I got to get me one of these air traffic controller jobs.
I know a great deal about this work and the organizations involved.
With advent of the Clinton administration, the union has become very strong, is a very big supporter of the democrats and does what most unions do, which is to excuse poor performance by a member.
The Clintons were a very big voice in the explosion of political correctness in the federal government. Their definition of PC is not only how and what you speak, but who you hire, who you promote, how you treat them, how diversified you are, how many chances you give to succeed in training and on and on. THEY FRAMED THE ISSUE.
Accountability, quality supervision, leadership and facility management continues to decline.
So here we are today. If, in the first instance, they would have given the first controller caught sleeping a 30 days off without pay and told the union that the second example will a firing, this would have stopped.
Instead, they held meetings, team briefings, hired a contractor to study sleep habits and wrung their hands.
The MSM does not help either. Years ago, they joined the union in pitching how stressful it is to do this work which is a myth. THEY FRAMED THE ISSUE.
The "stress" word became the catalyst that union and management used over the years to influence the Congress regarding pay increases and grade structure.
BTW - this is exactly where the TSA is headed if they get their union. EXPECT THEM TO FRAME THE ISSUE.
On the other side of this coin, there are many, many air traffic controllers, supervisors and managers who do good work on a daily basis.
This sleeping issue can be fixed, if FAA leadership is willing to make the right decisions.
The problem today is that the top ranks are filled with people who came from various unions in the private industry. Unions who have defended inept performance by a member.
Also, there are too many who came to key jobs knowing zip about aviation. These were the ones goosed to greatness by the prior and current administrations.
End of rant. |
