FAA Releases Bold, New Air Traffic Controller Hiring Plan

[Soul_Controller]

Worked at a military RAPCON for 6 years and everyone worked straight shifts that only changed week to week. Which is frankly better than anything the FAA can offer. What exactly are you dogging on the .mil side about?

Hah, my own personal baggage from my time as rep.

 

[CancelTakeoff]

 

[ATCJoe85]

Heh, this could all be worth it if they force my facility to straight shifts. I've been itching for it for years, but have been consistently gaslit about our ability to accomplish it (since it wouldn't be favorable to rep).

 

[DOD4Life]

View attachment 10257

Damn! Has any Union leader ever been hated more by the membership? Even the old mafia-linked Union leaders in the private sector, who skimmed off the top to personally enrich themselves, at least had the presence of mind to try to keep the membership satisfied.

 

[ClearanceClarence]

Damn! Has any Union leader ever been hated more by the membership? Even the old mafia-linked Union leaders in the private sector, who skimmed off the top to personally enrich themselves, at least had the presence of mind to try to keep the membership satisfied.

I am thoroughly convinced the only Nick Daniels supporters left are those that directly benefit from him holding his current position. And maybe a handful of his personal friends. Although there is likely heavy overlap between those two groups. Every “average Joe” controller wants him removed from office immediately.

 

[DankVectorz]

I am thoroughly convinced the only Nick Daniels supporters left are those that directly benefit from him holding his current position. And maybe a handful of his personal friends. Although there is likely heavy overlap between those two groups. Every “average Joe” controller wants him removed from office immediately.

We definitely need to add some sort of recall option

 

[The River]

Supes aren't real people anyway.

I've been preaching this mindset at my facility lately. Management and politicians are not actual human beings and should not be treated as though they are. Supervisors are dumbshit wannabe managers so they get lumped into that even though the actual managers shit on them as much as they shit on us

There are jerk supes, just as there are jerk CPCs, jerks in TMU or training or support staff and everywhere else at your facility, just like any job.

Supervisors may not be part of the union, may only work enough traffic to maintain currency, and may have highly variable levels of experience, but don't mistake them for the ones higher up. They know far, far better the reality on the ground than the far away regional offices, and those on Capitol Hill. They have to talk to planes same as us, and receive plenty of pain from high above too. We can't fight the people beside us when we have a lot in common, and much to gain from working together.

We are fixing our anger on people who do not deserve it, and the supes shouldn't be getting angry at us either. We need leaders; the thoughtful and the emotional, the loud and the solemn, leaders from all across the spectrum who have experience with the issues firsthand. They must use their power to tackle the systemic problems that force both CPC's and supes into these awful situations where we're constantly at eachother's throats. Tech as old as time, salaries failing to keep up with inflation, the abysmal staffing, the skyhigh rates of physical and mental ailments, and many more problems we've faced for decades that have consistently gotten worse from systemic dysfunction at the highest levels of leadership at the three organizations we align with; NATCA, the FAA, and the elected representatives of the people of the United States.

And the only way to reach the top is for those at the bottom to lift eachother up.

 

[Geeare27]

There are jerk supes, just as there are jerk CPCs, jerks in TMU or training or support staff and everywhere else at your facility, just like any job.

Supervisors may not be part of the union, may only work enough traffic to maintain currency, and may have highly variable levels of experience, but don't mistake them for the ones higher up. They know far, far better the reality on the ground than the far away regional offices, and those on Capitol Hill. They have to talk to planes same as us, and receive plenty of pain from high above too. We can't fight the people beside us when we have a lot in common, and much to gain from working together.

We are fixing our anger on people who do not deserve it, and the supes shouldn't be getting angry at us either. We need leaders; the thoughtful and the emotional, the loud and the solemn, leaders from all across the spectrum who have experience with the issues firsthand. They must use their power to tackle the systemic problems that force both CPC's and supes into these awful situations where we're constantly at eachother's throats. Tech as old as time, salaries failing to keep up with inflation, the abysmal staffing, the skyhigh rates of physical and mental ailments, and many more problems we've faced for decades that have consistently gotten worse from systemic dysfunction at the highest levels of leadership at the three organizations we align with; NATCA, the FAA, and the elected representatives of the people of the United States.

