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THE DELEGATE THURSDAY • OCTOBER 2, 2014 3 SHULER PRAISES UNION, RELOADED INTERNATIONAL ATC UNIONS: IN THE WORKPLACE The combined effect of sequestration in the spring of 2013 and the government shutdown in October 2013 created a tremendously negative and uncertain situation for NATCA members, other FAA employees, and air travelers, who suffered through needless flight disruptions for one chaotic week in April 2013. Sequestration spurred NATCA to actively engage in an important discussion on the future of how to fund the National Airspace System and move away from the fiscal instability that has become the norm on Capitol Hill. That discussion continues today with a panel of air traffic control leaders from around the world. They will provide perspectives on the effect that different funding structures have had on their controllers and what NATCA members can learn from them. They will also discuss their day-to-day experiences in their respective workplaces. NATCA Executive Vice President Trish Gilbert will moderate this panel, which includes Canadian Air Traffic Control Association President Peter Duffey, Civil Air Australia President Daryl Hickey, International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations President Patrik Peters, and Paul Winstanley, the Chair of the United Kingdom's Air Traffic Control Branch of Prospect, the union representing U.K. controllers. NATCA's position on funding has been clear: NATCA does not support privatization of our nation's ATC system. But it does support active discussions regarding how to ensure the system's financial stability. The entire U.S. aviation community is now in agreement that something needs to change. The safety and efficiency of air traffic should not hang in the balance of budget squabbles on Capitol Hill. While there is no consensus on what the solution is, there is real urgency, and that is encouraging. At Communicating for Safety 2014, Winstanley and Hickey participated in a panel discussion that helped NATCA members to understand the relationships between labor and management in the U.K., Australia, and Canada – countries with distinctly different funding structures than that of the U.S. Today's discussion will delve a bit further and give delegates insight into their international colleagues' day-to-day working conditions. proposed Rules failed and the Rules as proposed were adopted. Rinaldi then moved forward with the first resolution, R14-01, Proposed Name Change for RNAV (Retired NATCA Active Volunteers). Elaine Poe, RNAV Chair, urged the delegation to oppose the resolution. She said RNAV was created aer the Area Navigation technology that shares the acronym and felt as though the proposed name was not strong enough for the committee. "I urge the supreme body to defeat it," she said. Aer voting, the resolution failed and the RNAV name remained. The second resolution, R14-02, Annual Membership Dues, was also previously moved and seconded by the NEB. Aer little discussion, Eastern Region ARVP and N90 FacRep Dean Iacopelli motioned to end debate on the resolution. Aer no objections were heard, a roll call began. Each delegate then cast the votes for their facility as apportioned: 14,283 total votes were cast, 13,321 affirmative, and 962 negative. It was a resounding 93% affirmative vote on adopting the National Executive Board's plan for stabilizing NATCA's dues structure. The remaining resolutions each passed with little to no debate. R14-11 Contracting Facilities was postponed until tomorrow aer the International Panel has made its presentation. Rinaldi moved on to the proposed Constitutional amendments, postponing several until aer discussions and a panel take place tomorrow. A14-09 sparked much discussion among the delegates. The amendment, which was proposed by the National Executive Board, proposed holding Convention every three years, rather than every two years as presently required. Beginning the discussion was Great Lakes Regional Vice President Bryan Zilonis. He said one of the reasons for supporting the amendment was to save money. "With a specific goal to save money, there is no way to really change the expense of the Convention." The only way to reduce expenses was to reduce the frequency of Conventions. John Paiva, a member from Brackett Field ATCT (POC) encouraged the delegation to oppose the amendment, citing the timeliness of the dues restructuring resolution. "The well-being of the Union has to come first, and part of that is coming together every two years," he said. "Every two years is needed for the strength of the Union." Los Angeles Center (ZLA) FacRep Nate Pair also urged the delegation to oppose the amendment, arguing that there was too large of an experience gap between new and experienced members to let three years pass between Conventions. "For half of the room, this was the first time they have been to Convention," he said. "In six or eight years down the line, we may be able to move to a three-year Convention when the membership has changed and the turnover has taken place." The delegation concluded that it was not in the best interest of NATCA to change the two-year Convention cycle and A14-09 failed. "When air traffic controllers were in the political crosshairs, you didn't hang your heads. You didn't buckle under sequestration, or give up over the reckless congressional budget brinkmanship. You acted. And you produced results. And you do that time and time again." "America needs stable funding for our aviation infrastructure. We need safe, efficient systems. We have to continue modernizing the air traffic system with new equipment and new procedures. But that can only be done with stable funding. It takes political leaders." "We know that a union contract is the best route to good jobs with decent pay, benefits, and security. The problem is only seven percent of millennials have a union on the job. That's a real disconnect. Young workers need unions. And unions need young workers at least as much. We know that if we don't engage, organize, and develop young workers, the future of our entire movement is at risk." DAY 1 continued from page 1

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