A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Issue link: http://natca.uberflip.com/i/610992
and department. NATCA will continue to work with members of Congress and s taff on the issue of sequestration. We continue to remind them of the e ffect sequestration had on the aviation system and our members in 2013. COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT Here are the top 10 things to know from the Communications Department this week: 1. NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON : We are nearly finished with our work to redesign, improve, and streamline the natca.org website, which will include a redesigned section for members only. We've got a few technical matters to wrap up but expect to roll it out befo re the holidays. The new site will be much more mobile - device friendly than the current site and we're anxious to have you try it out on your smartphones and/or tablets. To access the members only portion, you will need the username and password that you c urrently use to access the NATCA Portal. If you don't know or remember those credentials, you can get those now here . 2. MEDIA COVERAGE - UNDERSTAFFING IN MIAMI: Southern Regional Vice President Jim Marinitti did a very good interview with CBS Miami that resulted in a story highlighting the severe understaffing in Miami, particularly at MIA Tower and TRACON. From the story: Staffing shortages among certified air traffic controllers has reached a crisis level in thi s country, according to their union. "The controllers in the chairs are tired, the controllers in the chairs are saying where are the rest of the bodies, where are the people the FAA has said we should have," said Jim Marinitti, regional vice president for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. "We need more eyes on the skies, not less." Across the country hundreds of positions for certified air traffic controllers are vacant. The salary for an air traffic controller can range from $40,000 to $16 0,000 a year and they have a mandatory retirement age of 56. "The number of certified controllers in this country are at a 27 - year low," Marinitti said. "We don't have the people to put into positions when the traffic begins to increase." Inside the tower at Miami International Airport, they are supposed to have 91 controllers available to work. Instead they have just 58. Read full story. 3. GOOD MED IA STORY IN CHICAGO – THE RECOVERY OF ZAU AIRSPACE AFTER 2014 FIRE: We worked with Chicago Daily Herald Transportation Writer Marni Pyke, to secure what turned out to be a nice story, published on Nov. 30, about how controllers got the system b ack up and ru nning after the Chicago Center arson fire last yera This was a carry - over from our outreach to Chicago media on the first anniversary of the incident back in September ; Pyke has written extensively about ATC for many years. From her story: Recently, (ZAU FacRep Toby) Hauck accepted an award in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the facilities that assisted in the recovery. A tearful woman thanked him for the efforts that enabled her to fly to California for her grandfather's funeral. " It took me aback, " he sai d. " We didn ' t really comprehend what we ' d accomplished until after it was over, " (Chicago TRACON FacRep James) Hall said. Read full story.