Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO
By Emmett Clark, PASS NVS Article 13 Representative
As previously reported, the FAA has been developing a new voice switch for the National Airspace System (NAS). The new voice switch, which is being built by Harris Corp., is called the NAS Voice Switch, or NVS. Currently, the NVS is scheduled to be deployed to 80 sites across the NAS, including all ARTCCs, TRACONs, and large ATCTs.
Today, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), the unions representing thousands of employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), released the following statement in response to introduction of the Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act (H.R.4441) by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Bill Shuster (R-Pa.):
Today, Kurt Donnelly, Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) representative for the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), joined Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Assistant Administrator for NextGen Edward Bolton to discuss how NextGen is benefitting travelers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
By Kathy Sanford, Chapter FL1 Member and PASS Fatigue Safety Steering Committee
As I approach my retirement, I am still in disbelief at what I have accomplished over the years. At the end of your working career, you start thinking about the beginning of it all. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was a secretary during the day and a grocery store deli clerk at night. I had a college degree but no real opportunities so I decided to join the Air Force. My father was in the Army Air Corp, so I thought the Air Force was the place to go. I enjoyed my time in military service. I met my husband and started my family. I got to see Texas, Nebraska, and Turkey. Thanks to fate, I ended up in Washington, D.C. (Andrews Air Force Base, to be precise) during the time of the first Gulf War. With a new baby and a four-year-old, and an active duty military husband, we decided that we didn't both need to get deployed. That was when I made my decision to exit the military.
This week, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced that it has established a new cybersecurity resource for those impacted by recent data breaches. The new verification center will assist individuals who believe their data may have been taken but have not received a notification letter from the government.
Last week, PASS lost a truly remarkable and dedicated member when Serge Cote passed away at age 52 after a year-long battle with cancer. Cote, president of Chapter MI2 and PASS member since 2000, was an aviation safety inspector at the East Michigan Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), although he refused to identify the facility as anything but its original name: the Detroit FSDO. “He never got over the agency changing the name of the office,” said Linda Goodrich, former Region IV vice president. “He was so honored to work in Detroit and to be part of that community. He was always an extremely proud member of the Detroit FSDO.”