PASS Commends Lawmakers' Action To End FAA Furloughs

Details: Published: July 09, 2013

Today, Mike Perrone, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), which represents approximately 11,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees,

issued the following statement on passage of legislation to end furloughs at the FAA. The Senate passed the legislation last night allowing the Department of Transportation to transfer $253 million in funds to the FAA's operations account, and the House passed it this morning. The administration has indicated that the president will sign the bill into law.

"PASS commends lawmakers for recognizing the detrimental impacts across-the-board cuts can have when it means furloughing the FAA employees who work behind the scenes 24/7 to ensure the safety and efficiency of the entire aviation system. Aviation safety inspectors, systems specialists, aeronautical specialists, administrative personnel and thousands of other professionals at the FAA are the backbone of safe and efficient air travel in this country. It became immediately clear on day one of the furloughs that there were going to be major problems, and the situation progressively worsened over the last six days since the furloughs have been in effect. Forcing employees off the job has severely strained the system and had a domino effect on critical systems, equipment and personnel.

"We appreciate lawmakers' support of this commonsense solution to a quickly devolving situation; however, Congress and the administration must find a permanent solution that repeals sequestration so that we do not have to continue to apply Band-Aid solutions for the next 10 years at the FAA. Quick fixes following clear and evident examples of disruptions to the aviation system are no way to run the safest and most efficient aviation system in the world."

For more information or questions, please contact Kori Blalock Keller at (202) 293-7277 x110.

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For 36 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.