FAA Employee Union Faults Agency For Inadequate COVID-19 Response

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13 Mar

Today, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS) expressed strong disappointment in the way the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has prepared employees and, the agency itself, to cope with the coronavirus outbreak that has only spread in recent weeks and shows no sign of ending.

PASS represents 11,000 employees at the FAA and the Department of Defense, with the bulk of those employees at the FAA.

“The employees we represent are rightfully concerned about this global pandemic,” said National President Mike Perrone. “Many work at airports, others physically inspect planes and interact with flight crews. Yet the responses from the FAA and Department of Transportation to their concerns have been woefully inadequate.”

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PASS Welcomes House Committee Investigations into Boeing 737 MAX Accidents

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10 Mar

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), welcomed the preliminary findings of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the two crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019. The union represents 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, and inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries.
 
The preliminary findings, titled “The Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft: Costs, Consequences, and Lessons from its Design, Development, and Certification,” were released on Friday.
 
“PASS, and the employees we represent, have been cooperating with the committee’s investigators and will continue to do so until all the factors contributing to the tragic accidents have been uncovered,” said PASS National President Mike Perrone. “We thank Committee Chair Peter DeFazio and Aviation Subcommittee Chair Rick Larsen for their leadership on this important issue,” he continued.

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PASS on Release of Boeing 737 Max Emails

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10 Jan

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS) issued the following statement today regarding the Boeing emails released to congressional investigators:

The dedicated men and women PASS represents at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are committed public servants who work on behalf of the American public to ensure the highest standards of aviation safety. They take their jobs seriously and are acutely aware that lives are at stake if they don’t.

It was disheartening to read the internal Boeing emails released to congressional investigators, some of which were to and from FAA employees. The aviation safety inspectors PASS represents in both the Flight Standards Service and Aircraft Certification division at the agency are highly skilled and trained. Many are military veterans and pilots themselves. They maintain the utmost professionalism in their dealings with Boeing and other industry stakeholders with whom they interact.

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PASS Applauds Introduction of Bill to Strengthen Aircraft Safety and Protect the Flying Public

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15 Nov

The leader of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS)—representing 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees—today welcomed the introduction of the Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act in the House of Representatives. The bill was introduced by Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The bill would protect the country’s ability to inspect FAA-certificated foreign repair stations that service U.S.-based aircraft. “Aircraft maintenance should be held to the same standard whether an aircraft is inspected abroad or in the United States,” said PASS National President Mike Perrone. “The aviation safety inspectors we represent at the FAA are tasked with ensuring that all repair stations comply with U.S. safety regulations,” he continued. “However, the agency currently lacks the funding and personnel to adequately conduct robust inspections.”

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PASS Cited in New Report on Government Shutdown

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26 Sep

As another government shutdown looms when federal funding runs out on September 30, the Partnership for Public Service has issued a new report examining the costs and lingering effects of the 35-day partial shutdown earlier this year.

Although the House of Representatives has passed a continuing resolution (CR) that would keep government funding at current levels through November 21, which the Senate is expected to approve the measure and send to the president, federal employees could again be facing a government shutdown the week before Thanksgiving if Congress can’t act by the time the CR expires.

The Partnership’s report, “Shutdown Letdown: How the Longest Shutdown in U.S. History Did Lasting Damage to Our Government and the People It Serves,” contains four case studies presented to Congress.

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), AFL-CIO, is cited in two of the studies: on aviation and federal recruitment. PASS represents over 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense. It is the only FAA employee representative cited in the report.

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Remembering Sept. 11

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11 Sep

On a beautiful late summer morning 18 years ago, the men and women of PASS, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO, were on the job as usual, working for the American public. What transpired that day changed our nation and the aviation industry forever.

In the days, weeks and months following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense (DoD) employees represented by PASS went above and beyond their usual selfless dedication to their work. They helped safely clear the skies that day, as over 4,000 planes were grounded and those in the air directed to the closest airport. They staffed phones to address pilot, mechanic and public concerns and monitored airports and facilities 24 hours a day, coordinating mandates from the White House, Department of Transportation and the FAA.

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