Oklahoma City FAA Training Academy

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Upcoming Meet and Greet Schedule:
Thursday, May 15, 2008

NATCA Reloaded
Protecting the Future of our Union
For more information on this new project, contact the team member in your region
NATCA Reloaded Flyer 

Information on the FAA Imposed Pay Bands
Click here for more information

Attention Oklahoma City FAA Training Academy Students...
Interested in joining NATCA as an Associate Member? 
Complete the following NEW form to become a NATCA Associate Member.
  NATCA Associate Member Application 

Send Completed Forms to:
NATCA
Membership Department
1325 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC 20005

or Fax: 202-628-9558

Dear Future Air Traffic Controller:

We would like to invite you to join NATCA as an Associate Member, complimentary, effective immediately; until 30 days after you graduate from the CTI program or ATC Academy. 

NATCA is the only organization in existence with the sole purpose of representing NATCA Members interests, including current and prospective air traffic controllers. NATCA endeavors to be the voice of aviation safety in the USA, if not around the globe. NATCA Members embrace this responsibility and use every tool at our collective disposal to defend our profession and forward our united professional interests.

NATCA recognizes future air traffic controllers constitute the future of our profession and our Union. When faced with a demand from our employer to accept contract terms which sold out the future of ATC and NATCA each one of you we refused. As a result, every NATCA Member working since September 3, 2006 is working under horrific working conditions as punishment; solely because they refused to agree to FAAs offer to remove all the offensive contractual language if current controllers agreed to FAAs B-Scale pay proposal for future air traffic controllers.

The word Union represents the Body of our Membership as a whole; a Union is not built on any single Union official or Executive Board. Consequently, any Union, NATCA included, is only as strong as its Membership.

While NATCA is precluded by law from representing you directly during initial ATC training at the FAA Academy or while attaining your degree, we do need your support. NATCA Members will right this wrong, and joining NATCA as an Associate Membership affords you information and a chance to help make an impact on the worlds best profession; even before you reach your first ATC facility.

NATCA Associate Membership, complimentary for as long as you are in a CTI Program or initial ATC training at the Oklahoma City Academy, is normally $50 per year. Besides being entitled to all regular benefits associated with NATCA Associate Membership, NATCA established a CTI/OKC Student electronic bulletin board system for students to exchange information and to gain access to some of NATCAs national officers.

The enclosed informational package highlights Member benefits and services, though many of these benefits are only available once you become a full, voting NATCA Member. We also included a recent issue of NATCAs monthly newsletter, which you will also receive as a consequence of your complimentary NATCA Associate Membership.

We welcome you to NATCA.

In solidarity,

Patrick Forrey
NATCA President

Paul Rinaldi
NATCA Executive Vice President

Recent Arbitration News:
The following is a summary of two recent arbitration cases:

Agency's Five-Day Suspension Overturned By Arbitrator

In a stinging admonishment to the FAA, an Arbitrator completely overturned a five-day suspension against an Air Traffic Controller. The Agency issued a five-day suspension to the controller for allegedly being careless and negligent when he unplugged from his console and left his OJT duties. Evidence at the hearing revealed that while the employee did in fact unplug and leave his console, he did so in order to get a supervisor to assist another controller who was experiencing difficulties and needed assistance. At the time of the incident there were no supervisors on the floor and they had failed to leave a controller in charge.

Under those circumstances, the Arbitrator determined that the employee did what was required. The Arbitrator chastised the FAA for not having a supervisor on the floor as required and specifically rejected the Agency's change of policy after the fact as a basis to discipline the employee. The Agency also tried to argue that the discipline was given for use of inappropriate language. However, this was rejected as well, given that the employee was not charged with that offense and was never given an opportunity to reply to that claim. Finally, the Arbitrator noted that even if some penalty was proper, the FAA did a woeful effort in its consideration of the Douglas factors.

Based on the above, the five-day suspension was overturned in its entirety. 

Chris Boughn represented NATCA in this matter.

Arbitrator Overturns Training Failure Removal

NATCA has once again been able to overturn the removal of a trainee who was having difficulty in training. The FAA discontinued training and removed the employee due to their view that the employee had an ample opportunity to succeed and did not. NATCA successfully argued that the Agency had failed to provide the trainee with a fair opportunity to succeed. In particular, the union argued that the grievant was not given sufficient hours of training, that the employee had 14 different trainers in the seven week period leading up to the termination of training, and that instead of removal, the grievant should have been given an opportunity to transfer to a lower rated facility. The Arbitrator agreed with NATCA on all of those arguments. In addition, the Arbitrator noted that on numerous occasions in the time period leading up the to the termination of training, the grievant received positive feedback on her performance. This led the Arbitrator to conclude that the grievant was not necessarily performing as poorly as the Agency claimed and was not properly put on notice that her training might be terminated.

Based on the above factors, the Arbitrator concluded that the employee was not given a fair and reasonable opportunity to certify. The Arbitrator ordered reinstatement with four months back pay.

Gretchen McMullen was the NATCA representative.