PASS Members Vital to Restoring Chicago Air Traffic Operations
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- Published: October 02, 2014
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), the union that represents Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) technical employees, is recognizing the commitment and dedication of members who have helped with restoration efforts at the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZAU ARTCC) after the events of last week.
PASS-represented employees in Technical Operations are working around the clock in order to provide assistance in Chicago and areas throughout the region. “We are working together as a team,” said Jerry Waloszyk, a PASS representative and FAA employee at the ZAU ARTCC who has firsthand experience with Friday’s incident. “We are giving up family time so we can go operational. Every technician at this facility has shown integrity by stepping up, coming in and doing all the work without any question.”
“It is about accountability and ownership,” said Peter Hartman, a PASS representative and FAA employee at the ZAU ARTCC. “The technicians I work with are some of the best people I know. They care about the facility, the flying public and keeping the system safe.”
Technicians at the facility are currently assisting in the restoration efforts, which includes rebuilding the telecommunications infrastructure in a different part of the building. In the meantime, other Centers in the region are taking over responsibility for the Chicago airspace, including the facility in Kansas City (ZKC ARTCC). Technicians at ZKC ARTCC have been working since Friday to pull cables to hook new communications feed in order to allow the facility to take over a portion of Chicago’s airspace, according to Robert Riggs, a representative of PASS and an FAA employee in Kansas City.
“The Technical Operations employees are working day in and day out to make this happen,” added Ed Weathers, who is also a representative of PASS and an FAA employee at the ZKC ARTCC. “I think our system remains safe because we are behind the scenes making sure of it. We will continue to do this until Chicago Center is back up to 100 percent operational, and we would do this for anyone else because that’s what we do. It’s the nature of the job.”
“All of our members at the Kansas City Center, including Mike Gooch, John Canfield, Ed Weathers, Robert Riggs, Tony Grossman and others, epitomize the work ethic and strong technical skills our folks bring to the table,” said PASS Regional Vice President Dave Spero. “Without their skill and ability, we would not be able to turn this situation around so quickly.”
In addition, FAA technicians in Chicago worked around the clock in order to permit the Chicago Terminal Radar Approach Control facility (C90 TRACON) to assume responsibility for some of the air traffic functions for the ZAU ARTCC. To accomplish this, PASS-represented employees worked to immediately establish four new voice call lines to provide communications with four first-tier Centers in the region. In fact, Lee Leslie, a PASS representative and member of the Chicago Technical Support Unit, immediately changed family plans because he knew he would be needed on the scene to aid in restoration efforts.
The situation in Chicago is highlighting the teamwork and dedication of the federal workforce, but it is also raising concerns regarding technical staffing and budgetary restrictions. “I look at our workforce. I see them coming together in a crisis like this. People working long shifts to get the job done, giving up personal time,” said Mark Dunlap, a PASS regional assistant. “You’re not going to get that from anyone other than federal employees.”
For more information or questions, please contact Jessica Cigich at 202.293.7277 ext. 117 or 202.701.4725.
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For 37 years, PASS has represented more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information, visit the PASS website at www.passnational.org.