Here are some followup questions sent to me by members of NATCA.
- Do you think we need a change in NATCA leadership? Please explain why or why not.
Ruth Marlin-Yes. I think we need to build NATCA's public image of we are to be successful in fighting the issues ahead. We should not wait for the FAA to give us "respect" before we promote our members and our professions. We make a positive contribution to our nation and we should speak of that proudly to build alliances, identify champions and ensure that public opinion is on our side. Members of Congress may support us and vote our way if it comes to the floor, but getting legislation enacted (or blocked) requires more than that. NATCA's President should be a critical voice in the aviation industry to shape our futures. Negotiating with the FAA is an important part of the job, but we are in a stronger bargaining position when our union is an influential part of the aviation community. Our issues are bigger than the FAA, our influence must be as well.
Rich Santa-We do need a change in NATCA leadership. We need a leadership team that refocuses on the members; a team that embraces the talents and voices of its members, a team that informs the members and encourages feedback. 15,000 members are the Union and collectively we can find solutions to our problems. NATCA needs to communicate with its members.
I also feel that we need a renewed effort to fiscal responsibility. Our spending practices have been, in many cases, frivolous and excessive. We have smaller facilities that cannot afford internet to help represent our members, facilities that struggle to send a delegate to the convention and facilities that are strapped just to buy office supplies.
The NEB needs to be less reactionary to the aggressions of the FAA. Solutions should be constructed and prepared before the agency even proposes a detrimental order. A small list of examples include strategies against count-opps deficiencies, pay per area, downgrades, and consolidation/collocation.
We also need to facilitate the training, supporting, and representing of all of our members. Representation should not be based on level of facility or the amount of dues rebates a local receives. We need to share our resources across the facilities and need to record the knowledge of our experienced members in a database so that is can be used forever. Much of our talent in NATCA is retiring and we need to pass that talent on to our newer activists.
Most importantly, WE NEED A TEAM. Teamwork is not just a word; it is a belief and a value. NATCA needs a team that actually believes in teamwork and does not waiver from that for personal gain. The members should expect an NEB that is cohesive and unified to work for the interests of this Union. A leader is elected for a full 3 years and should be expected to work to advance NATCA for the entire 3 years.
Trish Gilbert-I think the next three years are going to be very different than the last three years. The last three years have been very difficult and some ways just holding the line and keeping our union together has been the most difficult part. While we have seen many of our activists fold their hand and jump to the other side, we are a stronger union with higher membership numbers, a stronger pac and with better relationships on the hill, with the media, industry and labor than we have ever had. Due to the hard work of many in this Union and many across the country, the pendulum is starting to swing back towards placement of the decision makers that value working men and women in this country. It is vital NATCA members elect individuals that can do even more than what we have done in the past. We must ensure our leaders work as a team. We need leaders that empower, educate, respect and communicate with the membership.
Our work is really just beginning . It is not time to sit back and declare victory. It is time to roll up our sleeves and work even harder to ensure our membership understands their rights and our FacReps are properly trained to ensure those rights. I prefer the word improve NATCA leadership rather than change it. We have strong leaders now and we will have strong leaders in the future but the real question for our membership is “What type and leadership style is best for this Union right now?”. I believe my experience, coupled with my leadership style and ability to work well with our members, industry, DC insiders and outsiders alike makes me the best candidate for NATCA Executive Vice President.
- Would you have done anything different in the past 2 1/2 years that you feel would have been better for the union? Please discuss as pertains to NATCA in general and then specifically as it relates to the position you are running for.
Ruth Marlin-Yes, specifically when our circumstances changed, I would have re-evaluated our strategies. On the legislative front, retroactivity is nearly impossible to get. This is widely known in DC. Even Senator Obama would not consider retroactive legislation when he championed the FAA Fair Bargaining Act. If we sought a clean fix to Title 49, which would eliminate the jurisdictional issue, we could then seek legal remedy for retroactivity through the FAA imposed duration clause which included "subject to member ratification". The FAA had no legal basis for imposing the TAU'ed articles, refused our offers to send it out for ratification, and once the Title 49 process were fixed, we would have avenues to address it. We still don't have that.
Rich Santa-I would have been more multi-faceted in the fights against the agency. The leaders have been very singularly focused in our battles. We needed more effective support and evolving strategies towards the facility issues. When the situation gets tough, it is even more essential to support and include the members in the direction of NATCA. The grievance process is flawed and we are still directed to solve the facility issues with a grievance. We needed some end-arounds and evolving tactics to win some local battles. I have used the DOT-IG, the FLRA, the OSC, Industrial Hygienists, OSHA, the EEO process, our Congressman, the press, and many other avenues to address our facility issues. We need national support to help construct and educate the locals on some of these other strategies and tactics.
