From The President

Wally Pike, NAATS President

As a direct result of your letters to congress we have been extremely busy this week with meetings and telephone calls. Particularly well represented were Alaska, New Mexico, Vermont and New Jersey. Please continue to contact your congressional representatives and ask for their support. Our lobbyist has asked that you forward any information to NAATS HQ documenting SAR resulting in flight assists or saves. We remain on schedule to obtain our goals; if you have any questions please feel free to contact your Regional Director or me. Again, thanks for all your work and we'll keep you advised of our progress.

Last week all of our FacReps, Regional Directors, AFSS managers and some Regional Office personnel were in St. Louis for the General Aviation Summit.

We received notification yesterday that we won the CPP arbitration conducted last January. Copies have been sent to all the Regional Directors and Coordinators and I've asked Webmaster John Dibble to post it on our web page. This makes us two for two on arbitrations concerning that MOU. The FAA will now be required to negotiate with NAATS over the distribution of bargaining unit employees to the regions, regardless of whether they're transfers or newly hired. This was certainly our intent when we negotiated the CPP MOU and it's unfortunate we had to go to arbitration to force the FAA to live up to its part of the agreement.

Speaking of enforcing the Contract, we held our second arbitration advocacy training class. By all accounts it went well and we're now prepared to conduct our own arbitrations in every region as well as nationally. The BOD has approved continuing classes in arbitration training so that our advocates are continually trained. The next one will be sometime in the September/October timeframe.

I met this week with Steve Brown the Associate Administrator for Air Traffic Services, ATS-1. We discussed the staffing shortage and our training requirements at the Aeronautical Center for CY02. We agreed that the classes identified (7 classes with 14 students each) would not keep up with attrition and that night classes would be necessary. He will talk with Bill Peacock, AAT-1, and I'll follow-up. We also discussed the impasse on our pay negotiations; he is well aware of our comparability position. Again, he said he would talk with AAT-1 and the management team Chief Negotiator.

The BOD meeting was held June 9-10. A summary of the meeting will be published in the Summer Bulletin but I do want to tell you of one of the BOD decisions. Darrell Mounts, DEN FacRep, made a suggestion through ANM Regional Director Don McLennan. The suggestion resulted in a motion, the wording of which is reproduced below:

"I move that NAATS adopt immediately, a new budget line item, of a policy to reimburse all elected Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) for their full room rate who attend the annual, national meeting. The motion concerns only those individuals who actually are the elected Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) and staying at the hotel NAATS contracted for, at the hotel contract rate. If, however, an elected Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) chooses to stay elsewhere, they will be reimbursed up to a maximum of one/half of whatever the NAATS hotel contracted rate is or their actual room rate, whichever is lower. In no event will there be a reimbursement for Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) who are staying at the city location of the meeting but who are not attending the national meeting throughout the days they may voucher for."

The BOD passed this motion. The intent is to reward, in some small way, the efforts of our FacReps. Any questions or comments should be directed to your Regional Director or NAATS Headquarters. 

Wally

WE NEED MORE CONTROLLERS.

Ward Simpson, GA Summit Rep. [email protected]

Just how many journeypersons does it take to run a flight service station system that does over 30 million services a year? NAATS and the agency had agreed several years ago that it was right around 2,404 journeypersons. The number 2,404 was determined to be what would be needed to not only perform an excellent service to the flying public in a safe and efficient manner, but would also be the number of employees needed to have a decent work schedule for sufficient breaks as well as to accommodate meaningful training and allow for a reasonable amount of people out on leave. The agency would never sit down and agree to this in writing, so as usual, the dispute goes on as to what the number really was.

Each year always gets less...

What the agency does continue to do every year, is to tell us the average services per specialist we are doing. These "math wizards" take the total number of services for the year, an example would be 35 million, and divide it by the total number of specialists on board for that year (let's say 2,300), and come up with, in this case, an answer of 15,218 services. The next year the same "math marathon" takes place. For the next year they would take the 35 million services (if that is what was worked) and divide it with the number of specialists on board for that year, let's say 2,175 (by the way the number each year always gets less...as if you needed to be told) and come up with a number of 16,092. I believe averaging in math is introduced at the fourth grade level. At any rate, this is all we every get from the agency. The really sad part about all of this, is some facilities are doing a lot more than 16,000 services per specialist and some are doing a lot less.

A private company would sit down and analyze the work

The agency has been telling us since personnel reform that we have to get more like private industry. But do you ever get the feeling they only talk to "you," and tell "you," that "you" have to get more like private industry, and if "you" don't serve the public better "we" will loose our customers? Wouldn't you think a private company would sit down and analyze the work they do, how many people are doing it and what would the determined number of controllers be to operate the system safely, efficiently, treat their employees decently ensuring there were enough controllers on a work schedule to provide sufficient breaks and time away from the positions, allow an adequate number of people out on leave and provide meaningful training? Why isn't the agency sitting down with us and determining just what that number should be!

We took a survey, for the last week in April and the first week in May, of how many bargaining unit members we had directly doing the job with the customer. The survey questionnaire was sent to every facility, and was filled out by FacReps, Assist. FacReps, Managers, supervisors and/or staff. We also asked for the greatest number of dropped calls in any 30 day period between January 1st and April 30th. Since many of you wanted to see the results, we are publishing it in this newsletter. 

For every two journeypersons directly servicing the pilot,

there is one employee doing support

The FAA has tried to keep the number of employees running the flight service option at 3,000. This number of course includes not only journeypersons, but supervisors, staff, managers etc. We want to address the number who actually do the direct job with the pilot. It appears that for every two journeypersons directly servicing the pilot, there is one employee doing support for the operation (Staff, supervisor, etc.). Although this ratio would seem out of step with most companies in private industry, we choose not to criticize the agency on how many of these support functions/positions they want or need. What we do insist on is for the agency to commit to a specific number of journeypersons directly doing service to the pilots.

