*************************************** * * * * * * * * * NATCA * * * * * * 7TH BIENNIAL CONVENTION * * * * * * SEATTLE, WASHINGTON * * * * * * SEPTEMBER 5-8 * * * * * * 1998 * * * * * * * * * *************************************** A COURT REPORTING SERVICE CERTIFIED COURT REPORTERS 1620 FIRST INTERSTATE CENTER 999 THIRD AVENUE SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104 FAX (206) 389-9329 PHONE(206) 624-0316 [email protected] REPORTED BY: PAUL J. FREDERICKSON, CCR, RPR SEPTEMBER 5, 1998 [9:25 a.m.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: Okay. If everybody will take their seats, please. The Seventh Biennial Convention of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association will come to order. I would like to welcome everybody here in Seattle. Welcome. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: If I can, I would like to do just a few brief introductions, and then we have some speakers. Hopefully the time will work. What I would like to do is take the opportunity to introduce members of your executive board at this time. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to go alphabetical by last name, not by region. I would like to introduce to you Mike Blake, New England Vice President, Regional Vice President. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: And of course the nickname for Mike these days is the "Northeastern Region Rep." I would like to introduce Eastern Region Vice President, Joe Fruscella. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: And, of course, the nickname for him is the "Southern New England Region Rep" these days. Those are jokes here, guys. [Laughter.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: Okay. The next introduction is James Ferguson, Northwest Mountain Regional Vice President. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: And he's known for "Stay out of my backyard." Okay. We have Gus Guerra, Western Pacific Regional Vice President. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: And somebody told me this. I don't have a clue what it means, but they promised but there were no curse words in it. [Phrase spoken in Spanish.] [Laughter.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: Central Region Vice President, Bill Otto. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: Bill is professionally known as "Blotto." Southwest Region Vice President, Mark Pallone. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: And that's Mr. "Moan" Pallone. We have Great Lakes Regional Vice President, Jim Poole. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: That's Jim "I got the answer" man. Okay. Alaskan Region, Ricky Thompson. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: And yes, he's "The Ice Man." We've got Southern Region Vice President, Rodney Turner. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: Some people like to call him "Buckles." Okay. Yours truly, Mike McNally, and it's LBG. I'm not very fond of my nickname. I accept the bald part. Yes, I am a guy. But the little part, I refuse to accept. I mean, Bellino's little, not me! Okay. What I would like to do is introduce, if I can, some of the members of the dais, people who are going to be assisting us here. We have Howie "I'm not Mandel" Barte. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: He will be the NATCA Parliamentarian. And he shall be assisted by the professional assistance -- if I can read the quick introduction -- of Renna Pierce, who is from the Seattle area. She has served many national organizations as professional registered parliamentarian. She is the author of many articles and charts used in teaching parliamentary procedure and is a consultant in the field of group interaction and decision making. She is a retired college faculty member and administrator. I also am aware that her husband is a retired United captain. Is that not correct? Please join me in welcoming Renna Pierce. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: Okay. As normally is our tradition, we bring up the chair of the convention, committee chair from the region that is hosting. I am not sure -- is Isabel Cole here at this time? [Pause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: She is not. So I'm going to ask Mr. James Ferguson to come up and say a few words. [Applause.] MR. FERGUSON: First of all, I would like to welcome you to Seattle. Thanks for bringing the nice weather. I spend a lot of time in this city, and it's very rare we can spend this many days together without the clouds. So enjoy it while you're here. The locals want to make sure that you enjoy it. But don't try to get in because all the locals are full, they tell me. So trust me, it might be a little difficult. Anyway Isabel Cole is the chair of the local committee. We did it different than normal, in that we brought people from all over the area, all the way from Paine Field. The Center, the Tower, the TRACON, got involved early on. Even Olympia got involved. Also we have a nice party planned for you Sunday night, that's tomorrow night. [Applause.] MR. FERGUSON: It's going to be at the Pacific Science Center. And it will be an open bar with beer and wine. So I -- [Applause.] MR. FERGUSON: We've got dinner planned for you. So we appreciate you showing up. The easiest way to get there, by the way, is what's called the Monorail. You go down to Westlake Center and take the Monorail. Or just take the tracks to get up there. Pacific Science Center has some big arch things on top, like a white McDonald's, if you will. Other than that, I think there is plenty to do. There are wonderful restaurants. You all ought to go down and visit Pike Place Market if you get the chance. Wonderful fresh fruit. Fish. You can go ahead and airmail out salmon and halibut, things like that. It's a wonderful place to go. There's a lot to offer around here. If you have any questions, there's plenty of people from the Seattle area to help you out. I know a little bit about the town. I used to live here. But not a lot. Everything is down south where I lived. But we would really like to welcome you, and we look forward to a great and wonderful convention. If there's anything we can do, just let us know. [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: Okay. If I can, we do have a special speaker that we are waiting for. She will be here, I'm sure, any minute now. That is FAA Administrator Jane Garvey. But if I can, we did receive a letter, so I would like to read it to you. It says: "Warm greetings to everyone gathered in Seattle for the biannual convention of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. "Every day across our nation, air traffic controllers and other aviation professionals shoulder the responsibility of ensuring that millions of men and women arrive safely at their destinations. The demands placed upon you require a strong commitment to excellence, and as members of NATCA you can be proud of the high standards of performance you have set for America's aviation community. "Since its inception, NATCA has promoted the security and efficiency of our nation's aviation industry and strived to advance the personal and professional development of its thousands of members. As you meet to reflect on past accomplishments and to focus on the challenges of the future, I commend you for the important role you play in maintaining the safety of the flying public and in creating opportunity and economic security for America's air traffic controllers and other aviation and safety professionals. "Best wishes for an enjoyable and productive convention. "President Bill Clinton." [Applause.] PRESIDENT McNALLY: Okay. Unfortunately, due to the weekend -- and everybody knows, Labor Day Weekend -- we were hoping to have the president of AFL-CIO speak here, but they naturally had other engagements and celebrations they had to partake in. But we did get a video from President John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO. So I would like to play it at this time. So if anybody knows where the lights are or know what to do with it, please get it done. Thank you. [Lights dimmed.] [Video playing.] AFL-CIO PRESIDENT JOHN SWEENEY: Thank you, Mike, for giving me this time to address your convention. And thanks to you and Randy Schwartz [sic] and your colleagues -- [Laughter.] [Video briefly inaudible due to laughter.] The jobs you do every day are among the most vital in our nation, and we thank you for making the U.S. air travel the safest in the entire world. I understand you just ratified a new contract with the Federal Aviation Administration so let me add my personal congratulations. It is a tribute to your negotiators, as well as the 15,000 rank and file members who stood behind those negotiators, and you have taught us all a huge lesson in solidarity and tenacity. I also want to congratulate you on your recent affiliation with the AFL-CIO. You have long been a part of our family and we welcome you as a direct national union affiliate. [Applause.] [Video briefly inaudible due to applause.] You have a perfect staff all across the country, and they are ready to assist you in organizing, bargaining, education, research, public affairs, and public policy. But even more important we have 13 million members, and 40 million members of AFL-CIO union households, who are now standing with you in your efforts to improve the wages, benefits and working conditions of air traffic controllers, and to improve the lives of their families. On this Labor Day Weekend, the value of that solidarity is, I hope, apparent to all. Our movement is more open, more visible, and more aggressive than ever, and we are winning more strikes, bargaining better contracts, and influencing the press and politicians as never before. And as we move into the fall, we plan to put our rejuvenated movement and the power of those 40 million members of union households to work on two major fronts: organizing and politics.