April 3, 2012 - National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) President Paul Rinaldi and Executive Vice President Trish Gilbert will serve a second three-year term after an election deadline last Friday passed without any nominations received from possible challengers for either position. Rinaldi and Gilbert will finish out their first term on August 31. Their second term will run from Sept. 1, 2012 through Aug. 31, 2015. 

?I am profoundly honored and excited to receive this support from our members for the positive direction in which we are proceeding as an organization,? Rinaldi said. ?I am filled with pride to be able to continue to serve them for another three years and lead this great union.  

?We represent a tremendously skilled and professional group of aviation safety professionals that has made our aviation system the world?s safest and most efficient and are working collaboratively with the Federal Aviation Administration to move the system forward to even greater safety levels and success.?

Rinaldi, the sixth president in NATCA?s 25-year history, will become the third to serve two terms, joining Barry Krasner (1991-1997) and John Carr (2000-2006). Gilbert, NATCA?s seventh executive vice president, will become just the second to serve two terms, joining Dr. Ruth Stilwell (formerly Dr. Ruth Marlin, 2000-2006). 

?It has been a pleasure and an honor serving the hard-working men and women of NATCA,? Gilbert said. ?We are thrilled to serve a second term and continue the great work of making our union stronger and better than ever as we celebrate our 25th anniversary and move forward together into a future filled with opportunity and great optimism.? 

Rinaldi, who served as executive vice president from 2006-2009, assumed national office after 16 years as an air traffic controller at Washington-Dulles Tower (IAD). He served as facility representative of the Dulles local chapter of NATCA, and also served as alternate vice president of NATCA?s Eastern Region.  

Gilbert previously worked as a controller for 21 years at Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center. She also served as facility representative at Houston Center and also chaired NATCA?s National Legislative Committee from 2005-2009. 

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) is a labor union in the United States. It is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, and is the exclusive bargaining representative for air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It also represents a range of workers related to the Air traffic control (ATC) industry, and the (FAA) itself. 

NATCA was formed in 1987, following the decertification of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO), the organization involved in the well known 1981 air traffic controllers' strike. NATCA promised to never condone an illegal strike but does actively pressure Congress and the FAA to hire more controllers and to accelerate the installation of advanced air traffic control systems. Internationally, the NATCA is affiliated with the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA).