David J. Spero is currently serving his second term as the National President of the Professional
Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), AFL-CIO. Prior to being first elected national president in
2021, Spero was the Region II Vice President, elected by the members to serve six three-year
terms in that position, representing Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Organization
employees in the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico.

PASS represents more than 11,000 employees of the FAA 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.

A native of Buffalo, New York, President Spero has been a committed public servant his entire
career. After joining the U.S. Air Force, Spero attended technical school at Keesler Air Force
Base to become an air traffic control radar specialist. He was subsequently assigned to the 2021st
Communications Squadron at Tyndall Air Force Base. During his military tenure, Spero
maintained proper operation of the air traffic control radar and ancillary systems at the Tyndall
radar approach control (RAPCON) supporting the mission of the Air Force Air Defense
Weapons Center.

After his honorable discharge from the Air Force, President Spero continued his public service at
the FAA as an airways transportation systems specialist. His work consisted of the certification
and maintenance of electrical systems integral to the movement of aircraft for the nation’s air
traffic control system. Those systems included radar, computer automation, communications and
weather data for pilots and air traffic controllers.

Joining PASS not long after arriving at the FAA, President Spero quickly became active in the
union, serving as a local chapter president and union representative. In 2003, he was elected to
his first term as Region II Vice President. As a member of PASS’s Executive Board, President
Spero helped to guide the union in its governance and in its negotiations with the FAA on
collective bargaining agreements. In 2009, he graduated from the National Labor College with a
bachelor’s degree in Union Leadership and Administration and was recognized with a
Distinguished Senior Paper Award.

As National President, Spero is responsible for leading the policy of the union and advocating for
the needs and workplace rights of PASS bargaining unit employees. He meets regularly with
senior FAA officials as well as members of Congress who serve on committees related to federal
employee issues, aviation safety and agency funding, staffing and resources. He is actively
working with the agency and lawmakers to adopt strategic workforce plans so that employees
have the training, resources and staffing to properly support the National Airspace System and
ultimately, the American flying public and taxpayers.