"We have to get more like private industry or we will loose our customers." Change starts at the top and talk is cheap. The agency does not choose to spend the money to hire the people we so drastically need to serve our customers. So the actually numbers of services drop, because we don't have the number of controllers to do the job. the agency justifies we do not need more people because our services to the pilot get less every year. The reason they get less because there are fewer controllers to do the job, and so the circular argument goes on and on.

See the Staffing Survey Questionnaire and Results

NAATS National

Membership Meeting

October 17-18, 2001

at the

Luxor Hotel & Casino

Las Vegas, NV  

NAATS Room Rate: $79.00/night
Reservations Phone: (800) 288-1000
Deadline for NAATS Rate: September 14, 2001

NEW OASIS WATERFALL RELEASED

Jeff Barnes, OASIS Representative & the OASIS Human Factors Team

The OASIS Human Factors Team met in St. Louis on the week of June 11, 2001. On June 15 the Team produced a new OASIS installation waterfall with consideration for all known factors that impact the production and deployment of the OASIS system. The consideration for a deployment of OASIS included factors such as availability of functionality, traffic volume and complexity, FAA management and NAATS union input, closure of FSDPS facilities, and other factors.

Notes:

• Due to budget at this time the full production installation that begins with STL will not begin until November 2002. After that systems will be installed at a rate of 2 per month, with some possible exceptions like the Holidays possibly having a schedule impact, or special requirements for Alaska with the need to install at the FSSs. The Alaskan FSSs will be installed when their parent facility is installed.

• The first software upgrade after the installation of AND is very tentatively scheduled for November 2002, which would coincide with the start of full production installation.

• The Team made two decisions around the waterfall. The first is that the system would have data restoral capability available by November 2002. Currently it takes FSDPS approximately two hours to completely reload all weather products from scratch. We want to have the capability to reload weather data easily in OASIS, and we want much quicker load times. Details on this remain to be worked with Harris Corporation.

• Second, the Team decided that OASIS must have full operational capability no later than the installation of the BDR system. Testing of this full capability can potentially take place at any of the seven sites following BDR.

• There is still a lot of work to be done to figure out details of schedule, system functionality throughout the course of installation, and test activities. New information could cause some movement within the waterfall, but such moves are expected to be minimal.

• The OASIS Human Factors Team deserves recognition and thanks for the effort they have put in this week. It was a long and difficult meeting, but it was very productive and the Team is proud of what they have accomplished. 

MANAGERS & FACREPS MEET IN ST. LOUIS

Ward Simpson, GA Summit Rep.

The largest gathering of Flight Service FacReps and Managers, in probably the last 25 years, took place in STL from June 4th through June 8th. The event kicked off with the General Aviation Summit starting around 1 p.m. on Monday June 4th and ending Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday morning the FacReps and Union had the main conference room while Management visited STL AFSS, in the afternoon, the union visited the facility while managers used the conference room. Thursday there was an open question and answer period with Friday being a "brief out" to Jeff Griffith, Service Director for FAA's Air Traffic Procedures Branch.

Some of the topics briefed and discussed during the week included, recommendations from the VNR workgroup, Customer Service workgroup recommendations, status of the 7110.10 rewrite, Remote Airport Advisory Service (RAA), the possible procurement of the ACE - IDS display for all AFSSs, as well as SUA-ISE looking to be a reality to name just a few. Please do not hesitate to talk with your FacRep, or his or her designee who attended the meeting to get more details. Also, look for more details in the upcoming NAATS news additions.

Liaison Updates

ATP
Donna Holmes, NAATS Liaison

For those of you that read my article on the Flight Service Renaissance in the glossy newsletter, I hope you speak to your FacRep on all the new products and initiatives that are being looked at for Flight Service. I believe the meeting was a success and I have to say it was great to see all the FacReps exchanging ideas on issues they are being faced with on a daily basis. 

ATP's major focus lately has been on NOTAMS. The entire system is broke. Monty Belger has tasked the ATS and ARS organizations to come up with a proposed recommendation and schedule to fix all the issues by June 30th. 

We have been faced with Presidential TFR NOTAMs that have not been given and de-certification and disciplinary action proposed on individuals. We now have in place a GENOT and MOU that requires paper posting of all Presidential TFR NOTAMs on all positions. It also recognizes the deficiencies in the system and requires that no adverse action or formal disciplinary action be taken against those that were involved in the incidents prior to the new procedures being put in place. 

There is a NOTAM capacity issue once again in the state of Texas. The AWP exceeded the number of NOTAMs for Texas. What this means is that the Texas AFSS's were inputting NOTAMs and the AWP could not process them which resulted in an incomplete database of NOTAMs for the State of Texas in the Model 1. These NOTAMs were only retrievable from outside sources or through request/reply. 

FDC NOTAM distribution and notification is also causing significant problems. A workgroup met and recommended Flight Service now be responsible for all FDC notifications. Bill Dolan should be receiving an Article 9 shortly so we can I/I all the issues surrounding this recommendation.

All in all we just have to stay on top of all the issues and ensure they get resolved. 

Just a reminder ...Volunteers are needed to fill workgroup slots. Become a part of the changes that are taking place. Send in you name and area of interest to Wally. 

ATX
Kate Breen, NAATS Liaison

Just a reminder on what ATX covers, training, personnel issues, staffing, and labor management relations. One of the hottest issues lately seems to be the letter drafted, for signature by Wally and Bill Peacock on the dual traffic count. As I write this, it is sitting on ATX-20's (Tony Tisdall) desk, in a meeting with ATX-1 (Dave Sprague) this morning I advised him of this and he is aware of the NAATS position to get this letter out ASAP. As soon as it is approved and signed I will get the word out to your regional directors for dissemination. If I could just take a line or two to remind Bargaining Unit Members to log/count everything you do that we use in the traffic count formula. Those numbers not only are used for the staffing standards, but they will also be used to calculate costs in the cost accounting system, i.e., how much does a briefing/inflight contact/flight plan cost.

