Questions about becoming more involved in the local union.

[BigSkyLittlePlanes]

How much does being the local rep suck? Is that basically the only position that can get anything done (ie vice president is pointless/name only?)

I'm not a fan of how some things are at my facility but I've never really gotten involved with anything other than some union meetings. I figure I have to get involved in some way to get anything changed.

 

[J8ke]

I would say that typically, being a rep is a thankless job.
I've come across a lot of BUEs that have a warped concept of what the union / reps can actually do. So you'll likely never be able to please these kinds of people.

At a small facility, being a FACREP is very hard, especially if, like you, people aren't getting involved.
At a smaller facility if the FACREP can't delegate a responsibility to a willing representative, it becomes their responsibility.

That being said, it's great you're considering getting involved. The union gets stronger when members learn and participate. If you're hesitant about taking the plunge and running for FACREP, there are several other things you could volunteer for based on your interests.

For instance, you could volunteer to:
Write the schedule
Serve as your facility or area Training Representative
Serve on your Local Safety Council
Serve on your facility Traffic Count Validation team
Serve as your facility Professional Standards Representative

If you have an idea for a committee that doesn't exist at your local level or an idea on what to do with your NATCA funds, you can always make a proposal during your stated meetings.

 

[Billybob]

I've come across a lot of BUEs that have a warped concept of what the union / reps can actually do. So you'll likely never be able to please these kinds of people.

The first thing my NATCA reps did was take us to lunch under the guise of solidarity and welcoming and then made us sign an additional $5/pc away so we wouldn’t be outcasts. Our entire experience with natca has been word of mouth starting with “if you don’t join NATCA as a trainee you are f***ed”. It may be true but this was just a terrible introduction to the union. I was pretty anti-union to start and this didn’t help, NATCA needs to bring some education in to new hires. Just my two cents and experience and I’m not trying to pick a fight

 

[AB19]

The first thing my NATCA reps did was take us to lunch under the guise of solidarity and welcoming and then made us sign an additional $5/pc away so we wouldn’t be outcasts. Our entire experience with natca has been word of mouth starting with “if you don’t join NATCA as a trainee you are f***ed”. It may be true but this was just a terrible introduction to the union. I was pretty anti-union to start and this didn’t help, NATCA needs to bring some education in to new hires. Just my two cents and experience and I’m not trying to pick a fight

You didn’t go to Twin peaks and meet the facilities creepy uncle? Your loss

 

[GulfCharlie]

You didn’t go to Twin peaks and meet the facilities creepy uncle? Your loss

Or get kissed on the lips by a retired Italian? Weak.

 

[Robert_Boucher]

If you are interested in helping getting things done at your local, I would say start out on your local safety council or as the training rep. If you are at a smaller facility you could even start out as the VP. I wouldn't start out as the FACREP simply because it's a lot that you will have to do and often not many people will want to help. And depending on your region some of the RVPs aren't very helpful to new FACREPs. IMO if you want to be a good rep you will be available to your member whenever they need you, unless you're on leave. I've seen reps that have straight up told people don't contact me on my weekend or past 6pm, to me that's trash.

 

[GulfBravoPapa]

Go on the Natca website and sign up for Natca 101 or another Natca Academy course to learn more about what is available

 

[J8ke]

The first thing my NATCA reps did was take us to lunch under the guise of solidarity and welcoming and then made us sign an additional $5/pc away so we wouldn’t be outcasts. Our entire experience with natca has been word of mouth starting with “if you don’t join NATCA as a trainee you are f***ed”. It may be true but this was just a terrible introduction to the union. I was pretty anti-union to start and this didn’t help, NATCA needs to bring some education in to new hires. Just my two cents and experience and I’m not trying to pick a fight

I think my background helped my involvement in the union. I was in a youth fraternity where membership held regular stated meetings, followed Robert's Rules of Order, established committees, and really empowered membership to make their own decisions. I've also worked countless jobs before getting hired by the FAA. My two jobs prior to the FAA were unionized and were a lot better than the non-organized jobs I'd had in the past. So before being hired by the FAA, I had experience with being an active member in an organization which I could help shape, prior union involvement, and a comparison of how much better (at least in my situation) unionized jobs were than non-organized jobs.

So I agree, that sounds like an awful introduction to the union and the union could do much better at educating and encouraging members to get involved. I don't think we should rely on members being self-starters because that's not a sustainable way of generating involvement.