The woeful unpreparedness of Management

Bandit117

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The events at midway have demonstrated that It’s inexcusably negligent how unprepared management is with their lack of response to COVID-19. The president declared a state of emergency days ago. CDC is recommending people stay away from one another and telework if they can, airlines are cutting flights left and right, putting planes into long term storage, the Academy sent everyone home but management is STILL concerned about getting everyone their hours under the NTI and they still have the support people still showing up everyday, like everything is just fine, business as usual. Self isolation as a precursor to enforced quarantine doesn’t work when you have non essential people floating around. According to sources, other towers are still having tours and having the window cleaners and such come in.

Meanwhile, At RIX in Latvia everyone at the tower is on lockdown. Only the minimum amount of controllers in operational areas. Even their tech ops people need to be specially cleared into operational areas, everyone else is at home, where they should be. They take it serious, recognizing that minimizing everyone single bit of exposure helps, and that normal ops are over and done with for now. They aren’t afraid to break the mold of normal ops. We shouldn’t be either. Controllers do great stuff in crisis, look at Houston tracon with the floods and hurricanes stuff. We should be operating with this life/death bare minimum mentality. I for one would gladly do long hours on combined positions to keep away from others, but still keep it all running. I’m sure others would too.

I can’t believe that management is that stupid, to believe that having hand sanitizer around will make it just fine. It’s not stupidity, it’s that they are scared. They want good performance reviews from their bosses, so they are afraid to rock the boat. None of them are willing to open themselves up by suggesting we take a critical look at what we’re doing. Training is a joke as it is, with the academy closed UFA I can’t imagine a new tower cert will end up at RTF until 2021. But they gotta make the numbers look good so they can get a pat on the head from their boss, and make their boss look good to the district. They were low key telling us to use LWOP if we were sick or exposed and didn’t have sick leave to cover a month away, until the guidance came out. They would risk exposing everyone if a person didn’t take LWOP if they lacked leave and came in rather than have to explain to their bosses why they would be granting so much admin leave. Clearly its in the best interest of the facility to have any potential person kept away and to make it as easy as possible for a person to do so, vs having someone risk everyone by coming in when they might be exposed Bc they can’t afford to take LWOP. But nope, can’t have that!

I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s true, in this profession only the shit floats to the top. The NAS is a national security asset and the integrity of the operation needs to be protected but we have people running it who have no clue what they are doing and are too damn scared to speak up, because they want a raise at the end of the year. People get fired for far less in the private sector, but no one in charge will face any consequences for their failure to plan for an obvious incipient threat, despite ample time and all the resources they had. They just care about their metrics and making the person above them happy at all costs. Am I wrong?
 
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I work for a commuter rail as a train dispatcher, currently waiting for my medical to come back for the FAA. Anyway, I can assure you it’s not just FAA that is dropping the ball. We had six people in dispatch on mondays and we can successfully run with two. I asked management if we can just put people on call to mitigate risk and they said absolutely not, then proceeded to work from home themselves.
 
F
How do you know more about the inner workings of Riga tower than I do my own tower?
For real though, they are having people get their temps taken before being allowed in. They are government run as well IIRC. There’s no excuse for the lack of response. If management aren’t getting guidance from the top, they then need to earn their pay act unilaterally, with the intent of safeguarding the NAS. But they won’t, Bc they are too scared.
 
The events at midway have demonstrated that It’s inexcusably negligent how unprepared management is with their lack of response to COVID-19. The president declared a state of emergency days ago. CDC is recommending people stay away from one another and telework if they can, airlines are cutting flights left and right, putting planes into long term storage, the Academy sent everyone home but management is STILL concerned about getting everyone their hours under the NTI and they still have the support people still showing up everyday, like everything is just fine, business as usual. Self isolation as a precursor to enforced quarantine doesn’t work when you have non essential people floating around. According to sources, MDW very recently had some kind of tour and had the window cleaners come in.