The training scheduled at the academy is still the same as last year, only 98. NAATS is still trying to get management to run additional classes in the evening to double that number, but the same ol' tune is being sung "no money." If the number stays at 98 for FY02 it will leave us with 57 to 97 people below this year's budget goal of 2935. As of the end of May the numbers were ATCSs 2318 Operations Supervisors 279 Other Than Controller Workforce 342 for a grand total of 2939. The new staffing standards for FY02 will be out in July, as soon as they are I will forward them to your regional directors. CRU-X is being taught and fielded in more regions, Bill Dolan and myself will have that training soon so we can answer any questions you might have without delay.

That's about it for now, if you have any questions please call 202-267-8028.

Upcoming Events

July 25-31
EAA National Fly In
Oshkosh, WI

July 31
TSP Open Season Ends

September 18-20
NBAA Convention
New Orleans, LA

October 15-16
NAATS Board Meeting
Las Vegas, NV

October 17-18
NAATS National
Membership Meeting
Las Vegas, NV

November 8-10
AOPA Convention
Fort Lauderdale, FL

FAA Pulls Inspectors to Cool Labor Tension

Chicago Sun Times, June 12, 2001 
by Robert C. Herguth, Transportation Reporter 

With tensions rising at a facility where air traffic controllers were accused of purposely slowing flights last year during a labor dispute, the federal government yanked an inspection team from the suburban center Monday - two days early - to prevent more trouble, sources said. 

"No long-term purpose would have been served by extending the evaluation," one federal source said, explaining the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to remove the team from the Terminal Radar Approach Control Center in Elgin, where a routine review was taking place. 

Controllers began grumbling after one of the inspectors claimed Sunday that a controller allowed two planes too close together. That citation prompted the president of the controllers union local to suggest that some of his colleagues might increase spacing between aircraft, not to purposely mess up the system as was alleged last summer, but to ensure they don't violate regulations governing separation. 

The decision to end the inspection Monday rather than Wednesday was made because of fears of "a deterioration of labor relations," sources said. 

An FAA spokesman said he doesn't think the fear of a slowdown was a motivation. "They were able to wrap it up early," Paul Turk said. 

But he acknowledged the national president of the controllers union, John Carr, spoke with the FAA's No. 2 person, Monte Belger, about the increasing tension before the inspection was cut short. That, sources said, illustrates how seriously the FAA, for which the controllers work, took the situation. 

"They were trying to stop trouble before it started," a source said. 

Controllers maintain they never slowed planes last year for labor reasons. Rather, they say spacing was increased to be extra careful because an inspection team was visiting. 

However, the FAA saw it differently and proposed punishment for more than a dozen air traffic controllers at the Elgin center, which handles air traffic for O'Hare and Midway airports, among others.

A Special Letter To The Editor

Dear Editor,

I would appreciate a few moments of your time to tell you about a union member in need. Most of us here at the Lansing Flight Service have enjoyed generally good health. We have noticed that we are getting older and we do try to keep an eye on our aging work force. Occasionally you will hear remarks about how 1 out of 4 people are affected by this or that disease. You will hear about the percentage of accidents that occur in the work place. I believe it is common for most of us to think of this as happening to "the other people." Well, it finally happened to one of our own. We were watching in the wrong place. We never expected it to happen to the "new kid" that just walked in the door about six months ago. We never expected the bright young face of our trainee, (the only new trainee we have had in years), would be the one to fall to the statistics. That is why when we saw Jeana's name on a request for the Leave Transfer Program, we were taken aback. I think most of us can remember our early days with the agency. Remember the hustle of moving, and the moving costs? Remember trying to train at work and learn your way around a new town? Remember trying to make a friend or two in place full of people you don't know and trying to find something in common with these people? Remember when you earned only 4 hours of annual leave a pay period? I do. I am hoping that most of our fellow Union Members do as well, and will be generous enough to donate a small portion of their leave to make a big difference in this young woman's life. 

Her name is Jeana Bunn and she needs our help. She is out of leave and has a rare form of cancer. Jeana works at LAN AFSS and her position title is ATCS. You can find her request for Leave Transfer on the bulletin board at your work. Our Regional Director, John O'Connell, has approved the writing and publishing of this letter. I hope this information can be shared with the rest of the Union Members.

Sincerely,
Joan M. Ehlert-McBride
ATCS Lansing Automated Flight Service Control Specialist

Editor's Note: If you have leave to spare, please share it with those in need. None of us ever knows when we will be the one asking for help. - Eli

THE FORUM: THE HIDDEN AGENDA

Chuck Kuennen, NAATS WP RegDir

I'm not alone when I feel like the FAA is trying to squeeze the life out of Flight Service. Consider the following:

1. Why won't the FAA give us pay comparability? OMB refuses to approve AFSCME's agreement for FAA Headquarters personnel because of pay disparity. Yet, in Air Traffic, the FAA will not recognize that we are also 2152s and are creating disparity. We work 24/7; are required to pass a Class II physical; are subject to OEs and ODs; are subject to drug and alcohol testing; are required to maintain proficiency and quality control standards; and - Oh, by the way - we do contribute significantly to flying safety. It's obvious the FAA is not negotiating our pay in good faith.

2. How did our staffing get so low over the last few years? Where is the pipeline of new people, the life's blood of an air traffic organization? Why has the funded 2nd shift of night classes at the FAA Academy gotten cut the last few years? The only way a journeyperson can work his/her way up the seniority ladder is to wait for someone in their facility to retire.

