NATCA Members Information
May 14, 2025 Update
Denver Center,
It's hard to believe it's almost summer. With that comes summer vacations, thunderstorms, and low staffing. I know most of you have noticed shifts not staffed to guidelines. This is an unfortunate consequence to the Agency's lack of foresight. If there are any overtime shifts you are willing to work on your blackout weekend, reach out to your scheduler. The agency cannot solicit on your blackout week (if you selected limited), but you are welcome to volunteer or work for someone else. Don't forget about Article 38, Section 4 of the CBA. As always, if you feel the Agency is not following the CBA, let your Area Rep know.
An employee shall be relieved of an overtime assignment when, in the judgement of the Agency:
a. the health or efficiency of the employee may be impaired; or
b. personal circumstances make it impossible for the employee to perform the overtime duty.
As a reminder, if you feel the Agency or anyone else has put you in an unsafe situation (operationally), utilize ATSAP. The "staffing for safety" initiative is a nationwide occurrence. If there is ever a time as CIC you are told for no reason (or an asinine reason) to open sectors without explanation, please mark the date/time and a brief description so we can bring specific instances to the attention of Adrian or John.
The new CRWG (collaborative resource workgroup) staffing target MOU is complete! These staffing targets will form the basis of the FAA ATC hiring goals and will be used for Academy Graduate and new hire placements, the NCEPT process, and the NEST. The Priority Placement Tool (PPT) will be updated to reflect the new staffing targets. In order to ensure that everyone receives the same information, NATCA and the Agency are hosting joint briefings. Once the last briefing is concluded this afternoon, the MOU will be posted. ZDV's new staffing number will be utilized for the May NCEPT panel. This should continue to increase our volume of trainees from the Acadamy, as well as hopefully allow for CPC transfers. Any questions, please let a member of the E-Board know so we can get them answered accurately.
Just a reminder: The in-person NATCA retirement seminars are July 29 and July 30 in Denver. There are multiple other seminars across the country, as well as on-line options offered every month. To register, click the button below.
NATCA had a great convention in San Francisco this past weekend going through a LOT of proposed amendments and resolutions. I will not go through every vote, but if there is something specific you have a question on, please ask any of the delegates that attended. Look for the new constitution at NATCA.org.
There were no dramatic changes to the structure of NATCA. There were no changes to dues or rebates, with the exception of adding up to a $500 reimbursement to SRF-12 facilities for NATCA in Washington. We did add the Air Traffic Training Committee to the national standing committees. A preferential voting system was referred to the election committee to determine how viable this would be for future national elections.
There were 3 similar resolutions that all passed regarding traffic complexity, multipliers, and ABACUS. There was a powerful voice from all over the country to move forward and utilize all avenues to accurately evaluate and compensate air traffic facilities for the work they do.
The most debated amendment involved seniority and passed via roll call vote. "Beginning October 1, 2025, any bargaining unit employee who is actively engaged in the separation and control of air traffic working under an exemption as prescribed by the Secretary in 5 USC 8335(a) or 5 USC 8425(a) will have their seniority reset to zero."
Convention Highlights
Letters To Congress
We are starting the next phase of our Union’s outreach to Congress, continuing to educate them on the negative impact threats to retirement benefits on our workforce. We urge all NATCA members, along with their family and friends, to handwrite letters to their members of Congress, sharing personal stories on how cuts to the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) will affect them.
Below are templates and formatting instructions for the handwritten letters. The key focus should be on how current threats personally impact you. This should take 20-30 minutes (depending on how skilled your handwriting is). This is not asking a lot considering the potential consequences. If you choose not to do this, I feel you lose the ability to be upset should any of these detrimental policies do go into place.
DO NOT DO THIS ON DUTY TIME OR ON FEDERAL PROPERTY!
Guidelines for the Letter
Where/When: Do NOT write your letter at work, during duty time, or using any government resources (e.g., paper, pens). You MAY collect the letters in your facility.
Length: Keep your letter to one page—short, simple, and heartfelt.
Tone: Be respectful. It’s okay to express concern or urgency but avoid inappropriate language.
Address: The Letter MUST include your full home address at the bottom so the Congressional office can identify you as a constituent and respond.
Format: Use plain lined or blank paper—avoid letterhead or official materials.
Delivery: Mail your completed letters to the NATCA National Office to arrive no later than Monday, May 12, to ensure timely delivery:
NATCA
ATTN: NLC - Handwritten Letters
1325 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20005
Envelope: Do not place letters in individual envelopes.
Quantity: Write three letters—one each to your two Senators and one to your Representative in the House.
Authenticity: Letters must be handwritten. Do NOT photocopy or sign duplicates—even if the content is similar.
Appropriateness: Letters will be reviewed; inappropriate ones will not be delivered.
Be sincere, stay factual, and speak from the heart—your story is powerful.
April 23, 2025 Update
Denver Center,
Be on the lookout for a new memo regarding the Super A380. They are slotted to begin services into DEN April 30, 2025. They will mostly impact the northeast arrival gate, but we all know summer shut-offs/gate swaps will potentially impact all arrival gates. There will be increased MIT requirements to allow DEN to comply with their increased separation standards.
As the summer schedules are rolling out everyone will see the impacts of our all time low staffing and the new fatigue rules. Please help us stay on top of times where staffing triggers would be appropriate. Our continued focus is safety in the operation. When aware of unsafe things happening utilize the ATSAP program and keep us informed so we can stay on top of it. We have a lot of training going on and we have been seeing several position certifications every week. I was invited to attend a SLM (Senior Leadership Meeting) meeting in Downtown Denver the last couple days and witness first hand the commitment that NATCA and the Agency has to work together with a focus on Safety and Training. There will be numerous visitors to our facility Thursday and Friday this week, including the Vice President of Air Traffic and other high-level managers. Please keep it professional in the operation- as you all typically do. Utilize your situational awareness appropriately.
f you have not participated in the efforts to Congress regarding our benefits, please make sure you do so. While the budget resolution is not law, it provides a blueprint on how Congress should address key subjects. FEHB, FERS, and supplemental annuities could all be targeted cuts. Our elected officials need to know how these proposed cuts will impact Air Traffic. Please fill out the form below and share with your friends and family. It should take less than 5 minutes (Do not complete on government property or duty time).