As are many in the tight-knit aviation community, PASS is shocked and saddened by the collision over National Airport in Washington, DC last night. It appears there were no survivors among the passengers and crew aboard American Eagle Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.

With heartfelt compassion, we mourn the lives of all the souls who perished last night and send our sympathies to their loved ones.

Statement of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS) on the confirmation of Sean Duffy as the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) today. PASS represents 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense employees:

PASS congratulates Mr. Duffy on his overwhelming confirmation as DOT Secretary. We look forward to working with the secretary as the FAA seeks to strengthen its staffing numbers to ensure the safety of the American flying public. The FAA has prioritized hiring technicians and Congress has directed the FAA to hire more aviation safety inspectors, workforces both represented by PASS. The union will continue to advocate that the FAA meet its hiring targets in the name of public safety and hopes the incoming secretary agrees that these committed public servants are critical to the success of the National Airspace System, the largest, safest and most complex air traffic control system in the world.

Today, David Spero, national president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), testified in front of Congress to address aging systems maintained by employees PASS represents at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); the lack of adequate staffing among the technician workforce and the fact that the agency is not using a vital resource in service to the world’s largest and most complex air traffic control system—its own employees.

During the Senate Commerce Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation Subcommittee hearing on U.S. Air Traffic Control Systems, Personnel and Safety, President Spero spoke to the results of a survey it conducted after being asked by the General Accounting Office (GAO) earlier this year for information about 135 FAA systems and equipment that are aging. PASS surveyed its members in the FAA Air Traffic Organization’s Technical Operations unit about those 135 systems as front line employees have their hands on that equipment and are most familiar with what is needed to keep them running. GAO Report

“The survey feedback was both expansive and concerning,” said President Spero. The challenges PASS-represented technicians face range from dealing with aging equipment to navigating through cumbersome procedures and limited availability of parts. “The complexity of the systems, compounded by staffing and training inadequacies, further exacerbates the situation,” he continued. He was quick to point out that although there are aging systems still in use, these technicians also work on sophisticated, hi-tech, cloud-based systems as well.

President Spero’s testimony

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), AFL-CIO, the union that represents over 11,000 employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense (DoD), released this statement regarding the election of Donald Trump as president in 2024.

“As a union representing federal employees, PASS is focused on policies that ensure our members have safe, secure federal jobs that allow them to keep the American flying public and the commerce of the nation safe and free from interruption or delays,” said National President Dave Spero.

On the eve of a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on the federal workforce, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), AFL-CIO, joined the Federal Workers Alliance in raising concerns about the  return of Schedule F. The hearing, titled “Ensuring a Trustworthy Government: Examining the National Security Risks of Replacing Nonpartisan Civil Servants with Political Appointees,” is on September 17.

Schedule F stems from a presidential executive order (no longer in effect) in which tens of thousands of federal employees who serve in roles believed to have some authority over policy would be reassigned as Schedule F employees. These employees would lose their workplace and union protections upon reassignment, making them functionally at-will employees and therefore far easier to fire. Further, Schedule F defies merit principles and instead would require political loyalty to a president.

Read the full letter

The Federal Workers Alliance is a coalition of labor unions representing over 550,000 federal and postal employees. PASS represents 11,000 employees at the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense.

“To be clear,” the unions wrote, “Schedule F—or any similar authority that replicates its elements—serves only to undermine and corrupt the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government and must be legally prohibited from ever being implemented.”

Today, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS) announced the results of its 2024 national officer elections. PASS represents 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense.

Running unopposed, National President David J. Spero won his second term in that position. National Secretary-Treasurer Carlos Aguirre was reelected for his third term on the PASS Executive Board.