3. Why are we losing our Alternate Work Schedule (AWS)? Management wants extra bodies to cover for their use of FPLs as Data Automation Technicians on the Administration side of the house. They say they need extra bodies to provide team briefings and required training. Why don't they stand up to the FAA and get the extra support staffing they need and not take it out of our hides? We are being forced to brief from Broadcast and Coordinator to cover for a short-staffed Operations floor. Our Time On Position (TOP) is far above that of the other options.

4. Why is our Sick Leave being held against us when it comes to Watch Schedule negotiations? We are an older work force and age does take its toll in the form of medical disqualifications and use of more FMLA to care for aging and sick parents. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out if our number of FPL's on pre-approved Annual Leave keeps getting lower, the chances of getting Spot Leave are Slim to None and Slim left town.

5. Why do our Managers fear using overtime (OT) and often coerce us to accept Comp Time? OT is budgeted nationally and a Management Team at each Region doles out the OT based on each facility's historical use and their perception of priority.

6. Why are we not the once proud FAA employee group we used to be? Why do Flight Service Controllers feel they are at the bottom of the food chain? Given the current state of low morale, is it any wonder most FPL's believe they work in a hostile work environment? All of these issues are related - just put the pieces together. Life as we know it is being killed off at the highest levels of the FAA and all the Management that falls beneath are in lockstep marching to higher orders. Could they be part of an earlier proposed architecture? The FAA knows that any talk of further consolidation would cause a political battle they don't want right now. (Remember the "Equal or better services" promise.) Is the FAA forcing a hidden agenda of attrition, dropping Flight Service staffing to such low levels that it would create a situation where they can limit services and force consolidation? It is too bad that Labor and Management cannot put up a united front.

Can it be fixed? Flight Service is going through a renaissance. General Aviation collectively stood up at the GA Summit in November of 1999 and said they want our services. We are a valuable part of the FAA team. General Aviation flies over half the air miles flown, they service 100% of our nation's airports, and 70% of their operations are business-related. NAATS is doing what it can for our pay raise and staffing shortages, but it will take all of us to raise these issues to our Congressmen/women if we are going to be successful. 

STAFFING SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE AND RESULTS

These are the questions and categories provided by each Flight Service facility. They are the source of the data for the Staffing Survey, which immediately follows.

Category 1. How many journeypersons as well as trainees are currently working the floor? 

FPLS______ TRAINEES__________

Category 2. How many individuals at the facility, from the bargaining unit, are on temporary details for any reason. These could be 30day, 90 day 1-year details etc. This means details in the back office as well as details away from the facility i.e. Regional office? 

Answer_______ 

Category 3. How many individuals are off the floor working projects. These could be individuals setting up training programs or computer systems etc. If they are off the floor more then half the time do not count them in question 1, count them here? 

Answer________

Category 4. How many individuals at your facility are medically disqualified no matter how long the time is for disqualification and no matter what the medical reason is? 

Answer_______ 

Category 5. How many new hires assigned to your facility are either at OKC attending initial training or are at your facility waiting to go to training, and are not on the floor? 

Answer_______

Category 6. How many individuals are on extended leave including leave without pay, or are out of the facility attending training (i.e. Flight Watch School), maternity leave, or for any other reason and have not been counted in the above categories? 

Answer________

Since January 1st, select any 30 day time period where your facility had the most dropped calls, and list the number of dropped calls. An example would be; February 1st thru February 28th - 1,500 dropped calls.

Answer____________________________________

Please contact Ward Simpson at NAATS headquarters if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your prompt response for this urgently needed, valued information. 

RESULTS

Since January 1st, 2001 the greatest 30 day period with the most dropped calls totaled 11,622

Regional Supplements

Alaska Region

Guylan Roberts, Acting Alaskan RegDir

Hello everyone,

I have to say that this is the most exciting email that I have sent out in a long time. I just got off the phone with headquarters and they are over whelmed with the letter writing support from our region. I am glad that we have the people necessary to pull this off. I feel we are lucky to have some of the strongest FacReps in the Union within this region and they show it on a regular basis.

Additionally we are the only Region that finished the Staffing Survey sent out by Headquarters in the time parameter that was set. 

Finally we have sixteen new members to the union and growing. That is just for this region and we can only get stronger as we work together to get things accomplished for everyone. We now have 113 dues paying members in this region. I must say that I am very excited to be a part of this.

Anyone who has not had a chance to get their letters in to Young and Stevens please do so now. With the initial influx of letters a continuing flow will only strengthen our efforts for pay equity.

Everyone should give themselves a pat on the back and kudos to their fellow letter writers, Wally assures me the effort was exactly what they were looking for and the initial surge that we needed.

I am rambling but it is still refreshing to know that my fellow FSS brothers and sisters are willing to go the extra mile to help each other out.

The PAC has grown significantly due to everyone's contributions and special thanks need to go to FAI with the most contributors so far and KTN with the highest percentage of contributors at around 90%. Thanks Dan and Mike for your individual efforts.

Thanks again to you all and help convince the others the effort IS working. 

KETCHIKAN FSS NEWS
Dan Hart, Ketchikan FSS

NAATS Newsgroup Bulletin Board

Several months ago, I set up a Bulletin Board on Yahoo Newsgroups for the use of NAATS members. The purpose of this board from the beginning was to provide an easy way for members to exchange information quickly. Whether it was problems at the facility and ways to deal with management or just general information. I hope it is succeeding. I for one, want the widest possible participation from all dues-paying NAATS members.
I think it is valuable for members to have an easy way to communicate. I think that most people have access to a computer/email these days. Although most people do not post, that is OK, they are still getting news, etc. by email.

I am pleased to have a director or two on this board. They can give us information that they have, and their perspective on various issues. They can also hear what we have to say.

We will not always agree on issues before us (after all , we are air traffic controllers), and that is good. I think that we all want to know all we can before making decisions.

NAATS is us. We are the Union. You, me, and all of those other dues paying members. Collectively, we decide our future. I have always been amazed at the talents that we have within our Union. I think that we are capable of charting our own course.

All dues-paying members who want to sign up have to do is go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NAATS

It's easy it is to post, all you have to do is send an email to: [email protected] 

This forum is for us, the members of NAATS, to share information with other members in order to build greater solidarity within our Union. Also, come check out the Alaskan Region's web site at: www.naatsak.com

EASTERN REGION

More of Less

Patrick Less, AEA RegCo

WSI Graphics National and
Regional Committees Formed 

Like to see some amendments to the WSI suite of products offered? Think that a new chart or product should be considered for addition to the current selection? Have a design change in mind that will be more productive? Well here is your chance to voice your opinion.

NAATS and the FAA have agreed that a need exists to monitor and improve upon the Weather Graphics that we use in the performance of our duties as Controllers. A national workgroup has been named, formed and completed their first TELCON. On the regional level, our workgroup has been formed. The hope is to get it right, from the Controllers working the position point of view. Now to get 100% agreement from controllers is tough enough, but add in some management folks and you can see where this is headed. That is why we have designed the following structure. 

At the facility level, one NAATS and one Management Representative will comprise the committee. They are tasked with gathering their respective facility's input, reviewing it, and them prioritizing it. They will forward the prioritized input to the Regional level workgroup. It is that workgroups task to review the input of all the facilities and prioritize it from a regional perspective. They will then work with the other regions on the national level to implement changes.

Now this is a new process, and there will be some kinks, so bear with us as we try to navigate through our mistakes.

The workgroups or committees (editors note: I have used these terms as meaning the same), are listed below:

DCA AFSS Controllers Vs Airport
Management on Air Quality at the Facility 

Due to the increased aircraft operations and expansion of the airport, DCA Controllers have had to evacuate the facility on a frequent basis due to excessive fumes entering the facility. Airport management asks the question: Is it a case of health or comfort level?

Yes you read that right. On May 23, 2001 a meeting was held between Frank Hatfield AEA-500, Patrick Less NAATS REGCO, Bill Straube DCA FACREP, Willie Copeland DCA ATM, Cosmo Hamilton Acting DCA ATM, Salim Haber AEA-401, and members of the Leesburg Executive Airport Management team. The problems of the excessive fumes and the effects on the controllers, the administrative staff, and the loss of the operation of an Air Traffic Control Facility from the National Airspace System was brought to point and heatedly discussed. The airport team was only there to review options, not make decisions. They stated that they wanted objective quantifiable data before that could make any decisions.

An air quality study is currently being conducted as a result of a prior meeting between the FAA and NAATS. The work of the Local NAATS OSHA team comprised of Curt Lasley and Nancee Niemic needs highlighted and commended. Their diligent efforts have provided the necessary documentation needed to deal effectively with this type of issue.

DCA OSHA Committee reports that on 5/29/01, a follow-up meeting was held at DCA AFSS to discuss the ongoing issue of fumes in the building. In attendance were: 

Agnes Marshall, DCA Ops Mgr 
Ed Olmsted, PHS/DFOH (EPA) 
James Preston, Actg Airports Mgr CBSMO 
Joe Burns, DCA AF 
Tony Hospedale, DCA AF 
Lisa Beaty, CBSMO 
Bob Vazquez, CBSMO 
Bob Wright, DCA Ops Sup/OSHA member 
Chuck Nelms, SSC Mgr 
Fred Fattoruso, AEA-472D 
Fritz Budde, AEA472D/ROSHM 
Cosmo Hamilton, DCA AATM 
Nancee Niemiec, DCA OSHACOM 
Curt Lasley, DCA OSHACOM

On a point to be taken, I know that this topic was discussed on the last two Regional OSHECOM TELCONS, yet never made part of the minutes. This is one area where we need to investigate the what's, how's, and where's to improve our effectiveness.

NAATS NY AIFSS Member
Mike Salimbene speaks
to OASIS & ICAO.

Mike represented NY AIFSS at the ICAO testing done at SEA AFSS. I asked Mike to write up a brief summary in his own words. Here they are.

Oasis ICAO Assessment Review 

During the week of April 3-10, 2001, the ICAO Assessment Team met at Seattle AFSS/Boeing Field. The team was comprised of Fran Gullo (OS), Tom Forte (FacRep)/MIA AFSS, Major Miller (FacRep)/TJSJ AFSS, Dominic Cunningham (FacRep)/HNL AFSS, and Mike Salimbene/ISP AFSS.

We had an OASIS training/orientation class from 4/3-6, then were joined by Barbara Jackson & Scott Chapman from FAA HDQTRS, and Guylan Roberts; an ATCS from Juneau FSS who also serves as NAATS Alaska Regional Director, and Kathy from the ACY Tech Center. These folks serve on the Oasis Human Factors Team. We conducted a general analysis/evaluation and ICAO review from 4/9-10, and made recommendations based on that review. 

OASIS SYSTEM OVERVIEW

1. WINGS 

This is the part that supercedes M1FC, OASIS in general is a PC/LAN based system comprised of Pentium PC processors and two 21 inch Trinitron monitors. The Wings portion handles all the alphanumeric data (M1FC) functions using a Windows NT operating system. The displays are impressive, much easier on the eyes than M1FC, and easily handle all flight planning/data-NOTAM/weather briefing/and SAR functions. 

2. WIND

This is the graphics part of OASIS and is very well done with more improvements to come. A full array of WX charts & graphics including: radar/satellite/NEXRAD/lightning data and overlays are available. 

Any chart, radar, or satellite can be overlaid with VORs/ Airways/Jetways/ Highways/Airports/etc. You can also select one of your charts to be a running sequence of your most frequently used products (10 or more), and have them switch at intervals (1-10 seconds) of your choice. These would be saved under your password and be available at any position you work. 

