Q & A with Pat Forrey
What are your feelings about your election victory?
“I'm still trying to grasp all of the immediate actions I have to complete, from the personal aspects of moving to Washington, D.C. and the impacts on my family, to the duties of the job, requiring me to sort out all of the items that need to be addressed within the next month. Time continues on, and the world keeps turning, so I'm trying to time the motion in order to jump on the merry-go-round!”
What can the membership expect when you take office on Sept. 1?
“The membership can expect me to hit the ground running. I have already made contact with the FAA Administrator and the ATO Chief Operating Officer, and we are setting up some face-to-face meetings prior to the agency's implementation of the imposed work rules and pay system. This will hopefully be an ongoing conversation, not only within the ATO, but within the human resources/labor relations lines of business.
“One of the first planned actions will be to meet with the NATCA employee family – the directors and our hard-working and talented staff – and observe what the National Office is doing and what if anything they believe can be done better.
“I am attempting to set up a special meeting with the incoming National Executive Board, probably before the scheduled September NEB meeting (Sept. 25-29), to begin our leadership process by determining our goals, expectations and strategy for this union over the next several years. This will double as initial team building, and will most likely be a very grueling process for a bunch of type ‘A’ personalities! But it is imperative that we develop our goals together and plan our strategies together right out of the starting blocks.
“I will also begin the process of meeting the industry contacts which NATCA deems are important to the National Airspace System and have an impact on our occupations, jobs, and future. I will also begin the long process of building relationships with members of Congress, so that they can get to know me and understand the direction in which NATCA would like to move."
