2018 NACTA Convention *Live*

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The 2018 NATCA Convention Live...

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We the People will join together in Philadelphia, our nation’s birthplace, labor’s heartbeat, the city of brotherly love, home of the 2018 Super Bowl Champions, the newly-crowned 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions, the famous Philly Cheesesteak, Rocky, Benjamin Franklin, and NATCA’s 17th Biennial Convention.

Our founding fathers first envisioned what this nation could be here in Philadelphia, and the city is where they created and signed the documents that would determine how the United States is governed. Our country was formed in this city on the then-radical principles of democracy and freedom. The founding fathers were visionaries for their time, and they understood that society would progress and that changes would be necessary. Because of their foresight, the United States Constitution is a living document that has undergone many changes and amendments since it was ratified in 1788, allowing for continued societal progress.

In the same way, the NATCA Constitution is a living document. Every two years, we come together to discuss issues vital to our Union and make any changes the convention body deems necessary to ensure a strong future for our workforce and the National Airspace System. That is our task this week as we continue to strive for greatness.

Each day, we will highlight a portion of the preamble of the U.S. Constitution. Day one focuses on “We the People.” As delegates, you are the voice of the NATCA membership, and it is your responsibility to represent your membership to the convention body. The work that you do here this week is essential to ensuring that this Union is of the people, by the people, and for the people that it represents.

NATCA’s primary purpose is to protect and “Promote the General Welfare” of our members. On day two, we will discuss many of the ways in which NATCA promotes your welfare through legislative work, staffing programs, professionalism, labor relations, safety and technology initiatives, collaboration, and more. We have dozens of classes and breakouts scheduled throughout the week that will highlight these topics and others and help you gain a more comprehensive understanding of the ways NATCA supports you and the membership, as well as provide strategies to tackle some of the day-to-day issues that you face.

Finally, day three really sums up what Convention is all about, “To Form a More Perfect Union.” For the last three decades, NATCA members have constantly worked to make NATCA a more perfect Union. Our work in Philadelphia this week and throughout the year should always be with that goal in mind. It takes every one of us contributing our ideas, hard work, time, and enthusiasm to push our Union forward.

After convention business hours this week, we hope you’ll join us at the evening events that will allow us to grow and strengthen the bonds of the NATCA family. The opening reception will take place at the National Constitution Center, where you can learn about the history of the United States’ Constitution and participate in a scavenger hunt hosted by the Legislative Committee on the Convention App. On Wednesday, the NATCA Charitable Foundation will host a solidarity night at the Eastern State Penitentiary benefiting several local charities. You will all have a chance to spend time with your regions on Thursday night, and on Friday, we will host a truly special closing banquet at the historic Reading Terminal Market.

Philadelphia is a city of strong unions and rich labor history. Unions have risen and fought here on the principles of fair wages, safe working conditions for every worker, and the fundamental right to bargain with a collective voice. As we discuss the issues facing NATCA today and learn from one another, we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us in the fight for equality, progress, and workers’ rights. This week will be a time to reflect on the great strides we have made as a country, but also as a Union, and the possibilities of where we can go from here.

Thank you for joining us in the nation’s birthplace this week to represent your facilities’ membership, and to strengthen this great Union.
 
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Panel Preview: NATCA Initiatives

NATCA members always have been and continue to be brothers and sisters in the fight for progress for all working people, and for fair and safe working conditions. Together, we are stronger. Together, our collective voice is louder. We share in the progress they helped secure and continue to fight for their legacy.

On Thursday afternoon, NATCA Executive Vice President Trish Gilbert will lead a panel of key NATCA leaders working on a cross-section of our most important initiatives. Panelists will discuss how these initiatives work system-wide to push our membership to new heights and to promote the welfare of our members which, in turn, benefits the National Airspace System (NAS) as a whole.

Panelists will discuss how NATCA leverages the collective voice of our members to negotiate and collaborate on programs that are crucial to operating the NAS safely and efficiently, protecting NATCA members, and making real progress in various arenas.

Topics will include labor relations, modernization and infrastructure, training programs, Professional Standards, hiring and staffing, safety reporting, and legislative issues. Panelists will take a high-level view of how initiatives in these different areas are implemented and how they affect the system and our members.

Panelists:
Tom Adcock, National Training Lead
Eugene Freedman, Special Counsel to the President
Steve Hansen, Safety Committee Chairman
Dean Iacopelli, Eastern Regional Vice President
Garth Koleszar, National Professional Standards Representative
Andrew LeBovidge, Southwest Regional Vice President
Jim Ullmann, Director of Safety and Technology
 
Panel Preview: Getting Involved, Staying Involved. Increasing Passion and Activism Within NATCA
Friday is the third and final day of the 17th Biennial Convention and is devoted to the theme “to form a more perfect union.” The constitution drafted by our nation’s founding fathers in Philadelphia established expectations around human rights and made it possible for our nation to continue to advance as the understanding of these rights evolved over time. Within NATCA, our members have also always worked to improve the Union and never declared their work complete. The effort to continually improve our Union continues here in Philadelphia.

Noted NATCAvists Dawn Johnson and Richard Kennington will lead a panel on Friday and explore the various paths NATCA members have taken to improve the Union, and how they found their passion within the Union.

Johnson was hired by the Federal Aviation Administration through the Collegiate Training Initiative in 2005, when she began her career as an air traffic controller at Atlanta Center. Johnson is currently the NATCA Eastern Service Area Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP) analyst, a position she has held since 2014. Johnson is also the Chair of the National Reloaded Committee.

In Johnson’s role as a NATCAvist, she has worked on various projects and has held numerous representational positions including facility and regional NATCA Reloaded Rep, Facility Training Rep, Training Review Board Rep, and has served on the IFATCA (International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations) and NATCA Communicating For Safety conference planning committees.

Richard Kennington began his NATCA activism by taking over the duties of restocking the candy and soda machines at Portland ATCT (PDX). After a few years of serving the local on small ad hoc projects, he became the local Vice President and later the FacRep. Currently, he represents the Northwest Mountain Region on the National Legislative Committee. He also conducts monthly pilot outreach seminars around Oregon and southern Washington, showing general aviation pilots how they can better operate in the National Airspace System.

These moderators’ diverse experiences clearly demonstrate that there is no one right way to be involved with NATCA. Johnson and Kennington will lead an eclectic group of panelists in discussion that will explore their successes and acknowledge the challenges associated with being involved in different ways within NATCA. The panel will cover topics like the difficulty of managing personal and family commitments alongside NATCA efforts.

Panelists:
Nick Daniels, FacRep, Fort Worth Center, NATCA Academy and Training
Sam Navarro, FacRep, Seattle ATCT, NATCA Reloaded
John Bratcher, Chair, NATCA Benefits Committee, NATCA Organizing Committee, FacRep, Fort Smith ATCT
Della Swartz, Region X Professional Standards Program National Workgroup
Trisha Pesiri-Dybvik, Western Pacific Region Chair, National Legislative Committee
Bob Obma, Indianapolis Center, NATCA Outreach
 
Anyone have a link for today's business? I want to pass these along to my membership. The one posted earlier was blocked because of copyright violation.
 
Today’s video or things that were talked and discussed? Today’s video is right above your post brother.
 
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