also working closely with Congressman LoBiondo�s staff who is providing support to the joint conference.

On Tuesday I attended the ATCA Awards Ceremony where AT-1 Bill Peacock received an award for Air Traffic services since September 11. He had asked that both NAATS and NATCA receive the award with him and I was happy to agree. My opinion is that Air Traffic has never been our problem in the pay negotiations impasse. Clearly that distinction goes to other FAA managers who have thus far refused to take responsibility for devaluing our air traffic controllers.

My meeting with Administrator Garvey is still on for November 30. My request to meet with Secretary Mineta has been referred back to Administrator Garvey.

AT-2 Jeff Griffith and I have talked about the need to do something immediately on the problems with the NOTAMS and TFRs. We agreed that a short term fix would be to have some NAATS bargaining unit members staff a �help desk� or �pod� to field and resolve questions and problems with the NOTAMs and TFRs. NAATS Chief Negotiator Bill Dolan and NAATS ATP Liaison Scott Malon have been working out some of the details this week and this is what it looks like so far.

The �Help desk� will be titled Flight Service Operational Support Center (FSOSC)

• NAATS will name 5-7 bargaining unit members for TDY to FSOSC

• NAATS will determine the length of the individual bargaining unit details to FSOSC

• The FSOSC location will be the ATCSCC in Herndon, VA

• The FSOSC will probably be operational for at least six months

• FSOSC personnel will be instrumental in determining a long-term fix for the NOTAM and TFR problems.

• The FSOSC is responsible to take calls from the field and work answers/solutions to NOTAMs/TFRs

• FSOSC needs to begin operations immediately

The NAATS Board of Directors will make the final decisions. My guess is that the details will probably be 30 days in length.

Contact your Regional Director or NAATS HQ ASAP if you are interested in serving in this capacity as selections are imminent.

NAATS Office Manager Gretna De Stefano underwent surgery last Monday. I�m happy to report that the surgery was successful and that Gretna is recovering at home. She will be out at least two weeks.

Wally Pike

 

ATP Liaison Scott Malon has provided more information on FSOSC below.

Briefing For ATP-300

Subject; Flight Service Operational Support Center (FSOSC) Proposal

Background; With the events of September 11th prompting the issuance of numerous NOTAMs and TFRs, the need for Flight Service expertise in the interpretation and dissemination of that information to the aviation community is paramount. Flight Service Controllers are the first line of communication for the business and general aviation communities There has literally been no Flight Service presence in the development or rationale behind the decisions governing the TFR NOTAMS making it extremely difficult to provide answers to inquiring aviators. Also, the fact that this information was prematurely posted on various non FAA websites has cast a shadow of doubt on the credibility of the FAA to provide NOTAM and TFR information in a timely and efficient manner. A work group was convened to determine the feasibility of establishing a FSOSC at the David J Hurley Air Traffic Control System Command Center.

Description Narrative A majority of the work group participants agreed to the concept of a pod (with some comments). Establishment of the FSOSC does not change or diminish the roles and responsibilities of the U.S. NOTAM Office (USNOF). The following describes the basic roles of the FSOSC

1. Would provide answers and clarification of TFR/FDC NOTAM information to the field facilities.

2. Would forward issues that could not be answered to the appropriate office(s) for resolution.

3. Would monitor the open line from the FAA Situation Room and respond to calls directed to the dedicated line.

The FSOSC would interact with the designated Air Traffic Airspace (ATA) Representative to the extent that they would be privy to the rationale behind the issuance of TFR/FDC NOTAMS prior to their release to the field. The FSOSC would receive copies of the drafts through e-mail/fax simultaneous with USNOF. This would increase the FSOSC�s ability to answer questions promptly.

A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will need to be developed governing the day to day responsibilities and duties of the FSOSC personnel.

Recognize that union concerns need to be address regarding development and implementation of the FSOSC.

Other Issue

1. There is a need to develop better two-way communications between ATA and the USNOF to ensure that the TFR information released to the public is accurate and complete.

#7a. November 9th, 2001

The following are the joint conference conferees on Aviation Security.

