NATCA Bookshelf

National Office Week in Review: June 8, 2017

A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association

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NATCA NATIONAL OFFICE DEPARTMENTAL WEEK IN REVIEW May 20 - June 2 , 2017 LABOR RELATIONS DEPARTMENT AFN CLARIFICATION PETITION UPDATE On June 6, 2017, the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) held a pre - hearing conference with NATCA and the Agency rega rding two consolidated petitions (WA - RP - 17 - 0008 and WA - RP - 17 - 0040) to clarify certain positions within the FAA's Office of the Assistant Administrator for Finance and Management (AFN). The FLRA has s cheduled a hearing from June 13 - 15, 2017 to address th e p etitions. NATCA's petition asserts that certain positions should be included in the bargaining unit and the Agency's petition contends that certain other positions should be excluded from the bargaining unit. During the pre - hearing conference, the parties addressed logistics for the hearing, including the expected order of witnesses who will testify. NATCA continues to prepare witness testimony and documentary evidence for the hearing. POCs: Region X RVP Mike MacDonald, Region X ARVP Ed Szczuka, AIT Natio nal Representative Ken Slauson, Assistant Director of Labor Relations Nicole Vitale, and Labor Relations Attorney Grant Mulkey . FAA BRIEFING ON ATOP On April 20, 2017, the Agency notified NATCA that they wanted to provide an update on Advanced Technologie s and Oceanic Procedures (ATOP). Specifically, they wanted to brief us on enhancements to ATOP as part of Work Package 1 ( WP1) and Tech Refresh 2 (TR2). The brie fing was held on May 23, 2017. The briefing began with an overview of ATOP and specifically WP1 , which includes "six large scale system changes or enhancements to the existing ATOP system baseline." The Agency also discussed funding for WP1 and TR2. NATCA is concerned about the Auto Re - P robe discussed as part of WP1. It is a software algorithm that will run in the background and alert controllers when requested alt itudes are available to users. NATCA also has a concern about the Safety Panel scheduled for WP1. The briefing lasted approximately an hour and we did not have a chance to fully ra ise all our questions. As a result, we have sent a list of questions to the Agency and will proceed accordingly a fter receiving their responses. POCs: Safety and Technology Director Jim Ullmann, Julio Henriques, John Lenhart, Mark Crabtree, and Labor Relations At torney Suzanne DeFelice . FAA BRIEFING ON CONTROLLER TO CONTROLLER COORDINATION AND PROBED MENUS On April 27, 2017, NATCA requested an Article 7 briefing on the Controller to Controller Coordination (CTCC) and Probed Menus (PM). The briefing was held on Ma y 30, 2017. Controller to Controller Coordination and Probed Menus are two p otential capabilities for ERAM. The Agency has already had three meetings with Leidos and other stakeholders, and intends to have another meeting the we ek of July 12, 2017. A funct ional

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