#103, January 14, 2004


As you may have heard I�ve had a little medical difficulty that resulted in my being on a restricted work schedule for the next few weeks.

In my absence all matters are being addressed by our representatives assigned to the various programs. We do not expect any issues to go unaddressed.

Our congressional activity will not pick up again until the February/March timeframe.

In the interim the membership will continue to be updated through A76 Representative Kate Breen, Chief Negotiator Bill Dolan and our MEO and PWS Team leaders.

Wally Pike

104, January 23, 2004


The teaming of Harris Corporation with the MEO is an extremely good development. As we all know Harris is a leading integrator of ATC communications and weather data processing solutions for the FAA. The OASIS program is a prime example of how effectively they deal with employees in developing the best systems.

Harris will provide systems integration and communications capabilities as it currently does with OASIS. Harris is one of two contractors selected for NEXCOM and is also the prime contractor for FTI. WARP is another Harris program. In short, Harris brings much to the MEO table and is a welcome addition.

Congress returned to work this week and we�re continuing our efforts on the �05 appropriations issue. Expect this to really gain steam during the February-April timeframe when the White House sends its budget to Congress on February 2.

The $820B omnibus spending package passed the Senate (65-28) and is on President Bush�s desk where he�s expected to sign shortly. The tactics used in obtaining this bill have caused bad feelings between the Parties and are expected to make the fiscal �05 budget even more difficult.

While maintaining our contacts with the current administration, we�ll also touch base with the Democratic presidential candidates. This is the same procedure we used during the last national election.

Effective February 1 Scott Malon will take over the duties of the NAATS Chief Negotiator. Scott is a great talent and I look forward to working with him. Outgoing Chief Negotiator Bill Dolan did a wonderful job during his term and I�m sure we�ll find something for him to do in the future.

Wally Pike

#105, February 13, 2004

The President submitted his FY05 budget to Congress on February 2 so the process has started on the next round of appropriations. As you know our goal is to get a "rider" on the FAA bill that will prohibit FSS outsourcing. Our congressional support remains strong but expect this to take several months and a lot of work before we know the results. No doubt we�ll come to you for grassroots help as we work through the process.

The NAATS BOD meeting was held the week of January 27. The minutes will be posted on our website once the necessary coordination is completed.

As you may have heard, last Friday the FAA Administrator sent the NATCA Multi-Unit pay dispute to Congress. This will start the 60 day time period for resolution. NATCA and PASS have filed a lawsuit over the FSIP decision that it has no authority to hear and decide FAA pay disputes. I talked with PASS President Tom Brantley this week and he is attempting to come to an agreement with the FAA during the next few weeks. We also talked about the grievance PASS filed regarding their involvement in the A76 study. We agreed to stay in touch and work together.

We are continuing to explore the possibility of bringing more legal assistance on board to help us through the A76 process. You may have heard some rumors but nothing is specific at this time. I will notify all of any changes if they occur.

I talked with FSS Vice President Jim Washington yesterday. Some of the issues are listed below:

1. Liaison issue. He stated that they were meeting this week and next on liaisons and tech reps for NAATS, NATCA and PASS and that he understood our position. He will advise me when a decision is made.

2. ATO Area Directors and how our regional structure is affected. No change at the current time. Directors should continue to meet with their 500s until further advised, this includes field facility relationships. Final structure and considerations are still being discussed and changes are still possible.

3. I told him that we were sending him an invitation to our national meeting on April 7. He will do everything he can to attend.

4. Joint FacRep/Manager A76 conference. He still feels this is important and will talk with Russ Chew about it during the next week and will get back to me.

5. Workgroup to address the "right now" impacts lead by Director of Safety and Operations. This will be addressed within the next week -- Tom Davidson to lead.

6. Need an FSOSC FSS champion within the business unit. We agreed that Tom Davidson is best for this.

7. SUA/ISE and apparent attempt to detail the program. No knowledge of this but will look into it. Decision on NSTS or Harris solution will be made within the week.

8. DCA OASIS Training. Checking into the issue of backfill OT and will get back to me.

9. SJT vs. PRC on OASIS Deployment. Consistent with the MOU, I proposed that we elevate to his and my level for a future discussion/decision. He agreed and I will schedule on his calendar.

10. I verbally notified Mr. Washington that Bill Dolan will be temporarily using the second block of national officer official time as the National ATO Transition Director and for RIF negotiations. Letter to follow.

We agreed to continue to talk regularly and work together as the ATO is formed and A76 proceeds.