House Conferees:

Don Young (AK)

Tom Petri (WI)

John Duncan (TN)

John Mica (FL)

Vern Ehlers (MI)

Jim Oberstar (MN)

William Lipinski (IL)

Peter DeFazio (OR)

Senate Conferees

Hollings (SC)

Inouye (HI)

Rockefeller (WV)

Kerry (MA)

Breaux (LA)

Dorgan (ND)

Wyden (OR)

McCain (AZ)

Stevens (AK)

Burns (MT)

Lott (MS)

Hutchinson (AR)

Snowe (ME)

#8. November 15th, 2001

NAATS Alaskan Regional Director Alan Baker and I went to Chairman Don Young�s office at 1:30 this afternoon as scheduled but he was in conference on the Aviation Security Bill. His special assistant, a man I have talked with a number of times, met with us and we expressed our appreciation for the Chairman�s words but also our concern. We asked him to consider modifying the words to add strength. The changes we agreed on were to:

• Substitute �Flight Service Air Traffic Controllers� for �flight service station employees� and, to:

• Add the words �that accomplishes comparability with the other FAA air traffic controllers� to the last sentence.

He said he would take them to the Chairman.

I later met with Senator John Breaux�s staffer. He advised that a deal had just been struck on H.R. 3150 but wasn�t aware of the details. I left our material with him and our contact information. I�ll follow-up on both of these meetings.

Concerning the FSOSC � it now looks like the details will be 60 days in length. Please advise us if you want to withdraw your name because of the change. I talked with AT-2 Jeff Griffith and he agreed to support us, with overtime if necessary, to get the people we really want on these details.

Wally Pike

#9. November 16th, 2001

At this time the conference report language for the Aviation Security Bill is not available so we don�t know what, if any, of our language is contained. Congress is expected to move rapidly today to approve the bill and send it to President Bush. After today Congress will recess until November 27.

My feeling is that, given the timing of events yesterday, it is very unlikely that our modified language is in the bill. Congressman Lipinski (D-IL) has been quoted as saying that the conference version is very similar to the Senate�s original bill so it�s probably doubtful that any of FSS language is contained.

I don�t see this as being all bad for us. I�m coordinating a meeting the week of November 26 with Chairman Young when he returns to DC. If the FSS language didn�t survive the conference then I can thank him for his efforts and begin working with him to place it on another bill. There is still the economic stimulus package as well as some appropriations bills. Even more importantly, this would also give me a chance to get him to agree to modify language to further improve our position. Regardless, I plan to continue to work the issue.

Please note that we are discontinuing the [email protected] account shortly. If you want to email me please use.

Wally Pike

 

The following is the ATP Liaison Report from Scott Malon.

NAATS ATP Liaison Report November 16th, 2001

Part I:

For those of us with any operational experience, the need to technologically upgrade our AFSS/FSSs is nothing new. However, since September 11th, it has become painfully clear to all involved that the current method and manner in which we, as AFSS Controllers, disseminate NOTAM information to the pilot is not only outdated, but a clear and critical safety issue. The collective effort of our workforce to mitigate this serious impact to our customer through �workarounds� and the like has not gone unnoticed, in that due attention is finally being paid towards an acceptable solution.

On Friday, November 2nd, ATP-1 Mike Cirillo called a meeting with ARU (Systems Development)/ ARQ (Research and Requirements)/ NAATS/ etc to express the fact that the AFSS Controller�s ability to perform his/her duties has been compromised by technology, creating a significant safety issue, and that it was the position of ATP that something needed to be done to FIX THE PROBLEM. Commitment was given by all to meet and develop a plan.

On Monday, November 5th, the involved parties re-convened to �brainstorm� solutions. The �exit plan� produced the following items for consideration:

1. M1FC 55-page display limitations
   An informational display system at each operational position to display all site and route-specific NOTAM data during a briefing.

2. AWP 409-state limit issue
   A direct feed to/from CNS (Central NOTAM System), eliminating the need for AWP with regard to NOTAM processing.

3. WMSCR delay issue (system updates at h+00, h+20, h+40)
   The direct feed to/from CNS would enable us to obtain up-to-date NOTAM information with virtually no delay.

To date, NAATS has expressed two (2) initial items required to facilitate this plan:

1. A method requiring only one input of flight plan information (i.e. M1FC FP mask, VM <locid> NO) to receive applicable site or route-specific NOTAMs on the additional display. An additional input device (i.e. keyboard, mouse, touch-screen) would operate the additional functions of the informational display system.

