Professional Aviation Safety Specialists

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) is affiliated with the AFL–CIO[1] through its affiliation with the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association.[2] It represents more than 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense employees.[3] The union was founded in 1977 by President Emeritus Howard Johannssen, an FAA safety technician.[3] As of 2015, the president of the union is Mike Perrone.[4][5][6]

Employees covered under PASS include systems specialists, flight standards and manufacturing aviation safety inspectors, aeronautical information professionals, flight inspection pilots, mission specialists, operations staff, aircraft maintenance employees, legal instruments examiners, compliance specialists and support staff.[7]

In April 2015, the union, along with six other unions representing Federal Aviation Administration employees, sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives, arguing against proposals to privatize the FAA that came out a congressional hearing the previous month titled "Options for FAA Air Traffic Reform."[8] PASS is opposed to proposals to privatize the nation’s air traffic control system. The United States has the safest, largest, and most complex aviation system in the world and that system should continue to be operated solely for the public’s benefit and safety, not for the benefit of a private entity.[9]

In February 2016, the chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee introduced legislation[10] that would turn over the operation of the air traffic control system to a nongovernmental entity. In 2017, President Donald Trump announced his support for privatization of the FAA. Writing a month later in the New Jersey Star-Ledger, PASS President Perrone wrote: "This large-scale government reorganization would imperil the core mission of the interrelated segments of the FAA, which are devoted to maintaining safety and efficiency. Collaboration and interaction between every part of the FAA is essential to the success of our aviation system. The FAA manages the most complicated aviation system in the world; splitting the agency up disrupts this proven model and gambles with aviation safety."[11] Efforts by PASS and other labor and industry groups led the T&I chair to abandon privatization in early 2018.[12]

In Safety Culture the authors wrote that "Some employees think that the union (PASS – Professional Aviation Safety Specialists) is too weak.... PASS was believed to be frequently reactive to management instead of being proactive and a strong equal partner in key decisions."[13] Later in the book they wrote: "Clearly the safety of equipment ... is the focus of PASS membership."[14] The authors said that PASS often adopts a "tactical" mode in their efforts to achieve safety objectives, compared to the "strategic" mode of the pilots' union, but that there have been many instances where all the unions work together with corporate management and the FAA.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Jansen, Bart. "After Austin tower flooding, FAA shifts air control to San Antonio". USA Today. McLean, VA: Gannett. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Professional Aviation Safety Specialists 2014 Constitution
  3. 1 2 Kapps Robert W. and Hamilton J. Scott (2012). Labor Relations in the Aviation and Aerospace Industries. Southern Illinois University Press. p. 246. ISBN 978-0809330430.
  4. ↑ "PASS Officers". Professional Aviation Safety Specialists. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Jansen, Bart. "FAA reopens Chicago-area control of planes after fire". USA Today. McLean, VA: Gannett. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Lavrinc, amon (2 November 2013). "Thousands of Aviation Safety Inspectors Furloughed in Government Shutdown". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  7. ↑ https://www.passnational.org/about-us
  8. ↑ Lyncy, Kerry (April 23, 2015). "FAA Unions Speak Out Against ATC Privatization". AIN Online. The Convention News Company. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Legislative Issues". www.passnational.org. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  10. ↑ Bill, Shuster, (2016-02-11). "Text - H.R.4441 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization Act of 2016". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  11. ↑ "N.J. has 46 airports - don't let Trump gamble with aviation safety | Opinion". NJ.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  12. ↑ Conradis, Brandon (2018-02-27). "Shuster drops push to privatize air traffic control". TheHill. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  13. ↑ Patankar, Manoj S; Brown, Jeffrey P; Sabin, Edward J.; Bigda-Peyton, Thomas G. (2012). Safety Culture: Building and Sustaining a Cultural Change in Aviation and Healthcare. Ashgate Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 978-1409486916. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  14. 1 2 Patankar, Manoj S; Brown, Jeffrey P; Sabin, Edward J.; Bigda-Peyton, Thomas G. (2012). Safety Culture: Building and Sustaining a Cultural Change in Aviation and Healthcare. Ashgate Publishing. p. 138. ISBN 978-1409486916. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.