January 1st, 2026 New England Bi-Monthly Regional Update
ARVP Update
From Steve Brown, NATCA New England Region ARVP
Happy New Year New England!
I hope the end of the year provided some well-deserved rest and time with loved ones for each of you, and that the New Year has met you safely. Your local and regional reps finished 2025 strong and working hard to protect your rights and move the region forward. Kevin, Jake, and I are extremely proud of all the work they continue to do on your behalf.
Following the end of the shutdown and the pay issues the agency continues to mess up and push to the right, local facreps submitted grievances on your behalf. Hundreds of grievances were filed addressing failure to pay Overtime, Differentials (night, training, sunday, CIC), and Holidays. We also collectively filed grievances on your behalf to address our issues with the $10,000 “Patriot” bonuses that were issued to select controllers around the beginning of December. As of the writing of this update, we are still awaiting responses to the filed grievances from the agency.
Moving into the New Year we will continue to push these issues to the best of our abilities on your behalf in the New England Region. Your leaders are busy, but motivated to fix what we view as wrongs and continue advocating for each of you.
As a region we are hitting the ground running to start the new year by offering Safety Advocacy Training for those interested on January 21st and 22nd, at Boston Center. The deadline to register for the class is January 6th, and hotel rooms are available for those with need. Even if you cannot attend both days, we are encouraging anyone interested to stop by and get any amount of this valuable information you can. You can sign up using this link.
As always we are here for you and eager to answer any questions as we move into continuing to grow our collective strength in New England. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. Happy New Year!
2025 Curt Fischer Leadership Award
Outspoken. Determined. Calm under Pressure. Leaders come in many forms. This year’s Curt Fischer Leadership Award winner resembled the spirit of New England, resilient. We’ve all heard the cliche, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Bryan Loquet’s (BGR) toughness never wavered during one of the most challenging years in our Union’s history. Bryan has long wanted to return to his California roots while working at one of the most understaffed facilities in The NAS. He is one of our members that looks forward to the day that his skill set receives adequate compensation. On more than one occasion Bryan finished a mid or a shift of mandatory OT, put on a suit and advocated for his fellow brother and sister’s pay and benefits as NNE’s Maine State Coordinator. He served his local as VP, Secretary and on the Local Safety Council. Bryan steps up and trains the next generation of controllers. In a year when so many couldn’t see the path forward, Bryan was, in the words of his FACREP, a “F$%&inh Rockstar!” Brayn’s selfless service to our union made him the easy choice as The 2025 Curt Fischer Leadership Award Winner. Congratulations!
2025 Jay Bowers Activism Award
When one hears the word activism, it’s natural to think of a new idea or creating a new trend. It wouldn’t normally point to or make someone think of something that’s well established. New England’s communication has been strong for as long as our members can remember. However, our union can never rest on its laurels. In the spring of 2025 our award winners approached regional leadership about taking the next step in how we communicate to our members, specifically the portion that regularly uses Discord. In less than two months, Craig Winans (Y90) and Shawn Hamm (PVD) worked with our Communications Team to create the first Discord Channel in our Union with an open channel for our members to communicate. This NNE Discord (sign up here) is loaded with channels that our members can access to find resources, stay informed and communicate with both Regional Leaders and fellow NNE members. They have helped keep NNE strong with one of the most important aspects of an organization: Communication. It should also be pointed out that both Shawn and Craig represent their locals as Vice Presidents of their local E Boards. Congratulations to this year’s Co Award Winners of The Jay Bowers Activism Award!
Announcements and Upcoming Events
Last call to sign up for the NATCA New England in-region Safety Advocacy Training, which will be held at Boston Center in Nashua, N,H on January 21-22, 2026!
Can’t go for the whole class? That’s okay! Even if you are able to attend one day, or even two half days (before or after your shift), you’ll still get some important knowledge and training!
To register, click here to fill out the form.
This class is not available to sign up for on the NATCA portal; you must sign up using this form. Hotel accommodations are available for those who require them. The deadline to register (and book a hotel room) is January 6th.
Last chance to sign up for this Unum open season! The open enrollment period for NATCA’s exclusive long-term disability (LTD) insurance benefit with Unum has been extended through Jan. 16, 2026.
Our LTD plan with Unum protects a large portion of your income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury. This benefit is available exclusively to NATCA members and can be a major help during times of uncertainty.
To enroll, go to natcadisability.com and follow the self-enrollment instructions, or call the number on the page. It’s not too late to protect your income – enroll now!
Do you have children ages 3 to 17 and are looking for a fun project for them to do? Why not encourage them to be creative and enter the 2026 Aerospace Art Contest?
This year’s theme is “Fly to Save Lives”!
More information can be found here: https://mailchi.mp/445545a30b66/2026-faa-annual-aviation-aerospace-art-contest?e=f27458b77b
Please contact our NATCA Childcare Rep, Christina Wilcko at [email protected] with any questions.
