2018 // The John Thornton Award: Dean Iacopelli

The John Thornton Award was presented on April 20, 2018 at the 17th Biennial Convention in Philadelphia to Dean Iacopelli.

Iacopelli is one of NATCA’s most passionate and loyal NATCAvists and also one of its fiercest defenders. He was one of the longest-serving FacReps the Union has had. He served the membership at New York TRACON (N90) with great distinction for 13 years, from 2002 to 2015. Prior to that, he was the vice president of the N90 local from 1994 to 2001. He has spent his entire career at N90. He served as Eastern Region Alternate Vice President from 2012 to 2015 before being elected to serve as Eastern Regional Vice President, a position he held from 2015 to 2018.

He served on both the 2005 and 2009 contract teams for the air traffic controllers/TMU/NOTAM bargaining unit talks. He was the chief negotiator on NATCA’s 2016 Slate Book contract team that secured a collective bargaining agreement for the air traffic controllers, traffic management coordinators, NOTAM specialists, and Alaskan Flight Service bargaining units. He is an integral part of our very successful collaborative working relationship with the FAA, serving on the Collaborative Working Group.

(VIDEO: Watch Iacopelli receive the John Thornton Award; April 20, 2018)