PASS Brothers and Sisters:
We have been on a number of calls today with the FAA, for both ATO and AVS employees, gathering more information and sharing your concerns. All members of the PASS executive board and the union’s legal team have been on the calls and I wanted to share the information we received.
We began the day with what will be regular calls with AVS leadership. Along with Region IV Vice President Mike Gonzales, we were joined by Ali Bahrami, Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety and Rick Domingo, Executive Director of the Flight Standards Service. In addition to these new calls with AVS leadership, we will continue our weekly AVS/Flight Standards meetings.
Telework: In a positive development, it appears that telework is being maxed out for AVS employees and it seems to be going smoothly as neither PASS nor the FAA are hearing that this is causing problems. At the outset of the crisis, all lines of business conducted an evaluation of essential work activities over the proceeding 60 to 90 days to determine what work activities could be delayed or postponed. This evaluation, along with the significant decrease in air traffic, has reduced work demands and activities.
Employee Risk: On the whole, AVS has been receptive to concerns from aviation safety inspectors (ASIs) about en routing and performing other surveillance duties. The employees are able to evaluate their own comfort level when asked to perform certain work tasks that might expose them to COVID-19, particularly ASIs who are in the demographics considered most vulnerable according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you are uncomfortable or have concerns about performing a work task you should consult with your local management.
Protective Equipment and Workplace Cleanliness: As with ATO, there remain shortages of personal protective equipment and disinfectant in facilities. AVS has promised to get back to PASS on the status of distribution, what cleaning supplies are being provided and how facilities are being cleaned.
Overall, both sides were pleased with the level of cooperation and the demonstrated concern for the well-being of employees.
Here are the salient points discussed on the ATO call, which will occur daily until the crisis is over:
Facilities: A final report has been prepared on the deep cleaning that has taken place at the Midway ATCT and PASS will have the opportunity to review the report before it is released and prior to the tower reopening.
Telework: Tech Ops is at critical mass with telework and overall, feedback has been positive. There is still some confusion, but mostly ‘one-offs’ with miscommunication; the parties are committed to working through these issues. Much of this stems from the novelty of certain employees in Tech Ops teleworking and adjusting to the concept of doing things in a different way. There are local questions about what is considered mission critical and the regional vice presidents are working closely with the service area directors to get clarification. We all agreed that the agency needs to remain flexible with telework requirements and managers must emphasize to employees that they should use this new situation to take eLMS courses, clean up their logs and other work that can be done online and remotely. Balancing work demands with this new reality is a challenge and the parties are committed to making this successful. Your communication with your supervisor is critical.
Maintenance Moratorium: There is still confusion over the maintenance moratorium issued last week. The goal of the moratorium is to limit exposure, but there is still work on the NAS that has to be done. Vice President for Technical Operations Jeff Planty expressed some frustration that this is being misinterpreted and causing confusion and a misperception among some in the Air Traffic Organization that Tech Ops is not available to perform certain work tasks. We agreed that this is a team effort to educate all parties as to what work is being done.
PASS expressed concern that normal protocols are not being followed and that stronger and more transparent conversation with Air Traffic must happen to avoid future missteps.
We did raise the ongoing issues with no restrooms at remote reporting locations and some teleworking techs still needed computers. These issues are being addressed.
Protective Equipment and Workplace Cleanliness: The agency reported that service area cleaning contracts are being adjusted to increase facility cleaning between shifts and the national contract for medical standard cleaning after exposure in a facility is in the process of being completed. We expressed the concerns that you have raised about feeling unsafe going in facilities believing that the agency cannot guarantee your safety. This concern was taken seriously.
The parties discussed the necessity and use of N-95 masks. They will soon be made available; however, their utility may be limited since the purpose of masks is to avoid the spreading of the virus from coughing or other symptoms of illness. The expectation is that employees who are sick or showing symptoms should be taking sick leave and not be at work rather than using a mask. The agency noted that Air Traffic is conducting a pilot test at three facilities where air traffic controllers will use masks to determine the viability of using them in an operational environment. The facilities for this test pilot will be identified and it should not be misunderstood that this is a signal that all need masks or that controllers are being provided extra precautions. It is simply a test.
Your frontline concerns submitted to PASS really do matter. During the call today, I received word from a PASS member at LAX that four air traffic controllers had been tested but that the technicians had not received timely information. It appears that the result of the tests have not been reported as positive or negative at this time; however, I stressed to the agency that this is the kind of local facility communication that must be corrected. The agency will find out what happened at LAX and get back to us as soon as possible.
So please continue to share this information with us, both AVS and ATO employees. As you can see from the LAX example, being able to communicate issues in real time to the agency is invaluable.
We are seeing enormous progress in the agency’s response to employee concerns and we will continue to press them at every turn. There will be more calls tomorrow with both Flight Standards and ATO leadership.
In solidarity,
Mike Perrone
National President
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