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Return to Article: FAA says it must hire, train air traffic controllers before retirement wave

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  The FAA could do better if they would only hire some retired controllers and those who have experience in general aviation like myself, but the FAA says they are an "equal opprortunity employer", (Yeah right).

  Roger Smart Posted August 19, 2008 11:38 PM
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  Overworked and underpaid? Did the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation get accurate information? Maybe they should review how long controllers actually work operational positions.

  GovExec.com reader Posted June 22, 2004 11:12 AM
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  Sorry Becca. No points for you. The village idiots in Washington at that time had no intentions of negotiating anything with the air traffic controllers. They couldn't afford to let the real reasons for the strike out. Which, if memory serves me correctly was, (a) better pay for supervisors and, (b) a replacement for an aging, outdated, dangerous air traffic control system. Or perhaps you were too young to remember the increasing number of near misses that had occured. The air traffic controlers were desperate to prevent disaster. So they did what they felt they had to do in order to save lives. Even though they knew it might cost them their jobs. Didn't catch that on "60 Minutes", huh?

  Now with all due respect to the deceased, Ronnie had to do something. He just didn't necessarily know the best thing to do. Firing all those people was not exactly highly intelligent. That's where his staff failed him and the rest of the country on this issue. There could have been major repercussions they hadn't planned for. They played politics with the lives of thousands of people. So call it what you will. But the word "purge" still fits.

  Art Doss Posted June 21, 2004 8:25 PM
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  Seems ironic that they hold a meeting because of the great concern and yet they do not provide funding to the agency to address the concern properly. That same issues are heard throughout government as we pay millions of dollars to go through competitions with industry, fund wars that we haven't been asked to fight; fund programs of special interests....what's wrong with this picture?

  GovExec.com reader Posted June 17, 2004 9:08 AM
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  Your story is inaccurate as to President Reagan's handling of the Air Traffic Controllers. They knowingly, willingly participated in an illegal strike in direct violation of their employment contract. They were given a chance to return to their jobs and negotiate for the desired changes to that contract but chose instead to stay on strike. President Reagan took a legal stand and enforced the contract the Air Traffic Controllers union had bargained for. It was not a purge by Reagan. It was a boss holding employees to their contract.

  Rebecca Whitehead Posted June 16, 2004 8:52 AM
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  I thought Reagan was a visionary, how could this be happening? They won't pay us when we are here but they have to make special arrangments to replace us. What are they going to replace us with, cheap labor from India, Pakistan or China?

  Suffer, just like we do.

  GovExec.com reader Posted June 16, 2004 6:50 AM