Coming Fall 2012:
37th Annual Convention in Las Vegas
(October 24, 2011) NWSEO is already working on details for the 37th Annual NWSEO Convention in Las Vegas. Once the hotel and dates are chosen, the information will be posted on nwseo.org. Members will also find updates on the NWSEO Four Winds newsletter. If you are a member and do not receive the Four Winds newsletters in your private email, please send your private email address to mediarelations@nwseo.org.
As we plan for one of the most exciting NWSEO conventions ever, you can start working on your plans too! If you recruit two new members to join NWSEO using the 1187 form between August 1, 2011 and July 31, 2012, your hotel stay for the convention and approved travel expenses to and from the convention are covered by NWSEO. Please be sure to tell new members to write your name on their SF1187 when they join to give you the recruitment credit.
NWSEO 36th Annual National Convention Update
Monday, September 26, 2011
2011 NWSEO Election Results
NWSEO President – Dan Sobien
NWSEO Vice President - Bill Hopkins
NWSEO Secretary-Treasurer – Dave Solano
Congratulations!
NWSEO General Counsel Richard Hirn presented the Legislative Report, "Federal Employee and Federal Sector Union Representatives Right to Lobby." A Powerpoint of the presentation is provided here.
NWSEO President Dan Sobien, NOAA Assistant Secretary for Environmental Observation and Prediction,Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, NWSEO Executive Vice President Bill Hopkins
NWSEO President Dan Sobien, National Weather Service Assistant Administrator, Dr. Jack Hayes,
NWSEO Executive Vice President Bill Hopkins
Sunday, September 25, 2011
NWSEO President Dan Sobien welcomed the NWSEO members to the national convention. Minutes from 2010 NWSEO Convention reviewed and accepted. NWSEO Vice President Bill Hopkins provided an overview highlights and accomplishments for the past year, including NWSEO’s work in keeping the National Weather Service fully funded for FY11.
Communications Director Lisa Luciani discussed NWSEO media efforts to keep the National Weather Service fully funded. In February, NWS was facing a 28 percent budget cut under House proposed HR1 equal to $125 million taken from the remaining $446 million for the last six months of FY11. The move would have necessitated work furloughs and forced rolling closures of Weather Warning offices across the country.
NWSEO activated a full scale communications and media approach to inform the public on how the cuts would impact the Agency’s mission of saving lives and property. Efforts included a webpage that provided clear, concise information, sample letters to legislators and legislator contact information, a call to action for NWSEO stewards and talking points that resulted in news stories nationwide and captured the interest of major media outlets. The development of the Protect the National Weather Service Facebook page which now has 68,000 fans was born out of these efforts. The page is maintained by NWSEO and is a successful tool for keeping the public informed on weather related and funding issues.
Southern Region Director Bill Proenza thanked members for their dedication to their jobs and the mission of saving lives and property. He expressed appreciation for the work of NWSEO. Proenza said the attention and visibility of the National Weather Service is based on the work of members and what NWSEO is, “We can’t do what NWSEO does, and they do it effectively.”
General Counsel Richard Hirn's report focused on the work of NWSEO. The vast amount of work accomplished by NWSEO with the help of Mr. Hirn can be found on the Member News page. To receive the Four Winds newsletter and stay apprised of NWSEO accomplishments, please send your private email address to Director of Communications Lisa Luciani.
NWSEO Eastern Region Chairman and Senior Hydrometeorologist at the Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, David Solano provided an update on the evolving role of River Forecast Centers and the team’s work on National Water Support Center. The role of the RFC is increasing. RFCs will remain the experts when it comes to river forecasts across the country. They play a key role in new products and information services to meet the nation’s needs now and in the future. All field offices will maintain ownership of river and regional water resource products and decision support services, now and in the future.
NOAA Assistant Secretary for Environmental Observation and Prediction, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan is the honored guest speaker of the NWSEO convention. Dr. Sullivan, a renowned astronaut, holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space. She flew on three shuttle missions during her 15-year tenure, including the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.
Dr. Sullivan discussed her love of science and how the question of “How does this planet work?” inspired her career path. Dr. Sullivan talked about moving the Agency forward through science and innovation.
