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Professional Aviation Safety Specialists

PASS

Professional Aviation Safety Specialists
Founded	17 February 1977 (1977-02-17)
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Location	United States
Members	11,000
Key people	Mike Perrone, National President Rich Casey, National Vice President
Affiliations	AFL-CIO, AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council, International Labor Communications Association, International Transportation Workers Federation, International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Association (IFATSEA), Transportation Trades Department (TTD)
Website	https://www.passnational.org/

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists AFL-CIO (PASS) is a labor union representing approximately 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense (DoD) employees throughout the United States and abroad. For over 30 years, PASS has been committed to protecting the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS) for the flying public.

Today, PASS continues to protect and promote aviation safety as a true leader in the FAA and DoD by adding new programs, increasing communications, expanding organizing, and improving membership services. Ranging from inspectors who ensure industry compliance with FAA safety standards to systems specialists (technicians) who maintain and certify critical aviation systems, PASS members ensure the integrity, reliability, and safety of the commercial and general aviation industries. The efforts of PASS and its members allow the United States to maintain the safest aviation system in the world.

History

PASS was founded on February 17, 1977. Just three days prior, more than 50 FAA technicians from what was then called Airway Facilities (AF) traveled to Chicago to meet and strategize about improving working conditions and quickly decided that technicians needed their own labor union to represent them before the FAA and Congress, which resulted in the formation of PASS. The workforce responded positively to the union's formation and by March 30, over 580 new members had joined.

In that same year, PASS's Executive Board wrote the local constitution and bylaws to allow the issuance of local charters. On April 19, 1977, Chicago O'Hare became the first local to receive a PASS charter. By year's end, PASS moved its national office to Capitol Hill, having chartered 27 locals and representing a total of 1,200 members, as well as electing their first national president, Howard Johannssen (1977-1994).

In January 1978, PASS won a landslide election to become the exclusive representative for Chicago O'Hare technicians and held their first annual PASS Convention in the same month. Three years later in 1981, PASS was elected the union for all system specialists and was voted the exclusive representative of the Airway Facilities (AF) bargaining unit. By 1985, the Office of Aviation Standards (AVN) became the second PASS bargaining unit and, in 1987, PASS acquired its first Department of Defense (DoD) bargaining unit.

In addition to growing in numbers, the PASS leadership was focused on growing in influence, working diligently to build and strengthen PASS's relationship with the members of Congress, the media, other unions, and the aviation industry as a whole. A sure indicator of its increasing influence, in just its third year, PASS testified before Congress on five separate occasions on issues ranging from contracting out to federal employee benefits.

PASS continued to gain momentum in the 1990s. In 1991, the second largest PASS bargaining unit, Flight Standards (FS), voted in favor of joining the union and, by September 15, nearly 300 FS employees had joined PASS. By the end of the decade, employees in the Manufacturing Inspection District Office (MIDO) bargaining unit joined PASS as well.

Howard Johannssen remained the national president into the early 90s until Jack Johnson (1994-1997), a longtime PASS member and former employee involvement coordinator, was elected to the position. On September 1, 1994. Johnson was committed to working in partnership and cooperation with the FAA to reach the goals that the PASS membership had set.

With an ever-increasing focus on legislative activity and establishing and maintaining relationships in Congress throughout the 90s, PASS formally established a Political Action Committee (PAC) in 1994. PASS's legislative efforts over the years have resulted in numerous victories for the union, including legislation introduced to protect the jobs of bargaining unit employees, demands for increases in inspector and technician staffing, and requests for the FAA to negotiate in good faith with its unions.

Presidents after Jack Johnson include Michael Fanfalone (1997-2003), Tom Brantley (2003-2012), and current PASS President Mike Perrone. Since its creation, PASS has had its share of victories and challenges, successes and difficult moments, but through it all, the solidarity and camaraderie that led the PASS founders to gather in Chicago has remained strong in order to promote and protect the rights of PASS members.

Organization

National President

Mike Perrone began his term as PASS national president in October 2012 after serving as the union’s national vice president since 2003. Following five years of service in the United States Air Force, Perrone joined the FAA in 1981. He began his career in air traffic control before working as a radar technician. Prior to becoming PASS’s national vice president, Perrone worked in a variety of union roles, including PASS national assistant and PASS liaison to several FAA programs, and was involved in training, engineering and system design.

National Vice President

Richard Casey began his term as PASS national vice president in October 2012. Prior to being elected national vice president, Casey served as president of PASS’s Illinois chapter. He joined the FAA in 1999 as a technician and most recently worked at the Chicago Program Support Center. In 2003, he graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s of science degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. Casey has fulfilled many different roles during his PASS membership, including chapter president, chair of PASS’s National Organizing Committee, contract representative for his district and regional member of PASS’s National Legislative Committee.

PASS Regional Vice Presidents

PASS membership is divided into five regions. PASS Regions I, II and III align with FAA boundaries and consist of employees in the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) bargaining unit. PASS Region IV encompasses Aviation Safety (AVS) employees nationwide, and PASS Region V includes employees in Flight Inspection Services, Mission Support Services and the Department of Defense bargaining units. The list below shows the current regional vice presidents of their respective regions:

Region I - Luke Drake

Region II - Dave Spero

Region III - Dennis Cherwinski

Region IV - Linda Goodrich

Region V - Bob Abbott

National Office Staff

The PASS national office and staff is located in Washington, D.C. The staff consists of various positions, including: Administrative Assistant, Assistant Counsel, Communications Manager, Communications Specialist, Counsel, Labor Relations Specialist, Legislative/Administrative Director, Legislative Representative, Member Services/Special Projects Manager, and National Organizer.

External links

• PASS official website

Regions