Weekly NATCA update

Daniels is really bad at this. Nelhs was going in about mandatory retirement and Nick offered zero pushback.
 
Daniels doesn't mention how the age 56 limit isn't an issue when most controllers don't even want to make it that long. Most controllers eligible to retire before then are out the door. We should be stressing that when people bring up mandatory retirement. Without retention that age limit rarely matters anyways with today's working conditions.
 
Daniels doesn't mention how the age 56 limit isn't an issue when most controllers don't even want to make it that long. Most controllers eligible to retire before then are out the door. We should be stressing that when people bring up mandatory retirement. Without retention that age limit rarely matters anyways with today's working conditions.
They just want to get rid of early controller retirement anyways
 
Daniels doesn't mention how the age 56 limit isn't an issue when most controllers don't even want to make it that long. Most controllers eligible to retire before then are out the door. We should be stressing that when people bring up mandatory retirement. Without retention that age limit rarely matters anyways with today's working conditions.

It's awfully hard to argue that we're underpaid and deserve a raise while also saying that most controllers can retire comfortably at age 50.
 
I'm glad that the Transportation & Infrastructure committee hosted today's session. It's good that Congress is actively paying attention to the problems in the NAS.
I thought about it, and I'd like to bring up some statistics I've dug up and put together. Real ATC pay has, as far as we can tell, decreased slightly for a decade and a half.
According to the BLS, the average controller in 2010 earned 108,040 dollars. In 2024 average, that's 155,423. The BLS' last salary release was the 2023 median, 137,380.
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According to last week's statement by Chair Duffy, the average controller earns 160 thousand (didn't give a more specific number) but there are no statistics cited to back this up at the current juncture. It could be true, but we only have the official BLS numbers from 2023 as of now. If that 160,000 figure is true, then we're closely matched.
However, when you adjust for inflation, the CPI shows that the cost of living for Americans have increased since 2010. As a result... real salary has decreased.
Excuse me for not providing more detail, I have to grab lunch now.
Salary:
Chart: (cross reference with CPI Inflation Calculator)
CPI stats, article and white paper:
 
It's awfully hard to argue that we're underpaid and deserve a raise while also saying that most controllers can retire comfortably at age 50.
that's not quite the argument. The argument is that they prefer to work ELSEWHERE, after securing the pension and healthcare. I know many coworkers who will retire the minute they are eligible to go into a second career.

youre forgetting how low morale is in the faa , because of horrible and inept and weak leadership (from our union too)

quick turns, nights, holidays, weeekends....6 day weeks....why do that in your 50s when some can retire in their 40s and work an easier job?

Now apologize, thumbs up my post, and be on your way.
 
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Give them faith, for I have kept none for myself.
Don't know why exactly, but that made me think of the following joke:

A holocaust survivor dies and ascends to heaven. Considering the life he endured, God and several of the highest angels meet the man at the pearly gates to personally welcome him to the kingdom of heaven and show him around.

After pleasantries are exchanged, the man makes a joke about the holocaust to break the ice. God and the angels are aghast and chastise the man "how could you say that? That's not funny at all!"

The man shrugs his shoulders and replies "I guess you had to be there."
 
It's awfully hard to argue that we're underpaid and deserve a raise while also saying that most controllers can retire comfortably at age 50.

The people who are retiring today at 50 are not the people who need the raise the most.

It's the younger people who got priced out of reasonably priced housing because they didn't buy a house before COVID at once in a lifetime interest rates. Or the one who pay 4.4% into FERS while everyone else pays a third of that.

Every couple years it feels like someone chips away at the younger generation's life quality and they make everyone else compliant by just grandfathering everyone else in. It's ridiculous.
 
The people who are retiring today at 50 are not the people who need the raise the most.

It's the younger people who got priced out of reasonably priced housing because they didn't buy a house before COVID at once in a lifetime interest rates. Or the one who pay 4.4% into FERS while everyone else pays a third of that.

Every couple years it feels like someone chips away at the younger generation's life quality and they make everyone else compliant by just grandfathering everyone else in. It's ridiculous.

4.9% when it’s all said and done but this is otherwise completely correct. I wouldn’t recommend this job to any of the younger generation unless they were guaranteed to go En Route where you at least still stand a chance (facility dependent) of this job being financially worthwhile.
 
4.9% when it’s all said and done but this is otherwise completely correct. I wouldn’t recommend this job to any of the younger generation unless they were guaranteed to go En Route where you at least still stand a chance (facility dependent) of this job being financially worthwhile.
The en route and terminal bids should be split because they are totally different unrelated jobs.
 
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