And the only way to reach the top is for those at the bottom to lift eachother up.

Incorrect, Supes are management and they will always, always without fail fuck a controller over if it's what will help them or what is being demanded of them by their superiors

Im not saying you should slash their tires or burn down their houses lol. But a supe is not and can not be your friend and they will always inevitably side with management over the workforce when push comes to shove (which it will)

The correct mindset for any workforce is that management is the enemy. If you can't get on board with that then you will be taken advantage of and abused

 

[CreepyPineapple]

There are jerk supes, just as there are jerk CPCs, jerks in TMU or training or support staff and everywhere else at your facility, just like any job.

Supervisors may not be part of the union, may only work enough traffic to maintain currency, and may have highly variable levels of experience, but don't mistake them for the ones higher up. They know far, far better the reality on the ground than the far away regional offices, and those on Capitol Hill. They have to talk to planes same as us, and receive plenty of pain from high above too. We can't fight the people beside us when we have a lot in common, and much to gain from working together.

We are fixing our anger on people who do not deserve it, and the supes shouldn't be getting angry at us either. We need leaders; the thoughtful and the emotional, the loud and the solemn, leaders from all across the spectrum who have experience with the issues firsthand. They must use their power to tackle the systemic problems that force both CPC's and supes into these awful situations where we're constantly at eachother's throats. Tech as old as time, salaries failing to keep up with inflation, the abysmal staffing, the skyhigh rates of physical and mental ailments, and many more problems we've faced for decades that have consistently gotten worse from systemic dysfunction at the highest levels of leadership at the three organizations we align with; NATCA, the FAA, and the elected representatives of the people of the United States.

And the only way to reach the top is for those at the bottom to lift eachother up.

What if every supe I work with has none of those leadership qualities, don’t advocate for us, or care to push back against upper management. The most I’ve ever gotten is “yeah it sucks but it’s what we were told to do” as they do whatever they are told because their raise is more important than having a good facility and a good relationship with controllers.

 

[Move78]

There are jerk supes, just as there are jerk CPCs, jerks in TMU or training or support staff and everywhere else at your facility, just like any job.

Supervisors may not be part of the union, may only work enough traffic to maintain currency, and may have highly variable levels of experience, but don't mistake them for the ones higher up. They know far, far better the reality on the ground than the far away regional offices, and those on Capitol Hill. They have to talk to planes same as us, and receive plenty of pain from high above too. We can't fight the people beside us when we have a lot in common, and much to gain from working together.

We are fixing our anger on people who do not deserve it, and the supes shouldn't be getting angry at us either. We need leaders; the thoughtful and the emotional, the loud and the solemn, leaders from all across the spectrum who have experience with the issues firsthand. They must use their power to tackle the systemic problems that force both CPC's and supes into these awful situations where we're constantly at eachother's throats. Tech as old as time, salaries failing to keep up with inflation, the abysmal staffing, the skyhigh rates of physical and mental ailments, and many more problems we've faced for decades that have consistently gotten worse from systemic dysfunction at the highest levels of leadership at the three organizations we align with; NATCA, the FAA, and the elected representatives of the people of the United States.

And the only way to reach the top is for those at the bottom to lift eachother up.

Can’t say tech

 

[The River]

Incorrect, Supes are management and they will always, always without fail fuck a controller over if it's what will help them or what is being demanded of them by their superiors

Im not saying you should slash their tires or burn down their houses lol. But a supe is not and can not be your friend and they will always inevitably side with management over the workforce when push comes to shove (which it will)

The correct mindset for any workforce is that management is the enemy. If you can't get on board with that then you will be taken advantage of and abused

There are different levels of management, correlating in distance from the frontline and power, and to me there's a big difference between little "m" and big "M" management.