2. Only one (1) additional piece of �glass� shall be incorporated into the workstation. In addition to the informational display system, the SUAISE system would also be housed within the single display. The type of display (i.e. Windows-type/single display, Wide-screen/dual display) is extremely important, since this platform will likely house other future add-ons that the AFSS World deems needed.

While the idea of an informational display system is nothing new, the level of importance given to the concept has certainly been elevated, thus allowing traditional channels to be bypassed, in effect �fast-tracking� this project for the AFSS work environment. Your Board of Directors will be looking for your input and support to determine what is necessary to facilitate a plan of improvement for our Flight Service Stations.

NAATS ATP Liaison Report

Part II:

While technological limitations are certainly an issue, the basic textual structure and accountability of a NOTAM also weighs in heavily when measuring the impact to both internal and external users.

First, let me share with you what I�ve learned from conversation shared with the USNOF personnel. It appears that, through no fault of their own, the benefit of knowledge and experience formally used by these employees when formatting NOTAMs has been cast aside by their superiors, favoring haste in the issuance over accuracy. Oftentimes, the text of a given NOTAM has been developed outside of the USNOF, and the direction given is to issue it verbatim. I know each of you has dealt on some level with the effects of this method during the course of a briefing workday.

To address some of the problems with this, ATA-1 Sabra Kaulia has brought in some �field expertise� to help her office out with the initial �wording� of new FDC-scope TFR NOTAMs. Additionally, she expressed the desire to have NAATS included in this initial NOTAM development, so that some of the clarification issues might be addressed prior to �hitting the street�. It is my hope that the USNOF will once again be allowed to assist in their role to properly format the information given. These efforts combined should assist in alleviating some of the impact issues that have surfaced around this matter.

Additionally, the FSOSC is still being fine-tuned (see Headquarters Update 7 & 7A). With this in place, �real-time� questions should be able to be addressed, further assisting the field with timely attention.

While these steps may not �Eliminate Global Hunger�, they do indicate a positive trend by the Agency in focusing attention on the Flight Service Option.

#10, November 29th, 2001

S.1447
Aviation and Transportation Security Act (Became P.L. 107-71)

SEC. 134. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CERTAIN AVIATION MATTERS.
(a) FLIGHT SERVICE STATION EMPLOYEES- It is the sense of Congress that the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration should continue negotiating in good faith with flight service station employees of the Administration with a goal of reaching agreement on a contract as soon as possible.

S. 1447 became Public Law 107-71, including the above, when President Bush signed it on November 19.

I saw Chairman Young and two of his special assistants this afternoon and expressed our gratitude for the above language. I also indicated our concern that, given their track record, the FAA would not negotiate in good faith. Their response was that Chairman Young was personally interested in this matter and that he will be highly irritated if this language doesn�t change the FAA�s posture. I told them of my scheduled meeting with Administrator Garvey and they asked that I keep them informed of our progress or lack thereof. The Chairman had to leave for a vote but I stayed and talked with his assistants about possible future scenarios. They indicated that we could count on them for support.

Administrator Garvey had to reschedule our meeting for tomorrow with a new date of December 17. When I meet with her I will ask her how she proposes to proceed with the pay impasse and how she intends to comply with the language in P.L. 107-71.

NAATS Chief Negotiator Bill Dolan is working out the specifics of the FSOSC. Latest indications are that it will probably start around the middle of January. If FAA management determines they must start prior to that time we�ll provide what operational support we can from here until we can finish coordination.

We continue to hear buyout rumors from the field. No current buyout legislation includes DOT and the FAA has proposed nothing.

A reminder that the [email protected] account is being closed out. If you want to email me please use.

Wally Pike

 

The following is and update from Jeff Barnes, NAATS OASIS National Representative.

11/29/01 - This week the OASIS Human Factors Team is meeting at RNO AFSS. We are giving demos to the management and controllers at RNO for a couple hours each day and conducting our business during the rest of our time. Our business this time consists of going over every identified problem in the Independent Operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) report and all the change requests that have been submitted to this point. Our purpose is to establish a traceability for each of these problems, to ensure that all of them have been addressed. This has been of benefit as we have found several of the issues had fallen through the cracks and needed the attention of the team. This has not surprised anyone on the team as we are talking about over 500 problems here. The vast majority of them have already been fixed, or are being worked on now but a few did get overlooked. This gives the Team the self-check it needs to make sure it is covering all identified issues.

