Against the Wind - National Air Traffic Controllers Association

Voice. Thompson’s involvement
fulfilled an artistic craving (he
also plays the baritone and
tenor saxophone).
“Air traffic control is
an art form,” he says. “But
it’s an art form that, when
you’re done, there isn’t
anything for you to see. I
like the creativeness of the
other stuff.”
Each monthly edition
was sent to every
facility in the nation with
the goal of sharing information
about common issues. By
August, Green had transferred
to Tamiami, Florida, leaving
more of the editing to Thompson. Funding
was also in jeopardy. Far from letting
The NATCA Voice fold, however, Thompson
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July
Bryan Thompson / Frank Flavin
envisioned even broader national
distribution to provide
an alternative forum to
the officially sanctioned
newsletter produced at
headquarters.
Executive Vice
President Michael Mc-
Nally saw the merit and
provided money that enabled
Thompson and his
crew to publish the first
grass-roots national edition
in February 1996. The
union funding was unusual
given that some of the articles
in The Voice attacked NATCA’s
leadership as well as the FAA.
“It has allowed the membership a
place to voice their opinions,” Thompson
says. “The NATCA Voice has issues in it that
A United Airlines DC-10 suffers total hydraulic failure after one of its engine
fans breaks apart and damages the aircraft’s control system. Capt. Al
Haynes and his crew fly the plane to the airport in Sioux City, Iowa, where
Chapter 4: The House that NATCA Built
are important to them.”
Plagued by several years of budget
battles, The Voice enjoyed firmer financial
footing after delegates at the 1998 convention
voted to allocate $44,000 annually
for the newsletter. Even that amount
has become insufficient in the face of
the union’s growing family of bargaining
units. Circulation has climbed to 7,500,
with distribution to some 385 air traffic
control facilities and other interested parties
around the world.
Income has been supplemented with
advertisements, which are coordinated by
longtime Voice staff member Jeff Parrish.
Money is also derived from The NATCA
Shop, an online venture that stemmed from
a desire among some controllers for quality
jackets bearing the union’s logo.
“People liked them and wanted
them,” Thompson says. “Next thing you
a crash landing kills 110 of the 269 people onboard. Canadian controllers
help their U.S. colleagues deal with traumatic stress, which ultimately
leads to a formal program known as Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.
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