NATCA Bookshelf

Q & A Q A Q A Q A Is sequestration still a problem for NATCA? What is the status of sequestration? How did furloughs resulting from sequestration affect the FAA? How does sequestration affect the FAA? SEQUESTRATION • Sequestration has resulted in furloughs for the workforce and the potential for closures or reductions in service hours at many facilities. • Sequestration forced the FAA to institute a hiring freeze and close the FAA Academy for most of 2013, meaning it was unable to hire new air traffic controller trainees. This hiring freeze worsened an already critical air traffic controller staffing situation, which is at a 27-year low for Certfied Professional Controllers. • Sequestration also causes preventative maintenance delays, meaning that engineers and technicians must contend with a fix-on-fail policy that forces them to wait until equipment breaks before replacing it. This results in down time for systems and could negatively affect the efficiency of the system. • Sequestration forced the FAA to furlough employees (including air traffic controllers) for one week in April 2013. Congress quickly intervened by passing the NATCA-initiated bill, The Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013. • Provide staffer fact sheet highlighting April 2013 delays. Sequestration is a major concern for NATCA. The effects of sequestration are still being felt and we expect sequestration- related cuts to return. No. I am on annual leave/regular day off. Q A How are you in D.C. today? Are you using duty or official time? OFFICIAL TIME M E E T I N G T I P S Remember that just because your issue is the most important thing on your agenda, it most likely isn't on theirs. Be persistent in your follow-ups, but don't forget to recognize a staffer's typically overwhelming workload and time constraints. via cq roll call 35

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