3. WHAT'S NEXT

A big software drop is scheduled for JUN'01, this will address some 543 PTR's,

And will totally revamp some functions, most notably SAR, so going into great detail on exactly how OASIS functions would not be very helpful at this time.

Software drops on JAN'02 & JUN'02 should address any remaining bugs prior to ISD or In Service Date which is expected to be JUN'02.

So far the plan is to have OASIS at least partially deployed by JUN'02, this due to promises Jane Garvey made to Congress when she plead our case to keep OASIS funded and moving forward after we exceeded both budget & deadline. No scheme has been set forth for deployment as to facility/dates. OASIS is still not sure on where to begin installations, large busy facilities, or smaller less intense ones. At this point "partial deployment" means OASIS must be placed in at least one other facility other than Seattle. Upgrades of OASIS are expected to be rather frequent, as they say all facilities will be given the newest and best Off Shelf Technology available, with all AFSS' being upgraded to the latest installation's standards.

4. ICAO

In general we found the ICAO data base to be not even up to M1FC standards, which is the minimum according to the FAA's contract w/HARRIS CORP. Any fix beyond 40W was not recognized. Most other gateway FSS's areas beyond US airspace were equally void of fixes. This was brought to their attention and will be fixed. The ICAO FP mask was very good, but it was two pages. It had some nice drop down windows with helpful info like "equipment suffixes, Omega, INS and etc", but we recommended they put all that on page 2, so that all mandatory entries would be on the 1st page. Flight plans would auto-address FIR boundaries, and the cut & paste feature will let us do some neat things really quick (like importing closure points from another area) while reducing typing demands. We recommended they consolidate a lot of the fields they had, like separate ones for pilot name, address, phone and etc. which would have us tabbing around like nuts and increase the fields for "free-form entries", so we could enter a lot of data quickly and easily. 

5. SUMMARY 

Overall, OASIS is a great improvement over M1FC. It was much better than all of us expected going into the class. All the controllers at Seattle love it and would not go back to M1FC. Seattle has been on OASIS ONLY since Sep '01, with M1FC as backup and a lot of the ATCS have forgotten a lot of M1FC routines already.

There is still a lot of fine tuning to go as OASIS finds its way into the NAS and individual AFSS FP areas; but as we go we'll identify, correct and refine problems and incorporate new technology into the system because it is open ended, expandable and upgradeable and gives us a great new tool to use as air traffic and general aviation users continue to grow in number and sophistication.
All in all, it was a great experience and I thank all of you for letting me be a part of it and represent ISP AIFSS. - MS

NY AIFSS Controllers continue dealing with the Harassing/Obscene Caller 

Calls continue to impact the operations and the Controllers. Despite the limited efforts of law enforcement this individual continues his never ending use of profanity and deranged ranting. 

Since last July, the controllers at NY AIFSS have had to deal with this caller. I have personally taken these calls, which are more sexually orientated when answered by our female controllers. They are repulsive and indignant to say the least. You would think that in this day and age, the caller would be apprehended. That is just not the case. Ron Maisel made this a priority issue from the start and tasked me to work it. Thanks to the efforts of the acting ATM Ron Napurano, we have worked in a collaborative manner through a web of law enforcement jurisdictions and manpower issues. Frank Hatfield has designated this a priority issue authoring a letter stating such. It is my belief that we have exhausted all our options and avenues regionally. Our inability to end this deplorable situation dictates this problem needs to be elevated to a national level. We are aware that this situation has occurred at other EA AFSSs because your FacReps have been vocal to the point. The probability is too great to ignore that this can and will impact AFSSs nationwide. A system to eradicate or at least minimize this type of attack on our Controllers and the NAS needs to be developed.

In the mean time, we will continue to work the issue. A "Lessons Learned" report will be generated so that the roadblocks and problems encountered will be available to all.

Issues, What is going on
Nationally and Regionally?

• The decisions made at the Oceania TMP meeting have finally been instituted. We are now in the monitoring stages. Questions and comments should go to your FacReps.

• Wally Pike has requested that we continue the good work of writing our Congressional Leaders.

• The FSS Renaissance Conference was held from June 4-June 8, 2001. See your FACREPS for full details. It is time to tap into these new technologies. Additionally, it was nice to see User Groups like AOPA present and hear their points of view.

• AOO AFSS and the rest of the Flight Service World suffered terrible loss with the untimely passing of Controller Timothy Jeffery. Our thoughts and prayers go to his family, friends, and co-workers.

• NAATS National Email Updates 65-69 have been sent out.

On the personal side, we have now entered our busiest season, the summer season. As temperatures rise, so does our traffic, so does the stress and tensions associated with our jobs as controllers. Remember to leave that *&^%$ at the facility. Enjoy your time away and make the most of your prime time leave. Take pleasure from the time spent with family and friends. ENJOY!

Live Long and Prosper,
PL

 NAATS Northwest Mountain

Don McLennan, ANM RegDir

Hello once again from one of the "corner tier" regions. We have been having an exceptionally wet spring-summer, in Seattle, while other zones within the region have begun to experience their summer heat. It is a very large region, geographically speaking. There are wet zones, dry zones, hot zones and cool zones. From lush green forests to dry barren plains, from low lands to highest mountains it makes for interesting travel and all without ever leaving the region. Did I forget to mention we welcome all visitors to our facilities? If you are interested in faming or vacation somewhere, the next few months are to die for in this region. So much for the sales pitch, let's move on to the news.

FACILITY VISTS 

I had the good fortune to be able to visit the BOI AFSS and GTF AFSS in the last few days of May (also hoping to utilize my last few FAMs). It is always rewarding to visit some of the smaller ANM facilities because they just seem to run themselves and we have people in those facilities that really want to be there. My great appreciation to both Greg Deveraux and Wes Donnelly for making the trips as informative and rewarding as they were. The main issues in both facilities are pay and staffing. We shared several honest but painful discussions about how the FAA is treating their employees and what we could do about it. That leads to the topic below.

