Aviation Safety employees represented by PASS:
Last month, employees in Flight Standards received an emailed meeting invitation to discuss new position descriptions (PD) for aviation safety technicians (ASTs).
That email indicated that PASS had signed off on the new PDs. That is simply not true and I wanted all the employees we represent in Flight Standards to hear directly from PASS on this issue.
PASS began this process over eight years ago when the union filed a grievance on behalf of the ASTs we represent in Flight Standards. Our goal was—and remains—to ensure the position descriptions provide clarity for both the employee and the supervisor who will assign the work.
The union has been working with the agency for years on the revision of the PDs and in that sense, the updated versions have been “shared with PASS” and “reviewed by PASS.” However, at no time did the union agree to using the new PDs. As a matter of fact, the recommendations made by PASS in a letter dated April 27, 2021 were largely ignored by the agency.
In its April 27, 2023 email to employees, the FAA cites Article 38 of the PASS/AVS collective bargaining agreement (CBA), “Classification Standards and Position Descriptions.” Under that article, Section 1 states “The Parties recognize that position classification standards for bargaining unit employees are established by the Agency. The Agency shall notify the Union at the national level before changing any of the applicable classification standards and shall consider the Union’s comments on the changes.”
PASS acknowledges the FAA’s right to establish PDs for employees but expects the agency—as a party to the CBA—to thoughtfully consider the union’s recommendations. The FAA did not provide any sound, explicit reasoning for why our recommendations were not acceptable and simply pushed forward with their version of the PDs, the ones discussed in the meeting on April 27, 2023. In the most recent quarterly edition of PASS Times, PASS General Counsel Dennie Rose explained the intricacies of classification challenges in the federal sector and I encourage you to read that article.
In addition, President Biden issued Executive Order 14003 shortly after taking office in January 2021 that stated “The head of each agency subject to the provisions of chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, shall elect to negotiate over the subjects set forth in 5 U.S.C. 7106(b)(1) and shall instruct subordinate officials to do the same.” While our discussions regarding PDs pre-dated this executive order, the FAA did not adjust its approach to this issue in order to be in compliance with it.
Effectively, the FAA stopped collaborating with PASS around this issue, yet implied that we were in agreement with the new PDs. Again, that is simply not true.
PASS is continuing to push back on the implementation of these PDs.
In order to look out for the employees we represent, PASS continues to engage with agency officials at the highest levels. We understand and concur with the agency’s goal of consolidating the numerous PDs to create standardized PDs. We have seen this consolidation occur following another series of grievances and an unfair labor practice filed by PASS affecting employees in the Office of Safety Standards and Foundational Business. These grievances resulted in a March 2021 memorandum of agreement between PASS and the FAA requiring the agency to review all PDs for employees in these functional areas and to provide accurate PDs consistent with Article 38 of our CBA. Our dispute process continues to revolve around the accuracy of any particular PD and whether it reflects the major duties and responsibilities of the position. Those disputes persist most recently for the backlog of certifications projects, some of which were assigned to employees in AFS-900 and AFS-50.
Specific to the AST PDs, since the new PDs limit the AST to “assist” or “provide assistance” or “provide technical support”, then another employee will need to sign the completed task, in this case an aviation safety inspector (ASI). PASS believes this is a duplication of efforts and is an unwise use of resources at any point, especially with continued staffing shortages. In the PDs, the agency will not and has never been able to define the meaning of the term “providing technical assistance and support” to an ASI. If the agency is unable or unwilling to clarify the meaning of the words “assist” and “support”, then ASTs will constantly be asked to conduct work outside the scope of the PD. For example, we know that many ASTs in safety assurance offices are conducting tasks related to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) yet the agency refused to identify UAS tasks in the PDs.
If the FAA elects to move forward with the implementation of these PDs, which we expect they will as they assert their management rights, we ask that every employee under any PD raise concerns to their PASS representative if you feel your supervisor is assigning work outside of your assigned PD.
In solidarity,
Dave Spero
National President
No Responses