Meanwhile, At RIX in Latvia everyone at the tower is on lockdown. Only the minimum amount of controllers in operational areas. Even their tech ops people need to be specially cleared into operational areas, everyone else is at home, where they should be. They take it serious, recognizing that minimizing everyone single bit of exposure helps, and that normal ops are over and done with for now. They aren’t afraid to break the mold of normal ops. We shouldn’t be either. Controllers do great stuff in crisis, look at Houston tracon with the floods and hurricanes stuff. We should be operating with this life/death bare minimum mentality. I for one would gladly do long hours on combined positions to keep away from others, but still keep it all running. I’m sure others would too.

I can’t believe that management is that stupid, to believe that having hand sanitizer around will make it just fine. It’s not stupidity, it’s that they are scared. They want good performance reviews from their bosses, so they are afraid to rock the boat. None of them are willing to open themselves up by suggesting we take a critical look at what we’re doing. Training is a joke as it is, with the academy closed UFA I can’t imagine a new tower cert will end up at RTF until 2021. But they gotta make the numbers look good so they can get a pat on the head from their boss, and make their boss look good to the district. They were low key telling us to use LWOP if we were sick or exposed and didn’t have sick leave to cover a month away, until the guidance came out. They would risk exposing everyone if a person didn’t take LWOP if they lacked leave and came in rather than have to explain to their bosses why they would be granting so much admin leave. Clearly its in the best interest of the facility to have any potential person kept away and to make it as easy as possible for a person to do so, vs having someone risk everyone by coming in when they might be exposed Bc they can’t afford to take LWOP. But nope, can’t have that!

I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s true, in this profession only the shit floats to the top. The NAS is a national security asset and the integrity of the operation needs to be protected but we have people running it who have no clue what they are doing and are too damn scared to speak up, because they want a raise at the end of the year. People get fired for far less in the private sector, but no one in charge will face any consequences for their failure to plan for an obvious incipient threat, despite ample time and all the resources they had. They just care about their metrics and making the person above them happy at all costs. Am I wrong?
I'd say there's nothing more important than a union protecting the health and safety of the workforce they represent. Our union often goes on national television to bring to light various issue relating to the NAS. What bigger issue is there than this tsunami about to hit us? Where the f@#k are our union leaders? Every one of us should have already been tested.
 
I work for a commuter rail as a train dispatcher, currently waiting for my medical to come back for the FAA. Anyway, I can assure you it’s not just FAA that is dropping the ball. We had six people in dispatch on mondays and we can successfully run with two. I asked management if we can just put people on call to mitigate risk and they said absolutely not, then proceeded to work from home themselves.
Same as how the entire management staff basically got a month of free leave during the govt shutdown and begged us not to sick out. By the end of the week, end of the month at the latest, management will be "working from home" and I'll get an email from my local detailing how we're critical to the continued operation of this country and please continue to report unless I got a lung X-ray that looks like a Rorschach test
 
I'd say there's nothing more important than a union protecting the health and safety of the workforce they represent. Our union often goes on national television to bring to light various issue relating to the NAS. What bigger issue is there than this tsunami about to hit us. Where the f@#K are our union leaders? Every one of us should have already been tested.
Even the MILITARY is on reduced staffing. Everything is closed or cut back or teleworked, except for mission critical people who have to be in their shop. If the military is scaling back, there’s zero excuse for the FAA to not have done it at the same time, or even sooner. This is what happens when you have some idiot who has never worked a plane before in charge of the ATO.
 
Same as how the entire management staff basically got a month of free leave during the govt shutdown and begged us not to sick out. By the end of the week, end of the month at the latest, management will be "working from home" and I'll get an email from my local detailing how we're critical to the continued operation of this country and please continue to report unless I got a lung X-ray that looks like a Rorschach test

The point I attempted to make at work was pretty obvious I felt. Less people in a room will midigate the risk so that you will have a better chance of not losing the whole room of people to the virus. Also you are losing little to no productivity because two of the people are non essential! They want to see the people they are paying, simple as that!
 