In the latest edition of the A76 Update there are some contractual and statutory opinions expressed by a LR representative concerning bargaining unit entitlements. These are merely his opinions and not a result of any joint discussions or negotiations. We are examining these legally and we may or may not agree with these interpretations. We have no intention of waiving any bargaining unit rights and, if necessary, will take the actions necessary to ensure compliance.

I want to thank Mike Hiett, HHR AFSS, for his congressional efforts. Mike initiated our coordination on a letter that House Representative Juanita Millender-McDonald will present personally to President Bush next week. We�ll post a copy of the letter on our website next week.

Wally Pike

#106, February 20, 2004

Congress will return next week. In the interim we�ve been talking with our supporters on the Hill and will continue these meetings next week.

You may have heard about the President�s budget and how it affected transportation. The fact is it would reduce the facilities and equipment budget by about 14 percent. Most of the cuts are aimed at ATC and some modernization accounts would be zeroed out entirely. This sets up another big battle over the next several months.

I will talk again with FSS Vice President Jim Washington next week. First on the list is the SJT/PRC OASIS installation impasse. One idea is to install both but that will require an additional $500k. In any case I�ll do my best to resolve the stalemate.

I also plan to talk with Mr. Washington about the continuing problems in getting useful HR information to the field and about the MEO process. I�ll keep you advised of any details.

One thing that is certain - RIF negotiations will be conducted by LR and will not be part of anything the MEO is developing. Our representative for these negotiations is Bill Dolan -- please contact him directly with any questions or comments. We expect these negotiations to begin around the middle of March.

One question we�ve received is the delayed conversion of our bargaining unit into core comp. In case you haven�t seen the HR Update I�ll reproduce the pertinent part here:

"...However, while the conversion of the NAATS bargaining unit employees will in fact be effective February 8, it will not actually be processed until after the retroactive pay adjustments described above are processed."

We are engaged in discussions with FAA management about any possible negative aspects of the delayed conversion but there is no agreement at this time. One thing is certain; the 4.1% government wide increase is retroactive to the first pay period in January.

Another problem that we�re addressing is the misinterpretation of the credit hours, specifically the supposed 24 hour limitation. In fact there is no such pay period limitation on credit hour accumulation. Despite the fact that we�re working this nationally, anyone adversely affected by this should not hesitate to file their individual grievance(s) citing how management is misapplying Article 25 in their case. Although I hope otherwise, I suspect there will be other problems as we work our way into the new agreement.

Recently we�ve had several changes on the BOD. Mike Terry, Mike Stafford and Alan Baker have all resigned as Directors and we are conducting special elections in the WP and AK regions. Jerry VanVacter is the new CE Regional Director, in accordance with our constitution. I want to take this opportunity to thank Mike Terry, Alan Baker and Mike Stafford for all their work on behalf of our membership and organization.

Wally Pike

#107, February 27, 2004

We have informed the FAA that their unilateral decision to delay the pay conversion must result in each bargaining unit member being made whole when conversion finally occurs. This includes any interest lost. A copy of this letter has been sent to Webmaster John Dibble for posting.

John has also included a link on the website for the NAATS shirts for sale. If you are interested please check them out.

The FAA has decided against the clear intent of the contractual language regarding credit hour accumulation contained in Article 25. In other words they�ve adopted the position that bargaining unit members cannot carry more than 24 hours over from pay period to pay period. As we�ve advised in the past, individual employees adversely affected by this decision should file their own grievances. This is the only way we will know the effect on each employee. NAATS will also file a national complaint and we�re optimistic that our position will prevail.

The nomination period for the Alaskan Regional Director special election has passed. Only one nomination was made and accepted so no further action is necessary. Congratulations to Phil Brown.

A copy of our agenda for the April National Membership Meeting has been sent to the FAA and to John Dibble for posting on our website. It promises to be an interesting meeting; I hope to see you in Las Vegas.

Wally Pike

#108,  March 5, 2004

I talked with Flight Service Vice President Jim Washington this morning. Basically what we've heard about the OASIS cuts is true. This decision ($4.2M OASIS cut) was not made by Jim Washington (in fact he opposed it), but was made by FAA COO Russ Chew. I�m now scheduling a meeting with Mr. Chew to discuss the shortsightedness of that decision to only install 16 sites and to try to get him to change his mind. I was also on the Hill this afternoon explaining the adverse impact of this decision to our supporters there. Nothing about this decision was discussed with me or any other NAATS representative and this type of unilateral decision making flies in the face of working together. We are also exploring our legal options in this matter. We�ll keep all advised.

