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05
Jan
When Congress failed to pass appropriations in the fall of 2025, the resulting 43-day government shutdown tested every corner of the aviation system—and placed an extraordinary burden on all PASS-represented employees. While much of the nation focused on delayed flights and service disruptions, the most critical work continued out of public view: PASS members kept radar functioning, navigational aids online, safety systems certified, and training and modernization plans intact—all while working without pay and without knowing when relief would come. Aviation safety inspectors and other employees were furloughed yet subject to intermittent recall with no telling what their schedule would be from week to week, adding to the stress of not getting paid.
With another funding deadline coming on January 30, PASS continues to warn of the dangers of costly shutdowns on the air traffic control system and the dedicated public servants who maintain and regulate it. “We will continue to stress that aviation workers must be insulated from political stalemates and cannot be forced to work unpaid," said National President Dave Spero. “Disagreements in Congress cannot be allowed to impact the safety and efficiency of our country's aviation system." He also emphasized that “It took many hands to ensure that not one delay during the historic 43-day shutdown was attributed to equipment or system failures."
Despite working in challenging circumstances during the historic 2025 shutdown, PASS-represented employees remained focused on keeping the aviation system safe. But PASS members also took time to make sure the public and lawmakers were aware of the impact any lapse of funding would have not only on the air traffic control system but on their personal lives as dedicated federal employees.
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21
Oct
The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS) continues to warn that the government shutdown could jeopardize the administration’s plans to modernize the nation’s air traffic control system, but expressed concern, too, for the well-being of the employees the union represents. “If the government is not opened as soon as possible, employees will be faced with no pay on October 28,” said National President Dave Spero. “In addition, training has been stopped for these employees who will be critical to the efforts to modernize the National Airspace System.”
PASS represents approximately 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Defense employees throughout the United States and abroad. These employees 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 complex aviation systems used in air traffic control in the United States and overseas. The employees work in the Flight Standards Service and Aircraft Certification in the office of Aviation Safety (AVS), and in Technical Operations, Air Traffic Services, Mission Support Services and Flight Program Operations of the Air Traffic Organization (ATO).
PASS-represented employees in training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City were sent home on October 3, with no funding available to keep them in much-needed classes. “It can take three to five years to fully train a technician,” said President Spero. “Any lapse in training can push the clock back, as it did during the academy’s closure during the pandemic."
The union has expressed to agency leadership that the frontline employees are essential to the efforts to modernize the air traffic control system. The union is positioned to be a valued partner moving forward. “These employees have the knowledge and expertise to upgrade the system and transition to it in a safe and efficient manner,” said President Spero. “Every day, though, we’re taking one step forward but two steps back.”
And now the stress of the government shutdown on these employees is starting to be felt in concrete ways.
