NATCA Bookshelf

THE DELEGATE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2016 5 Rinaldi, continued from page 1 Using videos and photos, along with a review of major issues of the times, Rinaldi provided history and perspective in discussing previous conventions, particularly for the benefit of younger members – and the 60 percent of delegates attending Convention for the first time – who will take the Union forward. Of notable importance was the rise of the Union to its current state after the return of fair collective bargaining, and collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration replacing the imposed work rules of a decade ago. He asked the convention body, "So why did I just spend the time going over our past? Because this week, you are going to make the determination if this Union has reached the finish line, or if we are going to position ourselves for greatness. We have learned to fly together and have soared to remarkable heights over the last 29 years, especially over the last seven years!" However, Rinaldi cautioned, for the first time in his 26 years in the Union, the proposal book is "full of amendments that will weaken our Union and some that are downright dangerous." He cited amendments that would "limit our elected officials' ability to lead and limit our Union's ability to have a say on legislation." Of particular alarm, he said, are amendments that would undo the work of the 15th Biennial Convention body. The work of that body ensured NATCA could be engaged in discussions to shape its future, specifically regarding any proposed model of air traffic control reform. "The amendments will not give us the flexibility to protect ourselves; they truly weaken our ability to do so," he said. "We will be in 100 percent fight mode if these pass. We can fight and we can fight well. But if your position is all or nothing, more often than not, you get nothing. Our current system is unsustainable as it stands today." Rinaldi asked delegates to make their decisions and cast their votes based on facts, logic, and reason, and what is best for the organization and their professions. "Regardless of your decisions this week, we will leave San Diego just as we have left every other convention: as one united force to protect the best workforce in the world," he said. "I thank you for your unity and your solidarity and I thank God we have NATCA." ✪ WYTKIND: "Don't Ever Apologize" for Raising Standards for Members Promoting Thursday's 16th Biennial Convention focus on community service," Transportation Trades Department (TTD), AFL-CIO President Ed Wytkind congratulated NATCA on the success of the NATCA Charitable Foundation. He noted the disturbing habit of those who levy nasty attacks on working people but then rely on those same people to help those in need or who have suffered in a natural disaster. Helping people, he said, "has been what the labor movement is about for a long time." "I find the discourse of our politics to be disgusting and it's often hurled at the people in public service," he added. "They don't call first responders public servants. They call them faceless bureaucrats. Somehow the wages are too high and pensions too lucrative and job protections too strong." Wytkind praised NATCA members' commitment to safely guiding 70,000 flights each day, connecting families and businesses of the nation. With the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaching, he also praised NATCA members' work that day while condemning those who demean federal employees. "When NATCA members were not sitting around as an overpaid bureaucrat, they landed every flight safely without a single incident," he said. Wytkind detailed the current political environment in Washington, D.C., which he said is marked by continued animosity toward labor. His message to legislators is simple, he said: "If you want to help us, stop trying to destroy the bargaining rights of our members." He added, "Public promises and fairy dust aren't getting us to solutions we need for transportation." Wytkind said, "Nobody in this hall and nobody across America who is a member of this Union should ever let the people who seek the support of Americans for office question your commitment to duty, question your commitment to service, or make you apologize for the standards that you fight like hell to protect." ✪

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