I also talked with Mr. Washington about delayed installation rumors on TODS, NSTS, ONS and SUA/ISE. He advised me that he is pushing for installation of all of these and is opposed to any delays.

Mr. Washington and I will be making a joint trip to MIA trip on March 31. We are scheduled to arrive at the facility around 11am. I encourage all MIA members (or any other member who can get there) to take this opportunity to interact directly with Mr. Washington. We will be making other facility visits throughout the rest of this fiscal year.

As I mentioned earlier, we�ve been very active again on the Hill. A colossal fight is brewing over ATC outsourcing. More strategic meetings are expected during the next few weeks. Our game plan remains the same; we will try to attach a rider to a bill that will prohibit any outsourcing in FY05.

I'm scheduled to meet with Senator John Kerry�s staff next week. We will also continue to work the President Bush reelection committee.

FAA Administrator Blakey will testify before the House Aviation Subcommittee on March 17. Oral testimony is by invitation only but we will submit our written testimony next week. A copy will be posted on our website.

The President has finally signed the long-awaited executive order to implement a retroactive pay increase for federal employees averaging 4.1 percent above the 2003 rates. Of the 4.1 percent increase, 2.7 percent is allocated as an across-the-board increase to basic pay and 1.4 percent is allocated to increases in locality pay.

We are interested in any members with public relations experience who are interested in volunteering their services. If you want to get involved in this aspect of our union, please contact our PR focal John Dibble.

Wally Pike

#109, March 12, 2004

I am scheduled to meet with FAA COO Russ Chew on March 26 to discuss the OASIS $4.2M cut in FY04. Hopefully I�ll be successful, if not we will explore other options.

As you may know the Forest Service employees have appealed their A76 results to General Accounting Office (GAO). Our attorneys are monitoring this closely as it will determine the "standing" for employee groups in this process. We also following NTEU suit against the new circular.

Interesting statistics were released this week by GAO regarding the success rates of MEOs when A76 studies are completed. In 2001 MEOs prevailed 55% of the time, in 2002 the percentage climbed to 75%, in 2003 it was 89%. This is considerably higher than the 50% figure normally quoted. I do not say this to give anyone a false sense of security; the FAA has maintained all along that this is not an A76 study but rather an acquisition. What they don�t explain, of course, is what that distinction means in their mind.

Far and away, our best course remains to stop this study. We are continuing to coordinate with our congressional supporters, especially in the Senate, on addressing the outsourcing process. Expect something in the near future which will also involve a grassroots effort from you. It will entail the membership contacting their senators in the district while we work them here in DC.

I met yesterday with Senator John Kerry�s staff. Obviously I can�t detail everything that transpired at this meeting. Suffice it to say that they feel very strongly that none of the controllers - FSS, enroute or terminal - should be outsourced and that any commitment includes us. I was reminded that Kerry was a co-sponsor on S.338 (Lautenberg bill on prohibiting ATC privatization) last summer and that we can count on them for help. I briefed them on the current status of the A76 study, including the downselect on the vendors. We agreed this must be stopped. We also agreed to stay in touch as we work through this.

Our written testimony was delivered to the House Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee yesterday. A copy has been sent to Webmaster John Dibble for posting on our website.

I talked with FS Vice President Jim Washington again this week. Status of various items:

1. We are close to an agreement on the OASIS process MOU.

2. MIA trip has been coordinated with MIA manager for March 31.

3. He and the three FS area directors are examining the critical staffing shortage. They are looking at various ways to address this and when they have a proposal they will negotiate an MOU with us.

4. He is in the justification process on the joint FacRep/managers meeting. Sometime around the second week of May is the target date with Washington DC as the location.

5. In about a week we will have his final liaison/tech rep decision.

The following is a transcript of earlier this week in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation hearing on FY2005 Appropriations. The dialogue was between Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and DOT Secretary Mineta:

MURRAY: Mr. Secretary, as you know, the only reason that the FAA bill was allowed to pass the Senate was because FAA Administrator Blakey provided a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee promising that she would not contract out any additional FAA functions to the private sector during fiscal year 2004.
I suspect this could become a very serious issue for the FY 2005 appropriations bill because we don't have a commitment from you or Administrator Blakey for fiscal year 2005 or beyond.
As of now, are you aware of any areas where the FAA is considering contracting out government work in fiscal year 2005 or beyond?

