Council #19 – Seattle
February Update
AFA Council #19 will be joining industry-wide work groups in calling for an end to using government workers, upon whom we and the traveling public depend for our safety, as pawns in political debates. We will be conducting leafleting during the week of February 11th – 15th at SeaTac.
If you can spare a bit of time next week, please contact Bev Bullock at blkbullock@gmail.com. We would prefer that you leaflet in uniform, if possible.
AFA-CWA is scheduling a webcast for members on Monday, February 11th at 5PM EST to explain the dangers of a continued government shutdown. Further information will be sent out soon!!
Why are we doing this?
The longest running government shutdown in history has ended, at least temporarily. Workers who were deemed ‘essential’ by their agencies were forced to come back to work without pay for 35 days. The end of that shutdown was only temporary, however. It is important to note that not all furloughed employees have been paid yet!
AFA has been crucial in calling for an end to this dangerous gambit. Industry leaders, including our Alaska Air Group management and leaders from other airlines have called for an end to the practice.
TSA agents were working without pay, and at one point, KCM in Seattle was closed. Air Traffic Control nation-wide is currently 30% below optimum staffing levels. Nationwide, 20% of the Controllers are approaching mandatory retirement age at 56. In New York, 40% are nearing retirement. It takes 3-5 years to fully train these workers, upon whom we rely for our safety.
Runway incursion mitigation studies and remediation have stopped, as has the Next Gen upgrading of our nationwide systems, which is designed to improve our safety. Restarting both of these essential programs is very time consuming. Some of the contractors involved have not yet been paid, and it is uncertain when and if they WILL be.
The FAA Reauthorization bill which contained our minimum irreducible 10-hour rest has not been implemented, and it is unclear when that will take place. In addition, operations into Paine Field have been delayed until March 4, 2019.
These are just a few of the impacts on our Safety. This simply cannot occur again.
Rescheduled Joint Local Council Meeting:
Due to the predicted snow storm that is supposed to begin this weekend, which is predicted to be worse than the one this week, we felt it was in our best interest to postpone the meeting.
We have rescheduled the meeting, to March 15th, from 11:30AM – 2:30PM. It will be in the Earhart Room on the LP (Lower Plaza) level, South Tower of the SeaTac Office Tower (the same building as 13 Coins. Free parking is available in front of the building, or we can validate your parking ticket if you park in the rear.
This will be a joint council meeting, with Compass and Horizon Airlines joining us. This is the annual pre-Board of Directors meeting. This year is a one-day meeting, and the agenda will consist solely of the AFA-CWA Annual Budget.