Next week the FAA will get its first look at the Phase 1 ISD (In Service Decision) Software that will go into AND AFSS. Several of us will be at Harris Corporation to take a quick (two days) look at the software to see if we can find any problems that can be resolved before the software is sent to the Tech Center for primary testing. This software will be very thoroughly tested before going operational. Besides the initial assessment next week, the Human Factors Team will test the software, a NOTE (NAS Operational Test and Evaluation) test will take place at the Tech Center (The NOTE Team is made up of controllers and supervisors from the original NOTE Test Team that tested the original SEA software and supervisors and controllers from AND AFSS), and a NOTE test will take place at AND AFSS where we will simulate operational use as much as possible. After all that is done, as long as it is satisfactory AND will go operational, at which time an IOT&E evaluation will take place on the operational system.

In a couple weeks an assessment of OASIS will be done by information gathered from this assessment will be given to the Human Factors Team for use in making OASIS more suitable for Alaskan operations. The Human Factors Team will be on hand at SEA at the assessment outbrief to get first hand feedback from the Alaskan team. This will kick off our next meeting at SEA AFSS that week.

After that meeting our activities will slow for the Holidays, getting back up to speed after the first week of January.

#11, December 7th, 2001

As we wait for my meeting with the Administrator on December 17, it is interesting to note the FLRA hearing between the FAA and AFSCME. You will recall that the FAA and AFSCME negotiators reached tentative agreement only to have the Administrator refuse to sign due to OMB objections. AFSCME understandably filed a ULP against the FAA. The FLRA General Counsel agreed with AFSCME and both sides have been waiting for the hearing this week.

The FAA made a settlement offer to AFSCME this week. As you probably guessed it�s the 5.5% over 5 years deal. AFSCME countered with 5.5% over 3 years and a $2,000 signing bonus for all of their bargaining unit members. The FAA refused so they�re proceeding before the administrative law judge now. We�ll keep you briefed on the developments.

I�ve yet to have anyone in the FAA explain to me what�s so magical about this 5.5% over 5-year ceiling. The only factual information we have is that this became the standard when PASS agreed to it on behalf of the technicians they represent. The only exception has been the series 2152�s in FAA HQ represented by AFSCME and, of course, the FAA reneged on that one.

We�re continuing to meet with congressional members and their staff but basically everything is on hold until my meeting with the Administrator. I�m also talking with other senior FAA managers in the interim but obviously the big meeting is on the 17th.

During the next two weeks we will be publishing and mailing the holiday edition of the NAATS Bulletin (glossy) to all members. I�ve requested that the Chief Negotiator, GA Summit Representative and all liaisons/tech reps have articles included. We will also have articles from NM Regional Director Don McLennan and EA Regional Director Donna Holmes.

Wally Pike

The following is from Acting Administrator Ward Simpson: �All RegCos/FacReps are being mailed 2002 day planners, NAATS lanyards and ID holders. They are to please distribute them to the members of their facilities.�

#12, December 14th, 2001

It turns out that there will be a number of things that I will talk with the Administrator about Monday in addition to the pay impasse. Earlier this year the DOT OIG issued a report recommending consolidation of a number of our AFSSs. The report is based on the work of the old AFSS architecture workgroup findings, which we successfully discredited. Now the OIG suggests that somehow this would save $300 million a year and make the agency more efficient. Fortunately both ATS and Air Traffic have disagreed with this report but OMB has endorsed it and asked the FAA to begin implementation.

Discussions with several senior FAA managers have indicated that the FAA will disagree with OMB based on both operational and technological grounds. Operationally our bargaining unit members have proven their essential worth to the Air Traffic system and any objective analysis substantiates this. Technologically AFSS consolidation isn�t possible because of voice switch constraints (see NAATS Voice Switch Tech Rep Steve Glowacki�s report in the next edition of the NAATS Bulletin which goes to the printers next week). Nevertheless I feel it�s critical to get the Administrator�s position and her response to OMB.