MINETA: Nothing additional that I anticipate. I think that letter that Administrator Blakey submitted for fiscal year '04 still stands.
Now, there was consideration at one point about additional contract towers, but after the letter...

MURRAY: What areas are under consideration?

MINETA: Pardon?

MURRAY: What areas are under consideration?

MINETA: Those would be the ones that we had under consideration prior to that letter relating to fiscal year '04, where general aviation towers for VFR traffic only. So it was only as it related to general aviation towers for VFR, the visual flight rule towers. But after the '04 letter that she submitted, don't have any further designs on.

MURRAY: Could we get an identical letter for fiscal year 2005?

MINETA: Let me consult with Administrator Blakey on that and get back to you on that.

MURRAY: OK. If we could get that -- all right.
Mr. Chairman, I will wait for the remainder of my questions.
Thank you.

You can draw your own conclusions on the above. Naturally we are following up.

Wally Pike

The results are in from the special election for WP Regional Director:

Mike Puffer     42
Eli Morrissey 39
Not counted     1 (no name on ballot)

Congratulations to both Mike and Eli for making the effort to run for office and staying active in the many challenges we face.

As you know we are in the election year for most of our representatives. Notices will be sent out shortly in accordance with our Constitution and I encourage anyone interested in participating to consider running for office.

NAATS Chief Negotiator Scott Malon filed the national union grievance this week regarding the credit hours dispute. The union grievance addresses the violations of the contractual language; a copy of this has been sent to John Dibble for posting on our website. If you have been adversely affected by the artificial 24 hour cap (i.e. forced to forfeit credit hours above 24) you will still need to file your individual grievance. This way we will know the corrective action necessary for individual members.

As you probably know, the PWS SIR2 Draft had been distributed for comment. The NAATS� comments will be sent to the proper FAA official on Monday and posted on our website.

Wally Pike

#111, March 26, 2004

We responded this week with the NAATS comments on the PWS SIR Draft 2. A copy has been sent to Webmaster John Dibble for posting.

The RIF negotiations began this week. Expect an update in the next day or so from NAATS Chief Negotiator for RIF Bill Dolan.

As several of you already know, there has been some confusion in FAA Labor Relations on the official and duty time for our National Meeting. This is the word LR is now circulating to the regions and facilities. Tuesday, April 6 will be official time for Facility Representatives, or their designees, to attend our training session.

Wednesday is reserved for briefings and Q&A with FAA management representatives. Since only 4 FAA management representatives have confirmed so far, LR will only initially authorize 4 hours for all bargaining unit members on Wednesday. However if more time is used for these briefings (which it surely will be) the amount of duty time will be corrected retroactively for all members. I realize this is an unnecessarily complicated way of dealing with this since I�m sure we will use the entire day Wednesday for these briefings but it is the best that could be done at this time.

I met this morning with FAA COO Russ Chew and FS Vice President Jim Washington. The discussion was about the 2004 $4.2M OASIS cut. I felt it was a productive meeting. It was agreed that the Executive Council will reconsider this cut and I will provide data for this reconsideration.

The meeting with Mr. Washington earlier this week produced the following results:

1. We should receive a proposal on the MEO process MOU by sometime next week. We have already agreed in concept.

2. The rumors of the cancellation of SUA/ISE are unfounded. All 61 AFSSs are scheduled for deployment.

3. He would like to put together a joint meeting on traffic management as stipulated in the contract. We can expect a letter on this shortly. We agreed that both of us would attend the first meeting.

4.  We talked of a tentative swing of the California facilities during the weeks of May 17 and May 24.

5. FS Area Director Bill Yuknewicz will attend our National Meeting. FS Area Director Paul Sheridan has already confirmed and FS Area Director Judy Heckl is a possibility. I talked about the desirability of having a HR representative attend but we are unsure of their availability.

We are continuing our congressional meetings. A strategic plan has not yet been finalized. I will promptly forward it to you when the details are worked out. Meanwhile, it�s safe to say that the eleven Republicans that supported the Lautenberg amendment last year will be key. As a reminder all Senators who voted our way are listed below with their party affiliation.

LIST OF SENATORS IN FAVOR OF SENATE BILL 338 (LAUTENBERG�S BILL)

I encourage you to stay in touch with your congressional representatives and to inform them that the outsourcing fight will take place in the near future. It is particularly important that you contact your Senators; especially if you have one of the eleven Republicans listed above. We will provide more details as they are developed.