The point I attempted to make at work was pretty obvious I felt. Less people in a room will midigate the risk so that you will have a better chance of not losing the whole room of people to the virus. Also you are losing little to no productivity because two of the people are non essential! They want to see the people they are paying, simple as that!
I get it if it’s private, but if it’s not, who cares. You’ll get zero productivity out of midway now. Stupid fucks
 
I get it if it’s private, but if it’s not, who cares. You’ll get zero productivity out of midway now. Stupid fucks
I have to be honest, I truly feel for our operators. They have done nothing for them. Just gave them wipes. They run from the international airport to the center of the city. Some are over 50 years old too.
 
With the lack of Agency preparation and management inaction we need to self advocate. I'm at a small tower so I can't speak to what that would look like at a large facility, but for me it's mostly been urging everyone to spread out and sending nonessentials on break when I'm CIC, and pressing the ATM to come up with local guidance on best practices. It's probably earned me the reputation of crazy germaphobe, but if that saves my lungs then I'll proudly wear that label. Stay safe, encourage everyone around you to stay safe, or as safe as can be in this sh!tty situation.
 
You are spot on. Sad thing is the title of your thread is not clairvoyant; just common sense. They're in over their heads and totally impotent to make any decisive action. They 100% lack foresight andeadership and have 0 sense of urgency about this national emergency. The only place this can therefore logically end up is in a trainwreck, where we see a de facto national ground stop due to even larger more critical facilities being effected. We arent a 3rd world country, people dont just blindly do suicidal things to themselves and their families. We are capable of critical thinking and something feels very off here.

I know someone who sent a thoughtful email to their ATM detailing potentially innovative ways to apply social distancing at their facility. It was the night after they had 14 people in the area, which only needed about 5, and everyone was tripping over each other splitting sectors and training. Even more alarmingly, they witnessed (this is true) a sick trainee come in, and an OM, (apparently a self appointed MD) tell trainee to quarantine himself in a back training room and just self study 'til he feels better'. My friend is also immuno compromised in a very serious way (non scam) having survived a very serious disease, and articulated it to mgmt. They asked to be placed on admin leave or regrettably if it must be so - their own sick leave for a time. Not only were they 100% ignored and blown off; but when they put in for sick leave in web schedule no member of management acted on it. They had to call in the next morning and say "hi I requested SL yesterday but no one has looked at it...". The FLM said.... ahhh yes, we were warned that you were attempting to scam and use Sick Leave for inappropriate reasons and not to approve you". You cant make that shit up. GAME ON.

That's 1 little scenario at a major facility. Imagine how many outrageous things are happening all over the NAS. Latvia? Beam me up!


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I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, but wow the gravity that we’re saying that unironically should not be lost on anyone. This isn’t “management is forcing me into OT on my Saturday and I don’t want it”, it’s “management is incapable of accepting that this is a dangerous threat to its employees and continues to show complete and utter disregard for their safety”
 
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, but wow the gravity that we’re saying that unironically should not be lost on anyone. This isn’t “management is forcing me into OT on my Saturday and I don’t want it”, it’s “management is incapable of accepting that this is a dangerous threat to its employees and continues to show complete and utter disregard for their safety”
Everyone is expendable, they will always find a warm body to fill the seat and for less money, that is what PATCO forgot. True circumstances are vastly different now than in the past but it still does not excuse managements ineptitude towards the current situation nor lack of caring towards our health. When it hits the fan, and it will inevitability so, they will be nonessential and at home monitoring the CrewArt while sipping 20 year old scotch wondering why we are not meeting the National Training Initiative (Mandate but not a mandate) and changing the rotation...
 
Everyone is expendable, they will always find a warm body to fill the seat and for less money, that is what PATCO forgot. True circumstances are vastly different now than in the past but it still does not excuse managements ineptitude towards the current situation nor lack of caring towards our health. When it hits the fan, and it will inevitability so, they will be nonessential and at home monitoring the CrewArt while sipping 20 year old scotch wondering why we are not meeting the National Training Initiative (Mandate but not a mandate) and changing the rotation...
A shining example of what should be a funny thought, but then you realize how patently true it is. My neck is starting to get sore from shaking it so much
 
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