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I started the month of June with an unexpected trip to Southern Utah to be with my mother who had to undergo a surgical procedure. The surgery was successful and she is at home resting and is healing fine. I appreciate all of the calls and emails wishing her well.

The second week in June I had the pleasure of taking an 1800 mile road trip through Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. I was invited to speak at a local meeting in Great Falls and rather than spending $1200.00 to fly round trip I decided I could drive for far less ($700.00 for rental car and gas) and visit a lot more facilities.

So Monday I hit the road and visited Twin Falls ID. I spent a few hours hanging out with the members there and answered any questions they had. It was a great visit. I then drove to Idaho Falls for the night.

Tuesday I visited Helena MT for a couple of hours. They were in the middle of a facility evaluation, so I did my best to keep the evaluator distracted and not paying attention to the operation. From Helena it was on to Great Falls for their local meeting. I stopped by the facility and visited with the folks who had the evening shift and would not be able to attend the meeting, and then we were off to the restaurant for the formal meeting. There were about 10 people there and we had dinner and chatted for almost 3 hours.

Wednesday morning I woke to 4 inches of fresh Montana snow and temperatures right around 34 degrees, two days earlier it was 85 degrees in Salt Lake City. I cleaned off the car and headed out for Billings. It was a long 4 hour drive with wind, rain and snow. I finally made it there and had a really good visit with the folks at the facility.

Thursday found me back on the road this time headed south to Casper Wyoming. I passed quite a few famous battle grounds including Little Big Horn, saw a few hundred head of Antelope and before I knew it I was in Casper. I found my way out to the airport, with a little help from the GPS, and had a very nice visit with the members there.

Friday it was on the road again headed back to Salt Lake City. This drive was a bout six hours and I spent most of it on the cell phone getting caught up on issues, after four days of very limited cell coverage, I had some serious catching up to do.

This was a great trip. In every facility I visited there were veteran controllers who were counting the days to retirement, and there were brand new faces eager to get involved and anxious for a return to labor peace and a fair collective bargaining agreement. Another thing I noticed in every facility I was in was the pride and the love for the job from the members. I want to thank all of the members of these facilities for taking the time to meet with me and for their hospitality. It was a pleasure meeting each and every one of you.

Legislative update

Nationally, Congress is looking to do a short term (FAA) extension. I don’t know yet if our language will be attached. There is a lot of maneuvering going on in the Senate and its anyone’s guess how it is going to turn out at this point. On a grassroots level our region is busy with fundraisers and current election campaigns. We have activists working key races throughout the region. If you would like more information on how to get involved, contact Brody McCray or your state Legislative representative. There will be a PAC drive coming to the Seattle area in the fall, details will be forthcoming.

Retirement Seminars

FERS & CSRS Retirement/Benefits Seminar
August 1, 2008 (Friday)
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Las Vegas Marriott Suites
325 Convention Center Drive
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

FERS & CSRS Retirement/Benefits Seminar
August 19, 2008 (Tuesday)
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Best Western Helena Great Northern Hotel
835 Great Northern Boulevard
Helena, Montana 59601
Hotel Reservations: 406-457-5500

Registration can be done online at natca.sharmansite.com. A link is on our home page with all the details.

ATC PUSH

New feature on the NATCA National web site with real time news, press releases, hearings, etc. This is another avenue for members to keep updated on our fight. www.natca.org

Legal Update

FLSA – Fair Labor Standards Act.

This suit was filed on May 1, 2007 and was filed by NATCA on behalf of the plaintiff (NATCA Members), at present time the suit has 7500+ plaintiffs. The suit is in regards to the carry over provisions of Title 5. There is no question of facts, only question of law. By law the plaintiff should win this case. General council is very optimistic about the outcome of this case, which could receive a decision any time as it has been fully briefed in May 08. If you would like to be included in this litigation please contact Ryan Smith at NATCA National.

IWR Lawsuit

NATCA is in its second challenge to the FAA IWR. The first suit was denied based on jurisdiction, but not on merits. The judge said the FLRA had to make a ruling on the case, and that it was not in the courts jurisdiction. The FLRA refused to consider the case and would not make a ruling, so in March of 2008 this went back into Federal Court based on the merits of the case. Twenty days after filing, in a rarely used legal motion, NATCA asked for summary judgment. The judge upheld NATCA’s request for summary judgment and denied the agency and the Department of Justice request for more time. This is unprecedented. The Judge is fast tracking this case and is expecting to make a ruling any time.