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Legislative Update 05-07-08
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NW Mountain Regional Team, Well as you know, yesterday was a disappointment, however we had mostly given up on this bill already over the Rockefeller/Baucus user fee dilemma, so I believe we were gambling with house money anyway. And, unlike the FAA we have not put all our eggs in one basket. I believe that we can reap some positive results from this: 1) The longer we have to wait, the better the swing in our favor will be. If we have to wait until a new president and a new congress to get it, we will be long overdue and if we have had not even a crumb to nibble on in 2.5 years, we could very well get the whole enchilada. 2) The timing is pretty good for us overall. We will be entering the busy summer period which will give us a long list of superlatives: record delays, traffic, inexperience, errors, retirements, passenger complaints, low CPC staffing, etc. All this could have been "fixed" with this bill. The media will surely run with this like they did last year. Immediately following this coming horrendous summer, alot of these Republicans stonewalling progress will have to try and get re-elected. If we gain 5-6 Dem seats in the Senate because of these asinine political tactics, we are in a much better position for movement in 09. 3) Finally, addressing it and failing, is better than ignoring it for the rest of the year. We were on tv and the papers for over 2 weeks, and nothing bad was ever mentioned about NATCA or air traffic controllers. Where do we go from here: 1) We strive hard to find something that will make it to and thru the presidents desk this year and aim to get all or the most important portions of our language attached to that. We will eyeball everything and with the help of our allies on the Hill take shots where we have legitimate chances. There will be no resting on laurels at the National Office. 2) Keep yourself and your activists at the ready. Things could spool up at a moment's notice. We will have more grassroots activity directly related to moving our NATCA language and as always, it is all about building, readdressing and strengthening our positive relationships. It is about working on campaigns and getting people that can help us in office. You never know where our next champion will come from so don't give up on anyone. 3) In the meantime, we will be keeping our topics fresh in DC until the end of this current extension. There is work to be done on a rolling lobby effort from now until June 30th. I will be in DC twice during this time, Denise, Todd and Linda at least once. If you would like to make the trip you are more than welcome to participate. Just give me the probable dates of your travel and we can work out a plan asap. Keep in mind, you will most likely have to work alone or with someone from another region and have to conduct targeted strikes with unfamiliar offices with a focus on facility realignments and possible vehicles for NATCA language. Ideally, you'd be able to knock out a couple fundraiser/constituent events as well. Things we must remain vigilant for: 1) A long term extension could put several facilities in immediate danger for consolidation/co-location/realignment. We must not allow a long term extension and we must proactively inhibit all funding opportunities for these programs. 2) Discouragement in the ranks. It is not a time to increase criticism of our legislative work. It is not a time to de-emphasize the PAC. It is not a time for members to go begging for supe jobs. It is not a time to fight amongst ourselves. All quite the contrary, it is a time to regroup, refocus and solve this puzzle through teamwork, commitment and passion. It is a time for stronger solidarity. I am extremely proud of the work you all have done and the level of commitment you have. How we whipped up a Republican count on this cloture vote and had probable results within a couple hours is a true testament to how good our relationships are and how well NATCA nationwide has done with our grassroots work. When we delivered nearly 30,000 faxes and thousands of phone calls in a week, you were all in the spotlight, shining. You are an integral part of this powerful team and I thank you all for your efforts. You have my confidence that as this war grinds on, you all will be up to the challenge. So in the meantime, we continue to battle. As always, as I get more information, you will be the first to know, and if you have any questions or any new ideas, please share. Brody NATCA NLC |