Wally Pike

#112, April 14, 2004

We�re continuing the work with Congress on our issues. Nothing really new to report, more just a matter of shoring up support for the coming battle. One-third of the Senate and the entire House are up for election this year. Our PAC fund is going to be very important for us during this time. I ask that you consider contributing to the PAC fund, through payroll deduction or check, if you do not already do so. If you are so inclined, increased contributions are also very welcome. We have become very selective in our fundraiser contributions and we are now giving only to those representatives who are likely to support our issues.

We�re aware of the latest rumor making the rounds concerning an alleged ACA attempt to move the source selection date to October �04. I�ve contacted ACA to try to verify this. If this rumor is true, it would not only constitute a violation of the understanding I have with Administrator Blakey it also unnecessarily hamper the bid evaluation process. I�ll keep you advised as soon as I know something definitive.

On March 31 FS Vice President Jim Washington, NAATS SO Regional Director Dave Hoover, Regional Coordinator/Facrep Tom Forte and I met with several employees at MIA IAFSS. The meeting lasted for about 2 1/2 hours and I felt it was productive. Later that evening, Mike McCoy and his wife Rowena hosted a union meeting at their beautiful home that was also well attended. As is always the case, it was good to interact with the members.

Jim Washington and I have finalized plans with WP Regional Director Mike Puffer for a trip to OAK IAFSS on May 19 and SAN AFSS on May 24. In between Mike and I plan to visit RIU and RAL. VP Washington and I have also agreed to an August joint meeting in Alaska. AL Regional Director Phil Brown has very capably addressed specific concerns that warrant this trip.

The NAATS Board of Directors meeting was held on April 5-6. Minutes will be published as soon as they are coordinated and approved.

Preliminary comments indicate that the NAATS National Membership Meeting was a resounding success. The entire day of April 7 was devoted to invited speakers, including Darek Yahielashek, President ATS2245 CAW, VP Washington, FS Area Director East Bill Yuknewicz, FS Area Director West Paul Sheridan, FS Area Director Alaska Judy Heckl and FS Director of Safety Operations Tom Davidson. Special guests included HR Specialist Grace Strybing and Carol Gabica and Ray Thorpe from Harris Corporation.

April 8 was our designated day for union briefings and I felt we had great interaction throughout the day. The turnout was great with 143 members attending. It�s always invigorating to hear news ideas and to renew acquaintances.

Wally Pike

 #113, April 23, 2004


The Executive Council has decided against us on the FY04 OASIS funding cut. The net effect is that we�ll probably only see deployment to the first 16 sites; I do not know at this time whether there is enough residual funding to install at any more locations. I�ll talk with Administrator Blakey about this and ask that she restore the $4.2M. Failing that we will file a national grievance using the OASIS MOU. We�re also talking with our supporters on Capitol Hill. I�ll advise when we have more information.

I also have a call into Administrator Blakey on October 2004 A76 source selection issue. I talked with ACA-1 Joann Kansier last Friday and she stated that no decision has been made to move to October. The ACA position is that this cannot be announced prior to October 2004 or later than March 2005. This position is inconsistent with my agreement with the Administrator that source selection is March 2005. There is a provision that the date can be moved to December 2004 but only so long as it does not disadvantage the MEO bid in any way.

I�ve also talked with Dennis DeGaetano, Acquisition and Business Services Vice President, who has ACA in his organization. I believe that my understanding with the Administrator will be observed at the most senior levels of the FAA but I feel we need reassurance from her directly. Again, I�ll advise when I have more information.

I�m coordinating a time to talk with AOPA President Phil Boyer about his recent article in USA Today. He�s currently in France but expected to return around April 27. Obviously we would welcome his support in our A76 battle.

We are coordinating closely with PASS and NATCA on the latest congressional effort and an aviation summit meeting is scheduled for next week on Capitol Hill. We will publicize the appropriate elements of the strategic plan once it is finalized.

This week I participated on the A76 panel at the PWC 26th Annual National Training Conference in Chicago. I very much appreciated the invitation and enjoyed the discussions. Next week I�ll be in SJT and MLC with SW Regional Director Mark Jaffe to meet with the membership.

Wally Pike

#114, April 29, 2004

The following is a transcript of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Treasury Holds Hearing on FY2005 Budget Request for Federal Aviation Administration last week. The dialogue is between Senator Patty Murray and FAA Administrator Blakey.