The early decision to stay out of the press was misguided. Stopping the negative stories might have been wise at the time but we should have continued with the positive stories of our NATCA controllers. ATC is not a job for the masses. We do exemplary things every day and we should write and publish regular stories of our talents. In the absence of the positive stories, the FAA was able to paint us as overpaid, whining and expendable.
Sending our hundreds of liaisons home was also not accomplished very effectively either. We had a built in communication infrastructure that was used to inform the leaders of the issues of the FAA's newest gadgets. We were able to make very effective responses due to the large amount of Union talent working for NATCA. When we were kicked out/pulled out, we should have kept the members intact still working for the Union. The articulate arguments of our experts are even more essential when making a case against the FAA in this environment. The NATCA members are the experts in the FAA and the experts in NATCA.
Trish Gilbert-There are things I would have like to have seen done and accomplished not just in the last 2 1/12 years but in the last 6 to 9 years. To be fair to all of our previous and current NATCA Administrations it is easy to sit from the cheap seats and play Monday morning quarter back. So with that being said, I would have liked to see us better prepared to utilize our retired activist years before the retirement wave hit and not after the fact. We should be further along with the latest technological means and methods of data collection to information dissemination. The last 2 ½ years has been a fight to keep NATCA’s head above water and while we did not drown I am do wonder had different decisions been made would we be further along with righting the wrongs of an Anti-labor FAA that still resides at FAA headquarters. I think we did well on the Hill, in the media and with industry and labor but were not strong enough with the FAA and DOT.
Specifically, to the job of EVP … I will continue to be fiscally responsible with our member’s money yet will allocate and implement programs, training and resources to improve our Union and its effectiveness.
Some NATCA members feel that at times excessive amounts of money have been spent on consultants where members and NATCA staff should have been used instead. Others believe that in some instances professional consultants deliver better results.
- Please detail your vision for the use of NATCA staff and NATCA members for lobbying Congress if you are elected. From your experience, what are the strengths and weaknesses of relying solely on the membership and NATCA staff to lobby Congress?
Ruth Marlin- will use the resources necessary to fight the issues we face. There are areas where we do not have in house expertise and it is appropriate to call in outside help. Under the current administration, NATCA spent over $1.8 million on consultants, not including the over $450,000 paid to a consultant for convention production, in 2008 alone. A quick review of NATCA's LM-2 filings show that, political rhetoric aside, each NATCA administration has used consultants. I will discuss the issue of outside lobbyists in the answer to the next question.
Trish Gilbert-Right now we have NATCA members (hundreds), NATCA staff (three lobbyists) and an outside firm (two lobbyists) working on the Hill for the benefit of NATCA members and their issues. I believe you have to evaluate and have a clear understanding on all involved about their respective roles. There may be occasions when we can rely solely on NATCA staff but we are not there yet. It is important when hiring consultants to do work for NATCA that it is because they can bring to the table experience, influence and/or background that we don’t have with NATCA staff. I oppose hiring consultants simply to contract out the work of National office. When we have employees or should have employees in place that can accomplish what a consultant is hired to do then we should go that route. Our issues are not easy to grasp and our members are unique in their drive, passion and expectations and staff that knows us and our issues will approach their jobs with the passion and buy-in we need from them. Because of the steep learning curve of the National Airspace system and NATCA and its membership we must keep educated and motivated staff. Consultants should supplement our staff not the other way around.
- Please detail your vision for the use of paid lobbyists and consultants for lobbying Congress if you are elected. From your experience, what are the strengths and weaknesses of using outside paid lobbyists or consultants?
Ruth Marlin-Lobbying Congress has many elements and each is important. Our grassroots, aka constituent lobbyists, are the most effective advocates for our issues, building relationships, educating elected officials on our issues, and reminding them they we are also voters. In addition, our members working on political campaigns pay long term dividends. Staff lobbyists play a critical role as a permanent presence in DC, helping review and draft language, facilitate building support with allied organizations, craft our arguments and manage the process as our language moves through it. When the stakes are particularly high and it is crunch time (like when the Bush Administration was pushing its privatization agenda) outside lobbyists and political consultants add tremendous value. That value comes at a cost. The more influential the lobbyist, the higher the cost. Our elected officers need to balance that cost with the risk of going it alone. While NATCA has always had a good deal of success in getting language drafted and offered without outside assistance, getting legislation actually enacted often requires the expertise of outside firms. This is not unique to NATCA. There is a reason that it is a lucrative business. Influential lobbyists are able to manage support from many issues and trade alliances on non NATCA issues to help support our cause. Often they are the closers.
While NATCA continues to use outside lobbyists today, we have not seen any legislation enacted under our current officers term.
Trish Gilbert-See answer above
