For Immediate Release
Contact: Kori Blalock
August 3, 2006

IN RECORD-SETTING VOTE, PASS MEMBERS REJECT COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT WITH FAA
Technical Operations Employees Overwhelmingly Vote “No”;
Parties Must Now Return to Bargaining Table

WASHINGTON, DC – Earlier today, members of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) overwhelmingly rejected a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Following an all-time record voter turn out, employees represented by PASS in the Technical Operations bargaining unit gave a resounding “No” in response to the contract, with 98 percent of the votes against the agreement.

“Hopefully, the ratification failure will serve as a clear wake-up call for FAA management about what PASS members are not willing to accept simply because the agency feels it is in complete control of the bargaining process,” said PASS National President Tom Brantley.

Both parties must now return to the bargaining table to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement for Technical Operations. At this time, it is unclear when the process will begin due to pending legal proceedings initiated by the FAA. Until PASS members successfully ratify a new collective bargaining agreement, the current agreement remains in effect.

“At some point, the FAA will run out of delaying tactics and will be forced to return to the bargaining table,” added Brantley. “When that time comes, PASS’s contract team will be ready to meet with the agency’s negotiators to reach an agreement that will satisfy the needs of both parties and be successfully ratified by the PASS membership.”

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PASS represents 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.