The National President of Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), David Spero, appeared on the AWF Union Podcast and spoke about the contracts his union is fighting to obtain, as well as the need for the Federal Aviation Administration to change its rule-making policies related to mental health.
PASS represents more than 11,000 FAA and Department of Defense employees. Currently, the union is working to complete negotiations for two separate Collective Bargaining Agreements. Spero said the first CBA is an Aviation Safety Specialist contract, while the second contract is the Air Traffic Organization (ATO). He noted that ATO contract has been in the works for two years and urged the FAA to get the deal finished.
The focus of the ATO contract is to increase the pay, training and staffing levels of the organization, Spero said. This understaffed group is overworked, and members are beginning to develop mental health problems as a result of the stress of their jobs.
He also spoke about attending the Mental Health and Aviation Summit and how it led to conversations about the complicated and long process individuals must go through in order to obtain medical certification if they have any mental health issues. Members are concerned because the current policy does not help people address their mental health. Instead, the employees feel like they must hide those problems.
Listen to the entire episode to hear more about these issues: