I should probably get out more, but I find fascinating the interplay between one of the most influential members of the current administration and a union that has typically been a thorn in the side of successive presidencies, particularly Republican ones.
At first, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was trying to find his footing with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association concerning the current government shutdown. Initially it was all deep concern about controllers foregoing pay to keep the skies open for business. But when it looked like the controllers might be playing politics with the shutdown with a spike in sick calls, he was in full authoritarian mode and threatening to fire controllers whose “dedication” to the job, paid or not, wasn’t what he demanded of them. He also falsely claimed their starting wage was $180,000 a year.
Then the tough-guy posture disappeared to be replaced with even more heartfelt musings on the plight of controllers, especially the younger ones, most of whom make about $50,000 a year. He’s not wrong about the rookie controllers. Some of them are indeed doing gig work to put food on the table while they wait for last month’s little paycheck.
The subtext of all this is that Duffy has obviously come to realize that the controllers will almost certainly decide when the shutdown will end but not by illegally engineering it. According to controller friends of mine, Duffy’s pretty much spot on when he describes the added stress the shutdown has applied to an already-fraught situation in most ATC facilities. There is more stress, and your typically high-strung controller is just a little more tightly wound these days. It’s not much of a stretch to believe that a few more are going to call in sick.
Duffy has been soft-pedaling the sick thing recently. He’s mentioned it but he hasn’t issued any more threats or demanded controllers show up for work.
That means he now knows about the unspoken rule about sick leave at ATC facilities. Managers never question a sick leave notification. There are no doctors’ notes or quiet little meetings. The fact is that despite the apparent turmoil in the NAS, controllers love their jobs and would just as soon be working as doing anything else. It’s a good thing. They are required to work six 10-hour shifts a week and many do overtime on top of that. They are extremely proud of the work they do, and doing it under the current circumstances just amplifies that. If they call in sick, they are self-certifying that they aren’t up to putting in a solid shift.
That’s all anyone else in the cab needs to know. If a controller isn’t up to the job, they don’t want him to show up. There’s too much at stake, and the government shutdown is irrelevant in that discussion. The controllers I’ve spoken to can’t imagine themselves or anyone else on the job using sick leave to make a political point.
So, there’s some irony in the mostly false narrative that it was controllers and TSA workers who forced an end to the last long shutdown. A minor but well-publicized increase in sick leave at key East Coast facilities caused delays on Jan. 25, 2019, and the social media uproar was more than the politicians could take. The government was back in business within hours.
It does beg the question of what controllers might be able to do if they wanted to use their supposed political superpowers, and I think it’s pretty obvious where they’d start. How about a sick-out at Reagan National on the Friday before a long weekend? The mind boggles…
No surprise here, Duffy’s shift from “we value your service” to “we’ll fire those who don’t show up” really drives home how intimidation is being normalized down the chain. That tone isn’t accidental; it’s deliberate. It’s a fine display of loyalty to the White House’s preferred style, rule by fear of punishment instead of respect for the people who actually keep the system running.
Raf… this brings to mind the old saying:
“pride goeth before the fall”
They are in the drivers seat this time. And there are only about 13,000 controllers total. That is such a small portion of the federal budget, cancel a few gold items purchase for the White House and pay salaries to them instead. That still will leave them way understaffed at the busy places.
Sheesh, this place is already getting as bad as was Avweb. Note: The ballroom is being funded by private donors and the government shutdown is continuing due to the politics of the far left. Put down the kool aid and look at the facts.
It is absolutely absurd for you or anyone to blame anyone other than the GOP for the shutdown. They control the presidency, the House, and the Senate. How on Earth could anyone else be responsible for it?
Nonsense!
I haven’t found anything in this that would cause me to nuke anything. Quite civil and educational but also spirited. I wouldn’t expect anything else on a topic like this. I don’t understand the reference to the ballroom, though. Did I miss something?
A sick-out at Reagan National wouldn’t affect GOP House members since they were last seen in DC back on September 19 and don’t appear to be coming back anytime soon.
The kool aide is strong and the hysteria growing. The House is not needed to end the shutdown as they already passed the Continuing Resolution. A few on the left in the Senate have voted to reopen the government but there are those few still holding it up. If the CR gets passed, the government reopens and, in the next session the full funding will be debated. This is simply pure politics on the part of the left.
Yes because the “far left” control the White House and both houses of Congress
…oh wait…
The GOP and Trump can end this shutdown anytime they want.
Ya just don’t get it. It takes 60 votes in the Senate to pass the funding bill and, with some support from the Dems, they’re still (I think) 3 votes short. “Control” is not all it’s cracked up to be.
The GOP-controlled Senate has more than the 51 votes it needs to waive the Senate’s 60-vote requirement to stop filibusters and allow a vote on the spending bill. President Trump has told them to do just that. Twice already this year a majority vote of GOP Senators waived the rule’s 60-vote requirement. Once so that they could override CA’s electric vehicle standards and a second time to confirm dozens of nominees en bloc. But not another one-off sidestep of the filibuster rule to fund the government? They’re arguing their hands are in cuffs while holding the key.
No, that is wrong. It does not take 60 votes to pass funding in the Senate. It takes 51, it takes 60 to overcome a Filibuster and the Filibuster rules can be changed at any time as has been done by both parties and has been suggested by Trump.
I stand corrected. Then I have to ask: Why didn’t the bill pass in the first place? Oh, yeah, Rand Paul did not vote for it so only 50 votes. Guess I don’t like him any more. Is there a filibuster going on?
There are 53 Republican Senators (plus VP Vance if needed to break a tie). It has never come to a vote because 51 of those 53 Republican Senators have not been willing to waive the Senate rule requiring 60 votes to end debate and aren’t willing to risk an actual filibuster that would tie up the Senate (there isn’t one going on). Twice earlier this year 51+ Republican Senators were willing to waive the 60-vote requirement as I mentioned above.
Yes, there is a filibuster going on. They changed the rules so you don’t have to talk endlessly for hours to filibuster. You just say “I’m filibustering”, and they all go home!
Yea only if they give away the store to the absurd demands by the lunatic fringe of the left
When the Republicans are the obstructionists, the Republicans are the bad guys. When the Dems are the obstructionists, the Republicans are the bad guys. Makes total sense. While many on the right have made their politics their religion, you lefties have overwhelmingly done so.
Looks like you’re right, but still “wrong”.
Let’s ease up on the political rhetoric and try to stick to the impact on aviation. Getting the delete button warmed up…..
Russ, asking people to “ease up on the political rhetoric” misses what is really driving the stress. The shutdown is political, and it is hitting aviation directly—controllers are still working without pay in towers, TRACONs, and centers.
No one here was out of line, just reacting to real conditions. If controllers hold political power they never wanted, the discussion should connect the dots: unpaid work, fatigue, and morale. Controllers are not political actors; they are being pulled into a fight they did not start.
The answer is not less politics, but clearer framing. Show the staffing ratios, sick-call surges, and delay data. That is what matters, not cooling off the thread.
I had hoped the political hubris would be left behind at AVWEB and discussions here might reflect both humility and the reasoned wisdom either-or.positions are usually failures of imagination and an openness to other perspectives. Guess not.
I don’t know how to keep politics out of a fundamentally political story. We need to talk about this and there will be disagreement but as long as it’s respectful, like yours is, I’ll let it ride.
Not to beat a dead horse, well, yea, guess I am. But some folks can not accept an opinion with courtesy or politely. They feel assaulted and respond to the other as though they are the dumbest person they have ever heard. I get that a lot. Maybe I should accept that message like I always did when I was FAA. NOT! When the mike was unkeyed or in the break room, we all exchanged many thoughts forcefully. It was fun there, but not so much here. You do a great job though of reeling us in as necessary. Children!!!!
Raf,
I agree and as usual, your comments provide a balanced and thoughtful perspective. This political stalemate does now affect us in GA directly. For example, my CFI and I are going out to do some mutual hood work, but we’ve decided to avoid burdening ATC by doing approaches at non-towered fields. Still, this pales by comparison to working people in need not being able to put enough food on the table or afford medical insurance. Or, controllers doing side jobs to stay afloat. As they get stressed, I want ATC personnel calling in sick, but more so, I want the Trump regime to end this thing.
Russ: thank you for the reporting.
As a retired “Fed” it’s good to read of Federal employees doing essential work that they love.