MURRAY:

Ms. Blakey, as you will recall, the only reason the conference report on the FAA bill was allowed to pass the Senate and go to the president was because you provided a letter to the Senate Commerce Committee promising that you would not contract out any additional air traffic control functions to the private sector during fiscal year 2004. This could very well become a contentious issue for our bill this year if we do not have a similar commitment from you for fiscal year 2005.

Are you prepared to submit to this subcommittee at this time that the FAA will not be contracting out any air traffic control jobs during 2005?

BLAKEY:

You know, the letter that you are referring to was one that was prompted, as you say, by what to me was the surprisingly intense debate over this issue of contracting out -- outsourcing, privatization, there were all sorts of things being batted about. And it did prove important to have the debate set aside and be able to get what was a very important four-year reauthorization bill completed.

I think it is a very different thing, though, if you are suggesting that on an annual basis that the FAA administrator should provide a guarantee that there would not be any kind of outsourcing for the following year. Historically, since the FAA has been here, that has never been done. It has never been necessary. And I don't understand that there is a necessity for it now.

And the reason I say that is, I have already said, and I have said repeatedly, that on the issue of our contract towers, that we have no intention of converting further towers any time in the foreseeable future. There are no plans on the table. I have no additional A76 plans for studies right now.

We do, however, have an important A76 study under way, which this committee is very well aware of, focusing on our flight service stations. As you know, we have the inspector generals' report and recommendation and that of others. We have looked at the question of can this be done by the private sector. And in point of fact, everything points to the fact that this is an important area to have looked at from the standpoint of can private or public sector accomplish this best.

No matter whether our own employees who are bidding in this process, no matter whether they win or whether others win, we know that we will have very considerable cost savings to the taxpayers, about $.5 billion over a five-year period, as well as we also know we'll have better service at the end of this.

So that's important. And we expect to award that contract in fiscal year '05. So I mention those things by way of saying that it would seem both unnecessary and an impediment to the kind of flexibility that may be important down the road if all of a sudden there becomes some annual expectation that guarantees have to be provided.

MURRAY:

I don't know what the annual expectation is. I can just tell you it will be an issue this year.

At the ATC Summit meeting earlier this week we discussed the uphill fight we face in FAA outsourcing. We will make our first move soon in what is expected to be a protracted battle throughout the remainder of this year. I�ll keep you fully briefed.

Unfortunately I still haven�t talked with Administrator Blakey on the source selection (contract award) date issue. In my talk at the PWC meeting last week I elaborated on my understanding with the Administrator Blakey but, so far, I haven�t heard back from her. A link in listed below that discusses this concern.

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/230-full#187196

I�ve also given other interviews on this, including to GovExec magazine that broke the story. We have over 40 individual congressional meetings scheduled next week during evening off-duty hours. We�re finalizing talking points for those meetings and the above will surely be included unless this matter is resolved.

RIF negotiations reconvened this week in MSP. Expect an update from RIF Negotiator Bill Dolan.

Wally Pike

#115, May 3, 2004

I was notified last Friday that the pay plan conversion has been delayed another two weeks due to numerous mistakes made on the within grade buyouts. The new target date is around May 25. My previous letter of February 23 (posted on our website) on the earlier delay remains our position.

You may have heard about the GAO decision regarding a union�s standing to protest or challenge A76 contract awards. As we know the FAA was removed from acquisition regulations in 1996 and, as a result, formed the Office of Dispute Resolution for Acquisition (ODRA). The NAATS attorneys have adopted the position that the ODRA procedural rule on A76 challenges includes standing for those filed by "a single individual appointed by a majority of directly affected FAA employees as their agent". Therefore our position is that NAATS has standing regardless of the GAO ruling.

We have also sent the FAA Contracting Officer a letter stating our position on the Right of First Refusal. Basically it states that no private vendor currently provides the range of our services so no previous vendor employees can affect the above right of our bargaining unit employees. This letter has been sent to Webmaster John Dibble for posting on our website.

FAA Administrator Blakey has confirmed a May 26 telcon date to discuss the source selection issue. In the interim we will continue to brief Capitol Hill on the ramifications of an October award.

This week is the national FacRep/Managers Conference. This is a unique opportunity to gather the decision makers of both NAATS and management to discuss both the A76 and ATO issues. We�ll brief you on all the details.

Last week SW Regional Director Mark Jaffe and I visited SJT and MLC to meet with the members. Both meetings were excellent and I appreciate the invitations from SJT FacRep/Regional Coordinator Jim Hale and MLC FacRep Ed Sizemore.
 

Wally Pike