As you say, they are required to do what their superiors tell them and don't have much wiggle room. But what if their superiors acted differently? It may seem daunting, but even single individuals can create massive changes. An example, operating under a good ATM is night and day compared to a bad one. A single person in a policy office can provide pushback and reduce the size of an egregious policy or even turn it around, so on. I think most people in the higher echelons don't actually have malicious intentions, it's just that a lot of them don't know and/or understand what's at play on a center floor or tower cab. There's a huge amount of people in the higher levels of the ATO who, unfortunately, don't know much about air traffic, so even a handful of voices of knowledge can be huge.

What if every supe I work with has none of those leadership qualities, don’t advocate for us, or care to push back against upper management. The most I’ve ever gotten is “yeah it sucks but it’s what we were told to do” as they do whatever they are told because their raise is more important than having a good facility and a good relationship with controllers.

That is a crappy situation. If you can't try and nudge them to take a more "holistic" path, for lack of a better word, then see about some sort of mutual support group among your coworkers. Either promoting yourself, or encouraging someone everyone trusts to get up there and go far, whether in the FAA, NATCA, or with politics, is the only solution we have left. I wish there was a quicker solution to this but the only way to make things better is to do it ourselves.

 

[Shikaka]

Seems a dumb idea to not loathe the whip as well as the hand that holds it.

 

[DOD4Life]

We definitely need to add some sort of recall option

Great point! Obviously, I don’t have a dog in this particular FAA fight, but DOD controllers just recently had our CBAs straight-up cancelled with no apparent recourse other than maybe some potential future victory in court by a federal judge. Our CBAs were cancelled for NaTiOnaL sEcUritY horseshit logic. If a “recall election” can be triggered for the governor of a state, it should certainly be an option for Union members who desperately need a change in leadership to protect their rights, careers, and benefits.

 

[CreepyPineapple]

There are different levels of management, correlating in distance from the frontline and power, and to me there's a big difference between little "m" and big "M" management.

As you say, they are required to do what their superiors tell them and don't have much wiggle room. But what if their superiors acted differently? It may seem daunting, but even single individuals can create massive changes. An example, operating under a good ATM is night and day compared to a bad one. A single person in a policy office can provide pushback and reduce the size of an egregious policy or even turn it around, so on. I think most people in the higher echelons don't actually have malicious intentions, it's just that a lot of them don't know and/or understand what's at play on a center floor or tower cab. There's a huge amount of people in the higher levels of the ATO who, unfortunately, don't know much about air traffic, so even a handful of voices of knowledge can be huge.

That is a crappy situation. If you can't try and nudge them to take a more "holistic" path, for lack of a better word, then see about some sort of mutual support group among your coworkers. Either promoting yourself, or encouraging someone everyone trusts to get up there and go far, whether in the FAA, NATCA, or with politics, is the only solution we have left. I wish there was a quicker solution to this but the only way to make things better is to do it ourselves.

I understand what you’re saying. And your theory is correct and I agree it’s probably the only way to effect true change. The problem is that in the FAA (and the government as a whole), shit floats to the top, not good, true leadership. And anyone who tries to buck that trend is stomped out early. Good on anybody that tries though. And if I knew a supervisor or manager that was looking to do that, I would support them 100%

 

[DankVectorz]

And anyone who tries to buck that trend is stomped out early.

In the beginning of this EWR-PHL debacle, they fired the original ATM and put in a new one with orders to crack down. After a couple weeks, this ATM actually listened to us and pushed back on what the FAA higher ups wanted done as it was bad ideas. He was fired immediately.

 

[+TSRA]

"The revised plan also calls for automated scheduling tools, a review of facility hours, expanded simulator-based training and additional use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to model National Airspace System performance ahead of operations."

 

[ajmezz]

"The revised plan also calls for automated scheduling tools, a review of facility hours, expanded simulator-based training and additional use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to model National Airspace System performance ahead of operations."

I heard a rumor that they’re looking to potentially get rid of the mid for every level 8 and below as a way to alleviate staffing needs across the board.

 

[Unable is a full sentence]

fdy

 

[Acquired Taste]

I heard a rumor that they’re looking to potentially get rid of the mid for every level 8 and below as a way to alleviate staffing needs across the board.

Let's start with MEM

 

[Bandit117]

Let's start with MEM

SDF gnashing their teeth in envy