CONGRESSIONAL ACTIVITY

I have been absolutely staggered by the outpouring from bargaining unit members and their support for the FSS option. As a Director, you never know when you undertake to try and move the organization in a way that seems best for everyone involved, how much success you can reasonably anticipate. I would never have envisioned the tremendous amount of support that I am seeing in some facilities. It is not necessarily that the support is not always there, - I believe it is often just tacitly implied. However, in this instance there is an overwhelming display of support and an almost "feeling of tenacity" extending from the way it is unfolding. I can hardly put into words how rewarding that is to a Union Director. Not that anyone, anywhere is volunteering their time or money because of anything the Director does, or doesn't do, but simply because there then exists a demonstrative display of support for the FSS option and it is not just the hollow words of some Director asserting to management that it really does. It is also an extremely "visible" admission that our management is either hamstrung, incapacitated or simply unconcerned to the point of, if as a bargaining unit member you still don't embrace it, only the Union is representing your interests to the FAA not their management. It may well be an opportune time to demonstrate (even if you don't want to join the Union for whatever reasons) your support through the only vehicle that exists for you within the federal government. Thanks for listening.

NAATS/FAA INFORMATION EXCHANGE

The Union and Management met several weeks ago to discuss the ways and whys of trying to improve the communications between the parties throughout the region. It was a very interesting and productive meeting that led to several improvements in the way we will do business in the future. For one, Bruce Johnson, Manger, Air Traffic Division and myself, will begin to hold biweekly telecons with both the FacReps and Mangers of all facilities within the region. The reasoning behind the need to do this is that there is a perception on the part of the NAATS regional team that we are continually banging our collective head against the wall while holding Quarterly meetings that produce next to nothing in the results world.

There are never any management issues on the agenda, there are rarely, if ever, any issues resolved at the meeting, and, the technique of "IOU" is the order of the day. For example, we have had TFR NOTAMs on our agenda, ad nauseum; only to have the eventual answer come down that there was nothing that could be done (see NAATS News, May). You all know where that issue is today on the desk of the Secretary of DOT. I am grateful to Bruce and his management team in the region for being willing to begin the process of open and meaningful discussion on our option's issues.

Bruce also committed to wanting to be inherently involved in our future Quarterly meetings and participating in a way that we have not enjoyed, from our Division Manager, in recent years. This is very important to us because, as a result of the GA Summit, a variety of our issues, from procedures to equipment are now receiving greater attention than in previous Air Traffic Managers national agenda's.

It is appropriate here to extend, on behalf of all of us in Northwest Mountain region, our heartfelt thanks to Jeff Griffith, ATP-1, and his staff, and Marilyn Jackson-Brahm, ATP-300, and her staff, for their continual support to make the FAA focus, more than ever before, on the extraordinary changes taking place within the FSS and their commitment to get it done correctly, the first time in order to best support our customer.

I would also like to mention the many contributions in ATP, over these last three years, by Donna Holmes, which in no small part has led to the successes of the Summit, as well as in many other areas where we have begun to make significant changes that all of us have been talking about for years. Donna will be leaving ATP this summer and we will miss her very much. From all of us in ANM thank you, so much, for your tireless and extraordinary support on our behalf.

OASIS HUMAN FACTORS TEAM 

There is so much to say about the many contributions of this committee that it is hard to know where to begin. Their issue within this region is a fairly narrow one in scope in that, for the most part, it only affects SEA AFSS. But that is just in this moment. What they are actually doing, will eventually, effect every facility within this nation. They have been empowered, from day one, by the NAATS BOD to direct the evolution of OASIS from the 500+ PTR program that Harris unveiled, to today where they have begun the effort to develop a new and less political and more meaningful deployment "waterfall". The reason I mention this in my regional newsletter is without their expertise, commitment and courage our option would never have gotten, as far as we have, as fast as we have in successfully pinning our hopes on OASIS to be the system of the future that saves us from the predictable fate of sticking with M1FC. Many thanks from your brothers and sisters in ANM to all the OHFT members.

DARRELL DOES IT AGAIN

No, this is a good thing. Mr. Mounts, from DEN AFSS made a proposal to the BOD in St. Louis that it was time to recognize the many contributions of the FacReps across the nation. He, therefore, made a proposal that beginning immediately; NAATS HQ will reimburse at all national conventions the FacReps lodging. This is intended to get as many of those FacReps as possible to the convention to offer this Union the greatest opportunity to be as successful as we can be in our decision-making efforts on behalf of the membership. The actual motion and vote is below.

MOTION: Mr. McLennan, "I move that NAATS adopt immediately, a new budget line item, of a policy to reimburse all elected Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) for their full room rate who attend the annual, national meeting. The motion concerns only those individuals who actually are the elected Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) and staying at the hotel NAATS contracted for, at the hotel contract rate. If, however, an elected Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) chooses to stay elsewhere, they will be reimbursed up to a maximum of one/half of whatever the NAATS hotel contracted rate is or their actual room rate, whichever is lower. In no event will there be a reimbursement for Facility Representatives, or Alternate Facility Representatives (subject to Regional Director approval) who are staying at the city location of the meeting but who are not attending the national meeting throughout the days they may voucher for. Second, Mr. Campbell. All BOD members voted in favor of the motion except one.

EDITORIAL

It is that time, in the three-year political cycle NAATS lives on, to very earnestly begin thinking about how you want to vote in our upcoming election. What is it that you have wanted to see accomplished and was it? What is it that you would like to see accomplished in the future and who is there best suited to do that? Will your concerns be embraced by whoever wins the election? Can your voice be heard and will your elected representative be responsive to your needs? Do you know how to contact your elected representative and can you expect to hear from them? Has that person been to your facility in an effort to be available to you? These are a few of the questions you should ask yourself before endorsing anyone to represent you.

