Paul Rinaldi
Candidate for President
National Air Traffic Controllers Association
Paul Rinaldi became the sixth president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association when he began his first term in October 2009. Prior to being elected to the presidency, Mr. Rinaldi served three years as NATCA’s Executive Vice President, after eighteen years as an air traffic controller at Washington-Dulles Tower (IAD).
During his time at IAD, Mr. Rinaldi was immediately drawn to representing the hard-working men and women in his facility. He was elected as Vice-President of the facility's local NATCA chapter in 1995 and became the Facility Representative a year later. Mr. Rinaldi’s leadership soon resulted in IAD becoming a 100% NATCA membership facility.
Mr. Rinaldi has also served the Union as a member of NATCA’s Eastern Region Labor Relations Team, an arbitration advocate since 2000, an Air Safety Investigator from 1997 to 2006 and, in 2003, he accepted the challenge to represent the entire NATCA Eastern Region as that region's Alternate Regional Vice-President. Moreover, Mr. Rinaldi possesses extensive congressional and media experience, which he puts to great use as an outspoken advocate for air traffic controllers and aviation safety professionals on the national stage.
Even though NATCA’s top two positions are elected separately, Mr. Rinaldi and the current Executive Vice President, Trish Gilbert, campaigned for their respective positions as a team. Since taking office in 2009 they have continued to work as a team, along with the National Executive Board, elevating NATCA to new levels of success.
NATCA’s team is committed and focused on improving the working relationship between the Union, the FAA and DOT. Efforts like the Air Traffic Safety Action Program (ATSAP), Partnership for Safety, Professional Standards and Fatigue Mitigation efforts are a result of the team’s focus on progress and safety. These processes have led to collaborative decisions on important issues involving airspace, procedures, technology, staffing and training while cementing NATCA's leadership role in the aviation industry.
In January 2011, Mr. Rinaldi was named to the FAA Management Advisory Council (MAC) where he plays a large role in the evaluation of important National Airspace System issues. Side by side with the FAA Administrator in April 2011, Mr. Rinaldi launched a nationwide Call to Action to highlight the issue of fatigue in the workplace and staffing in our nation’s Air Traffic Control Towers.
Following this effort, furthered the fatigue debate during testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation regarding Air Traffic Control Safety Oversight, by providing valuable insight based on scientific data. His efforts resulted in the implementation of twelve significant fatigue mitigation recommendations aimed at bringing a higher level of safety to the professionals he represents and, more importantly, to the flying public as a whole.
Also in 2011 under Paul Rinaldi's leadership, for the first time in history NATCA met the long-term goal of 100% of the bargaining units being covered by negotiated and ratified collective bargaining agreements.
In addition to these accomplishments, Rinaldi currently holds positions on the NextGen Advisory Committee (NAC) and AFL-CIO’s Working America Executive Committee. He also serves as a union representative on the FAA National Labor-Management Forum, created to improve labor relations within the federal government.