NWSEO President Dan Sobien talks about Weather Ready Nation. His topic - Making Tornado Warnings Obsolete focuses on the idea that in the future, the NWS could work with emergency managers, and local government leaders to provide tornado warnings early enough for people to evacuate.
AWIPS II
Testing of AWIPS II commenced during the late summer at WFO Omaha. Omaha was chosen due to its proximity to the software developers which allows for more interaction between the forecasters and the developers. Over the course of the testing, more than 200 "show-stopper" issues have been identified by the forecasters which must be fixed in order for Omaha to deem the software operationally ready. In addition, some functionality, such as ISC and service backup, have yet to be fully tested.
The issues at an inland site such as Omaha will be much different from a marine or coastal site. So, there is concern about going forward without testing the full suite of NWS products and services. Also, there is little planning for RFCs. Much of the work to date has been done by field RFC personnel. There are also questions on how the National Center component will work within the AWIPS II framework. All of these questions need to be addressed before the AWIPS II program as a whole can move forward.
Shannon White, NWSEO representative on the AWIPS II Test Review Group, stated that the greatest challenge with the program is that it is under-resourced given the aggressive timeline. More people with technical expertise are needed so that both comprehensive testing can be done along with all of the program management. During this Omaha test period, the forecaster testing that had been done at NWSHQ had been suspended, limiting the number of software issues that could be verfied. This additional testing effort is ramping back up in order to verify that software fixes supplied by the developers meet the requirements of the NWS. Field personnel will be needed to come to NWSHQ to perform this testing.
National Weather Service Assistant Administrator, Dr. Jack Hayes was present at the convention and said that while the plan is aggressive, he stressed that he is listening to the issues to ensure that the system can perform the NWS mission. Lock-ups and crashes will not be tolerated. Dr. Hayes assured the group that Mary Glackin, Deputy Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, understands the challenges and is very supportive. Dr. Hayes says there has been good progress since AWIPS II started three years ago. He is briefed weekly on issues and problems and hopes instability will be past history. Dr. Hayes said he’d take the input and suggestions back to the Agency and try to cut the bureaucratic requirements. The hope is to have it operational by first quarter
of FY12.
Stay tuned to www.nwseo.org for more updates from the annual convention.
News from the 36th Annual NWEO Convention
NWSEO will be posting news and updates from the 36th Annual Convention in Raleigh, NC, on Sunday-Monday, September 25-26.
Are you a member of the NWSEO Facebook group? If not, this is a great opportunity to get acquainted with the NWSEO Facebook page. Currently, there are 262 members of this closed group. Become a member and get the convention news as it happens.
Twitter: We will be sending “tweets” throughout the convention to give you a quick heads up on the news as it happens. If you have a Twitter account, sign up to follow NWSEO on Twitter. Don’t have an account? It’s easy to sign up at Twitter.com.
We’re looking forward to providing you with the most recent updates and news from NWSEO with access at your fingertips!
National Weather Service Employees Organization
36th Annual National Convention
Raleigh, North Carolina
September 25-26, 2011
AGENDA
Sunday, September 25
Room: State E/F
Morning:
7:30 – Registration
8:00 – Dan Sobien, President NWSEO, call meeting to order, appoint parliamentarian, call for reading
of 2010 Convention minutes
8:15 – Bill Hopkins, Executive Vice President, NWSEO
9:15 – Richard Hirn, General Council, NWSEO
10:45 – Break
11:00 – Credentials Committee Report
11:15 – Lisa Luciani, Director Media Relations
11:45 – Marguerite Matera, Secretary Treasurer NWSEO, Financial Report, last 12 months
12:00 – Lunch
Room:
State Room A/B
Afternoon
1:00 – Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, NOAA Assistant Secretary for Environmental Observation and Prediction
2:00 – Dr. Jack Hayes, Assistant Administrator, National Weather Service
3:00 – Dan Sobien, President, NWSEO
4:00 – Q&A with Pilot MIC’s
5:30 – Break for Day
6:30-9:00 Banquet Dinner at La Volta
411 Fayetteville St. Downtown Raleigh, NC
Q&A with Secretary Treasure Candidates
Monday, September 26
Room: State E/F
Morning
8:00 – Elections
8:30 – Peter Nuhn, Director of Membership NWSEO Report, followed by; NAG, AOC, AOML, NEDSIS
9:00 – Richard Hirn, General Counsel NWSEO, Legislative report
10:30 – Break
10:40 – Marguerite Matera, Secretary Treasure NWSEO, Budget for 2012
11:00 – Congressman Brad Miller
12:30 - Lunch
Lunch
Afternoon
Room State A/B
1:30 – Steve Pritchett, NWSEO Steward NWSHQ, NWSHQ issues
2:00 – Dan Sobien, President NWSEO, National Council Proposal
3:00 – 2012 Convention
3:30 – Appoint committee members
4:00 – New Business/Adjourn for Council Meeting
Super Shuttle to NWSEO National Convention
The NWSEO National Convention is Sunday-Monday, September 25-26 in Raleigh, NC. NWSEO has a discounted rate of $26 for the Super Shuttle from the Raleigh-Durham airport to the Mariott City Center Hotel. Please use the link below to get the discount.
https://www.supershuttle.com/default.aspx?GC=FWYAX
Review Delegate Vote Announcement
(August 26, 2011) In an effort to provide open accurate results and increase efficiency in the 2011 NWSEO elections, Delegate votes are being posted on the NWSEO website at http://nwseo.org/convention.php. This information is updated weekly based on elections information and ballots received from Branch Stewards.
Every delegate included in the weekly web update should review their delegate and vote information. Challenges to the information posted on the NWSEO website may be submitted, along with evidence to JoAnn Becker at gbecker1@kc.rr.com no later than close of business on September 15, 2011.
This review and challenge period provides the Credentials Committee time to investigate any challenge or irregularity before the National NWSEO Convention, to ascertain facts and additional evidence, to conduct any last minute rerun if deemed necessary, and to take whatever appropriate corrective action in advance of the convention.
Additionally, the National Council has approved sending each delegate a COMPLETED report of the number of delegates and votes by September 12, 2011 for one last review before the NWSEO Convention.
It is understood that any report from the Credentials Committee assigning votes to a delegate is subject to adjustment at the convention if someone else from that branch shows up and wants to vote their individual vote.
Alaska Region
AOC, AOML, NESDIS
Central Region
Eastern Region
Pacific Region
NOAA Attorney's Guild
Southern Region
Western Region
2011 Elections – List of Delegates and Votes per Branch
Results as of August 29, 2011 posted below
printable copy
Elections Letter
(August 15, 2011) The 2011 NWSEO Elections will take place at the NWSEO National Convention in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 25 and 26.
This year, we are posting the names of the delegates from each branch who will attend the convention and vote on issues and candidates that are placed on the agenda for the convention. This includes this year’s election of NWSEO officers: President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer.
A delegate holds one vote for each NWSEO member in the branch represented. On the lists below, you will see the number of votes available at the branch the delegate represents. Please keep in mind that the delegate may not cast all of the available votes because any NWSEO member who attends is entitled to cast their own vote (thus reducing the number of votes that the delegate will cast).
In the case that the Delegate cannot attend the convention, the Alternate Delegate will cast the designated votes for the branch.
These preliminary results are subject to the NWSEO members in attendance at the NWSEO Convention. Each Region’s page will be updated weekly as the votes for Delegate are certified by the NWSEO Elections Credentials Committee.
The annual convention is open to all NWSEO members. You are encouraged to attend, participate in discussions and vote. If you attend the convention and are not a delegate you will cast your own vote and the delegate for your branch will have one less vote to cast on behalf of your branch. For more information on the NWSEO elections and the National Convention, please read the Elections Letter.
If you have a discrepancy with any information on these pages, you should report them to JoAnn Becker at gbecker1@kc.rr.com by September 15, 2011.
Alaska Region
AOC, AOML, NESDIS
Central Region
Eastern Region
Pacific Region
NOAA Attorney's Guild
Southern Region
Western Region
NWSEO Election Update
Annual NWSEO Convention on a Sunday-Monday this year
printable copy
Elections Letter
(June 28, 2011) Friday, July 1, 2011 is the deadline to send nominations for Branch Steward/Vice Steward, Delegate/Alternate Delegate to the local branch steward. The NWSEO Elections Letter includes information on nominations procedures and timelines for President, Vice President, and Secretary-Treasurer, as well as, Branch Steward, Vice Steward, Delegate and Alternate Delegate. It also includes timelines, voting procedures and campaign rules.
