But there’s guys that bang every pay period just cus they don’t feel like coming in!
People do that in the real world all the time. My friend is a bookkeeper and he takes every Friday off from May to September to golf. He doesnt have to use sick leave because he works for a normal employer that isnt 30% understaffed and cant approve spot leave. He just says "hey boss, I've been performing the duties of my job satisfactorily and I think I'd like to enjoy the nice weather during the summer and take off every Friday this summer."
The FAA and NATCA should just sign an MOU that says "we dont do spot leave" to make it easier. Four years in my last facility, there wasnt a single summer day where I could have taken spot leave. Every single leave slot for the summer was filled during PTL bidding. Every single one.
We have lots of perks as controllers, but the fact that we cant take a random day off here and there and our vacations are set in stone when we bid every year in October is frankly unacceptable. Imagine if Reagan had actually done what he promised the controllers in his letter to PATCO and we had 32 hour work weeks? I would happily give up 20% of my salary to work 4 day work weeks and be afforded the opportunity for taking leave like a normal employer.
I'd probably give up the other 80% if I never had to see a manager again.