Another agenda item is the recognition for our bargaining unit�s efforts since September 11. In discussions with AT-2, Air Traffic�s feeling is, given the mood of the country and the current crises, now is not the time to discuss awards. Air Traffic also states that a number of controllers don�t want awards for doing what they feel is their job. Air Traffic fully acknowledges the bargaining unit�s efforts and accomplishments but they think it would be better to address this sometime after the first of the year. Although we reassure Air Traffic that our bargaining unit will continue to do their job as they always have, our position is that further delay creates problems for two reasons:

1. Our bargaining unit already feels undervalued because of the continuing impasse on pay,

2. Some regions have already given time off awards while others are waiting for further national guidance.

Therefore we disagree with Air Traffic on this and I�ll see what the Administrator�s position is on recognition.

The major item for the meeting is, of course, the discussion on how to break the pay impasse. Clearly Chairman Young and his staff feel the FAA should negotiate in good faith and I�m to report back to them on the results of this meeting. I�m prepared to discuss several options to break this logjam including neutral third party hearings. I have a number of follow-up meetings relating to this next week so I plan to wait until the smoke clears and send out an update with all the details toward the end of the week.

I received some questions regarding the 4.6% general increase next month. Our bargaining unit will continue to receive these government-wide increases until we reach final agreement on pay.

Wally Pike

#13, December 17th, 2001

The following are the results of my meeting this afternoon with the Administrator, ATS-1 Steve Brown and ALR-1 Ray Thoman.  

We agreed that recognition for your efforts since September 11 is deserved and should not be delayed. We�ll begin the coordination to adopt the ATX recommendations that NAATS ATX Liaison Ron Maisel will brief you on in the NAATS Bulletin. 

The decision has not yet been made on how the Administrator will respond to the OMB recommendation on consolidation but there was general acknowledgement that the technology isn�t there now. I also emphasized the operational reasons we shouldn�t consolidate and, again, there was general agreement. It was acknowledged that consolidation is a continuing discussion and has been for the past 20 years. NAATS Headquarters will get a copy of the architecture studies and any decisions will be coordinated with NAATS. My feeling is that there isn�t a real danger in consolidation for us right now. 

The discussion on pay was positive. I emphasized the fact that our membership feels undervalued and under appreciated and that the logjam needs to be broken as soon as possible. We talked about the Aviation Security Law language and then talked about ways to resolve the impasse, including arbitration before a neutral third party. They were receptive to the discussion and said they would get back to me NLT the week of January 7, or sooner if their coordination is accomplished, with their decision. 

In the interim we agreed to convene a small team (3 members each) to work out all the details except the pay itself. This will probably begin about the middle of January. 

Wally Pike

#14, December 21st, 2001

#14a, December 22, 2001

From: Bill Dolan

Subject: Meeting with AAT-2 regarding the latest NOTAM fiasco.

As Wally mentioned in his 12/20 update, we met with AT-2 Jeff Griffith to express our displeasure (not exactly the words I used) with the way this latest round of NOTAM information was leaked to the alphabet groups before we had it at the facilities. We began with NAATS ATP Liaison Scott Malon briefing on the problems with the NOTAM itself and covered the following issues:

1. NAATS was not involved at all in the planning of the reissued NOTAM as previously committed to by Air Traffic.

2. Previously identified problems identified as critical to the AFSS operations were not addressed.

3. The commitment to use field expertise when writing/issuing NOTAMS was not adhered to.

4. Waivers were not incorporated into the reissued NOTAMS.

5. Being the �front line� in communications with the pilot community, the AFSS Controllers field the impact of poorly executed NOTAMs.

I went on to state that AOPA and other user groups receiving this information prior to the field facilities is unacceptable. We are tired of being made the fool. We need to have the information before any other releases are made.

The solution we came up with and to which AT-2 committed is this. No NOTAMS will be signed out for distribution until NAATS has signed off on them. NAATS will not sign off until the information has been reviewed by NAATS and any corrections needed are made. The field facilities will receive a draft copy of the finished product prior to the NOTAM office putting the NOTAM into the system. Once the NOTAM is in the system the field will receive the NOTAM number that will make the draft official. The user groups will not receive the NOTAM info until it has been input into the system and it has a NOTAM number. ATA-1 has been informed of this agreement.

The final piece of this is that the proof is in the follow through by Air Traffic. This process should only be necessary until the FSOSC is in place and operating. This should be accomplished within a few days of our people arriving in DC to begin working the issues full-time.

#15, January 4, 2002