The NWSEO Elections Letter was distributed in mid-May and is also available online. To view nominations for NWSEO President, Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer, please visit http://nwseo.org/convention.php.
The NWSEO election for President, Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer takes place at the 36th Annual NWSEO Convention this September. Nominations for these positions are due on September 9, 2011. The convention will be Sunday and Monday, September 25 and 26, 2011 at the Raleigh Marriott City Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Steward Training will also be held on Saturday, September 24 from 1 - 5 p.m. at the hotel.
To make reservations:
By Phone:
1. Call Marriott reservations at 1-800-228-9290 or 1-888-236-2427.
2. Ask for the National Weather Service Room Block (Code:NWS) for September 24-27, 2011.
Online:
1. Go to www.marriott.com/rdumc
2. Enter the dates of your stay (block dates are September 24-27, 2011)
3. Enter Group Code: NWSNWSA (not case sensitive) under the ‘Special Rates & Awards’ box
5. Click ‘Check Rates & Availability’
6. The National Weather Service Room Block @ $90.00 will come up; click on Reserve a Room
7. Enter personal information and confirm reservation
If you recruit two new members to join NWSEO between October 10, 2010 and July 31, 2011, your hotel stay for the convention and legitimate travel expenses to and from the convention are covered by NWSEO. Please be sure to tell new members to write your name on their SF1187 when they join to give you the recruitment credit.
NWSEO will provide lunch on Sunday and Monday with a Sunday evening dinner buffet as part of the convention. NWSEO.org will keep you informed about Convention Registration in the coming months. We hope to see you in Raleigh!
-NWSEO-
NWSEO 2011 Elections Nominations
NWSEO President
Dan Sobien nominated by Robert Baruffaldi
Dan Sobien nominated by Steve Pritchett
Dan Sobien nominated by Scott Prosise
Dan Sobien nominated by John Werner
Dan Sobien nominated by Dave Solano
Dan Sobien nominated by Marguerite Matera
Dan Sobien nominated by Barry Hirshorn
NWSEO Vice President
Bill Hopkins nominated by Robert Baruffaldi
Bill Hopkins nominated by Steve Pritchett
Bill Hopkins nominated by Scott Prosise
Bill Hopkins nominated by John Werner
Bill Hopkins nominated by Dave Solano
Bill Hopkins nominated by Marguerite Matera
Bill Hopkins nominated by Barry Hirshorn
NWSEO Secretary-Treasurer
Robert Baruffaldi nominated by Robert Baruffaldi
Dave Solano nominated by Steve Pritchett
Dave Solano nominated by Scott Prosise
Dave Solano nominated by Dave Solano
Dave Solano nominated by Marguerite Matera
Robert Baruffaldi nominated by Barry Hirshorn
Martin Lee nominated by Martin Lee
2011 National Convention
Raleigh, NC
Sunday and Monday, September 25-26
(June 3, 2011) The 36th Annual NWSEO Convention will be Sunday and Monday, September 25 and 26, 2011 at the Raleigh Marriott City Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Steward Training will also be held on Saturday, September 24 from 12 - 5 p.m. at the hotel.
To make reservations::
By Phone:
1. Call Marriott reservations at 1-800-228-9290 or 1-888-236-2427.
2. Ask for the National Weather Service Room Block (Code:NWS) for September 23-27, 2011.
Online:
1. Go to www.marriott.com/rdumc
2. Enter the dates of your stay (block dates are September 23-27, 2011)
3. Enter Group Code: NWSNWSA (not case sensitive) under the ‘Special Rates & Awards’ box
5. Click ‘Check Rates & Availability’
6. The National Weather Service Room Block @ $90.00 will come up, click on Reserve a Room
7. Enter personal information and confirm reservation
If you recruit two new members to join NWSEO between October 10, 2010 and July 31, 2011, your hotel stay and travel expenses are covered by NWSEO. Please be sure to tell new members to write your name on their SF1187 when they join to give you the recruitment credit.
NWSEO will provide lunch on Sunday and Monday with a Sunday evening dinner buffet as part of the convention. NWSEO.org will keep you informed about Convention Registration in the coming months. We hope to see you in Raleigh!
2011 Election Letter
(May 26, 2011) The NWSEO Elections Letter will be arriving at your home address soon. The NWSEO Elections Letter includes information on nominations procedures and timelines for President, Vice President, and Secretary Treasurer, as well as, Branch Steward, Vice Steward, Delegate and Alternate Delegate. It also includes timelines, voting procedures and campaign rules.
If you are an active NWSEO member and do not receive your election letter in the mail, please contact Peter Nuhn, Director of Membership Services or Lisa Luciani, Director of Communications to update your current mailing address. You can also access a pdf copy of the 2011 Elections Letter here.
2011 NWSEO Elections Preparations Underway
Address Updates Requested
(May 12, 2011)NWSEO is preparing to mail the 2011 Elections Letter to all of our members. If you have moved in the past year, please send your new home address to Peter Nuhn, Director of Membership Services at Peter@nwseo.org and cc mediarelations@nwseo.org to ensure that you receive your Elections Letter.
The Elections Letter details the procedures to nominate NWSEO members for NWSEO offices and to participate in elections for local offices. Information for the 2011 National Convention is included in the Elections Letter. All NWSEO members are invited to attend the convention.
-NWSEO-
Save the Date
NWSEO 36th Annual Convention is September 25 - 26, 2011
(A Sunday - Monday Event)
(May 12, 2011) The 36th Annual NWSEO Convention will be Sunday and Monday, September 25 and 26, 2011 at the Raleigh Marriott City Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Room rates and details will be posted soon.
The annual convention is a time to learn in depth about NWSEO’s work and accomplishments. You’ll hear about upcoming events, strategies and opportunities. This is also a great opportunity to network with other professionals throughout the country. Many NWSEO members return to the event every year.
If you recruit two new members to join NWSEO between October 10, 2010 and July 31, 2011, your hotel stay and travel expenses are covered by NWSEO. Please be sure to tell new members to write your name on their SF1187 when they join to give you the recruitment credit.
NWSEO will provide lunch on Sunday and Monday with a Sunday evening dinner buffet as part of the convention. NWSEO.org will keep you informed about Convention Registration in the coming months. We hope to see you in Raleigh!
The NWSEO Spring Council Meeting
(March 12, 2011) The annual NWSEO Spring Council meeting is taking place in Asheville, North Carolina on Saturday and Sunday, March 12 and 13. The meeting began with a presentation from Director of Communications, Lisa Luciani, providing an update on the media relations and communications efforts to support the Natinal Weather Service in light of HR1, the proposed budget cuts. For information on how to support the NWS, letters to legislators, news releases and news archives on this topic click here.The National Council would like to thank all stewards and members for their diligent work in communicating the need to keep the NWS fully funded. Their efforts were a tremendous benefit. NWSEO is a relatively small union and we depend on the engagement of our membership. Members are the strength behind NWSEO. Please continue to keep up the great job!
NWSEO has set up a Facebook Community, Protect the National Weather Service. This active community also includes information, resources, press releases and links to related news articles. There are now more than 42,000 members in this community. The work of our NWSEO members to support and publicize the this community. We're looking for your ideas to keep the community active in the future. Your efforts are appreciated. Let's take this community to our goal 75,000 or more! To infinity and beyond! Let's get there together!
NWSEO General Counsel Richard Hirn is addressing the National Council. Mr. Hirn is discussing his lobbying efforts and current labor issues.
The National Council discussed new business, including position vacancies, temporary promotions and lapse in labor. Discussions focused on the slowness at which the Agency is filling vacancies, and more importantly, ensurances that employees receive temporary promotions when they are assigned higher graded duties to fill the vacancy.
Safety issues while employees work in remote and/or high crime areas was also discussed.
The National Council also discussed the Agency's reluctance of adopting new dissemination technology.NWSEO discussed their vision of the NWS forecast offices for the future, including new products, services and data delivery. NWSEO is looking for ways to innovate and design the weather service of the future. Forward thinking minds and increased membership are the keys to the future success of the NWS.
NWSEO Convention Archive
2010 Spring Council Meeting
NWS Director Jack Hayes and NWSEO President Dan Sobien at the 35 Annual NWSEO Convention
Robert Ricks, Ken Graham, John Werner, and Andy Winer discuss the
NOAA and NWSEO response and recovery efforts for Deepwater Horizon.
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