Thanks again for listening, it has been my privilege to be your representative and I hope I have not let you down.

WESTERN-PACIFIC REGION

HAWTHORNE AFSS NEWS

Elinormarie L. Morrissy, HHR AFSS

HAPPY FIRST FATHER'S DAY

Congratulations to Tim Harvey, who became the proud father of a new baby boy, exactly one week before Father's Day. Jett Jourdyn Lee Harvey was born on Sunday evening and Tim called to share the good news that mother and baby were healthy and doing well. Tim will be taking a few days FFLA to help out at home and get acquainted with his son. We're waiting to see the proud papa back at work with a wallet full of baby pictures.

NEW AIR CONDITIONERS INSTALLED

We recently all new air conditioning units installed on the roof of our building. Hopefully, in light of all the fun we've had on the West Coast with rising electricity prices and the occasional rolling blackout (so far only one in my area), it will be nice have new, more efficient equipment at our disposal. The timing couldn't have been better, since we're coming up on summer. But the real challenge will be to see if this evens out the temperature difference between the Sup's end of the Ops floor, which is usually warm and stuffy, and the Broadcast end, which is usually drafty and cold.

OVERTIME, REVISITED

In last month's edition I apparently made and inaccurate statement regarding the procedure facility managers must follow to obtain authorization for overtime usage. Ever the fair-minded type, I intend to correct that error. As stated in a HHR memo from our Read binder, facility management submits their estimated overtime needs to Regional management on a weekly basis. They are then required to phone in on a daily basis and account for overtime used. This procedure is not as drastic as requiring managers to obtain daily overtime authorization, I must admit. But the question still bears asking: Is the character of the procedure I outlined so farfetched that it can never come to pass? 

Before leaving this subject, I must say that I found it interesting, perhaps even flattering, that a note from our ATM regarding my error was waiting in my mailbox when I arrived at work on my "Monday," facility copy of the May NAATS News in hand. It seems our Management team regularly looks in at the NAATS web page. I'm sure John Dibble will be gratified to know of the interest in his handiwork. Personally, I just think it's nice to see that they're paying attention.

KEEP THOSE LETTERS COMING

In closing, I want to remind everyone that NAATS still needs their support in its quest for pay comparability for Flight Service. Our lobbyist can only do so much on her own. If we are serious about wanting parity with our fellow 2152's in NATCA, we have to be willing to expend a bit of our own time and energy to help make it happen. Each letter received by a Representative or Senator is seen by their staff as representing many more votes than just that of the writer. So, for those of you who have written or e-mailed your Senators and Representatives, pat yourselves on the back for taking an active part in shaping your future. For those who haven't yet, what are you waiting for?

R - E - S - P - E - C - T

Rob Erlick, HHR AFSS
[email protected]

How many times have you heard one of your co-workers say, "That's only for the 'real' controllers," or, "NATCA got _______, but we'll never get it."? This type of thinking goes on all the time - and I'm sick of it. We are real controllers. We deserve respect, and I think we should start getting the respect we earn every day.

It's hard to contain my outrage at the way we've been treated recently, and I've been wanting to write this for a long time. I finally figured out a way to put my thoughts on paper and still remain civil. Okay, enough of my personal torment. I'm sure there are many of you who feel the same way, and hopefully, you're all union members.

Let's begin with an affront to our whole job. It is our job, as Flight Service Controllers to be, "responsible for the classification, accuracy, format, dissemination, and cancellation of NOTAM information." ¹ Here at Hawthorne AFSS (HHR), we received a fax from the Regional Office with a NOTAM to be issued. The format was incorrect and the wording did not fit in with good NOTAM criteria. Were we allowed to do our job and put it into a format consistent with correct NOTAM criteria? Nope! We were told to issue it word-for-word, because it was "negotiated upon by NATCA and the R.O." NAATS, the union representing the workforce that handles NOTAMs and is responsible for almost all aspects of NOTAMs wasn't involved in the negotiations - not even informed of the negotiation. NATCA has no idea about NOTAM criteria, and obviously, neither does the R.O. Of course, Management would stand by us and protect our job function. Not on your life. If the R.O. says to do it...  you do it. It doesn't matter if it's wrong!

The NOTAM was issued as follows:

!HHR 04/018 ZLA CA. RADAR SERVICES ARE LIMITED FROM SFC TO 14500 FT IN THE AREA FROM PSP TO 15S PKE TO EED TO 15S GFS TO PSP. ATC MAY NOT BE DEPICTING ALL THE TRAFFIC. VISUAL VIGILANCE IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

What's wrong with it? To start with, who do you issue it to? It's insulting to the VFR pilots. You're essentially telling them that they normally don't do what they are supposed to do. They are always to remain "visually vigilant." As for the IFR pilots, are you going to tell them that they must be visually vigilant while in instrument conditions? Let's not be stupid here, people. This NOTAM should never have been issued with this wording. We all know it (and so does Management).

We can't let the R.O. peck away at our job. We can't accept the fact that our own management will not stick up for our jobs when they know we are in the right. We can't let negotiations go on that should involve us (NAATS), but don't. This issue is a huge slap in the Flight Service face. Let's stand up and fight for the respect we rightfully deserve!

I plan to provide and advocate-type column each month with more in depth coverage of the other things we are all sick of: staffing, leave, overtime (or the lack thereof), and the general lack of respect we AFSS (and FSS in Alaska) controllers continue to receive. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. You can reach me via e-mail at the address at the beginning of this article. Thanks for listening. 

¹ FAAO 7930.2G, Section 3 lists the parties responsible for NOTAMs and the Regional Office is not listed at all.