NATCA note: Here is National Office guidance on the Fed View Survey;
On April 30, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) opened the 2018 Federal
Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). NATCA supports this survey as an
opportunity for NATCA members to express their opinions about whether, and to
what extent, the Agency is successful. Your opinion is important. As we continue
building and growing our collaborative relationship with the FAA, it's valuable for
our members to let their voices be heard with their survey responses.
Every year, OPM extends invitations to a random sampling of all Federal
employees to participate. Last year, approximately 3,000 NATCA bargaining unit
employees received an invitation to participate. If you are invited to take the
survey, NATCA recommends that you consider participating, but decline to
answer the questions under the 'Demographic' section.
The survey is voluntary and confidential. Employees will be afforded duty time to
complete the survey.
June 8, 2018: Broad Roles for the ATO in Community Drone Projects
Hi everyone,
Keeping air traffic safe and efficient is our primary mission – but we have to be careful
not to confuse that mandate with maintaining the status quo. Innovation is a key
strategic priority for our agency and for the ATO, and I'm asking you all to adapt to our
dynamic environment and be ready.
One of the ways the ATO is immersed in innovative activities is through the role we are
playing in the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Integration Pilot Program (IPP), the
administration's opportunity for state, local and tribal governments to partner with private
sector entities to ensure safe UAS integration in our airspace.
Recently announced participants successfully proposed projects that include extending
UAS operations beyond visual line of sight over people and at night, using drones to
inspect aircraft and airport perimeter security as well as international borders, and
relying on UAS to deliver life-saving medical equipment, packages and mosquito control
services. The 10 selected proposals are exciting, and it's our job to help them get to a
place where these activities can be safely permitted. We may do that initially with
waivers and exemptions, with longer term changes in regulations and aircraft
certification coming after.
The ATO is committing resources in part because we know that working with
communities on the front end will ensure success and make the operational transition
much smoother.
Some of our functions include acting as subject matter experts, approving airspace
access, analyzing the impact on FAA infrastructure, identifying spectrum allocation and
coordinating with security and intergovernmental agencies. The ATO is working closely
with our colleagues in safety, airports, NextGen and other FAA organizations.
