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Considering that the head of the FAA and TSA were forced to resign, and a hiring freeze on air traffic controllers is suddenly in effect, I don't think the curr

Considering that the head of the FAA and TSA were forced to resign, and a hiring freeze on air traffic controllers is suddenly in effect, I don't think the current government wants to improve flight safety. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2025-01-22/flurry-white-house-actions-reaching-aviation https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2025-0...

contravariant 2y ago
Honestly I'm expecting an executive order banning left wings at this rate.
AdamN 2y ago
Reagan fired the ATCs when they tried to assert their rights - can't be good if they think they may be the next in line for DOGEing.
- richwater 2y ago
  > when they tried to assert their rights That's an interesting way of phrasing going on an illegal strike which they agreed not to do as part of their employment contract.
  - brendoelfrendo 2y ago
    The fact that a strike can be illegal is, in and of itself, an erosion of worker rights.
    - richwater 2y ago
      It's a compromise to ensure the functioning of the country. PATCO members were offered more than double % raises of any other government employee with a small reduction in work hours. They overplayed their (illegal) hand and it bit them. No sympathy.
      - snailmailstare 2y ago
        Everyone else was offered 2.5%?
    - amazingamazing 2y ago
      unpopular opinion - but public workers should not be able to go on strike, and in fact shouldn't even be allowed to unionize. it's antithetical to democracy. they should simply run for office and change things, not hold taxpayers' services hostage. unions make sense for private organizations because private organizations are effectively authoritarian entities, not democracies. there is no mechanism in which you could actually "vote" anyone out or establish a leadership position by virtue of popular support, and most importantly there's no constituency to air grievances to
      - jacobjjacob 2y ago
        I don’t agree with your opinion but I think you make a great point. They are definitely very different situations which at least warrant some differences in policy.
      - lesuorac 2y ago
        Yeah, imagine if somebody at say Google made a union as opposed to just buying up 51% of the stock to vote somebody out. Everybody makes in-groups to advocate their positions. idk why when it comes to workers people are all like "but they shouldn't". Let me know when you're against the US Chamber of Congress ...
      - nemo44x 2y ago
        I don't think that's an unpopular opinion really. Unions are supposed to be an adversary of management who they negotiate with, and depending on who wins the election they are an ally. There's a conflict of interest. So naturally the group that supports the person that wins the election will have a favorable contract and be able to grow their union as that's beneficial to the political party and the union. At the very least states should implement laws and statutes that define limits and rules such as union compensation must be paid with the current years revenues and not with bonds that are paid for by future generations, etc.
      - callc 2y ago
        That’s a good point against unionization for government employees. But anti-union is against the right to assemble, and any law requiring an individual to work goes against some very basic freedoms (self-determination, slavery?) Let’s not make stripping away of freedoms a common thing that employers, government or private, can do. Rights are rights.
- paulddraper 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - Something1234 2y ago
    Considering how high stress the job is they definitely should have a 32 hour work week. Strange hours with lots of complicated bits. And a union is about more than just workers rights it's about ensuring worker safety. Workers must be able to advocate for safety within their jobs and to ensure the best end result for a customer.
    - paulddraper 2y ago
      > And a union is about more than just workers rights it's about ensuring worker safety Sure, I was just responding to the claim they "asserting their rights." Whereas it was a comp+workload disagreement.
neuronexmachina 2y ago
> Considering that the head of the FAA and TSA were forced to resign For context, the heads of the FAA and TSA are supposed to serve 5-year terms. The FAA Admin (Michael Whitaker) who was forced out started serving in Oct 2023. The TSA Admin (David Pekoske) was first appointed in 2017, and then nominated for another 5-year term in 2022. As far as I'm aware, this is the first time those positions have ever been told to resign by a new administration.
- venusenvy47 2y ago
  I've been avoiding the typical outrageous statements from the current POTUS for many years, but his comments at his press conference today, about how DEI hiring could be responsible for this accident, are just unbelievable. And all of a sudden it seems to have made him to decide that the FAA needs a director today.
  - baggy_trough 2y ago
    [flagged]
  - jumpman_miya 2y ago
    [flagged]
    - teachrdan 2y ago
      With all due respect, Hacker News is not the place for making blanket assertions with no references. Please post a citation if you have one. Otherwise please don't waste readers' time with unfounded rumors.
      - j-bos 2y ago
        Poster may be referring to the complaints about the devaluation of the standardized CTI process https://ojs.library.okstate.edu/osu/index.php/CARI/article/download/7406/6805/14556 https://ojs.library.okstate.edu/osu/index.php/CARI/article/d... There was also a lawsuit against the last Sec of Transportation which I believe was related but not too sure.
Slava_Propanei 2y ago
[dead]

contravariant 2y ago

Honestly I'm expecting an executive order banning left wings at this rate.

AdamN 2y ago

Reagan fired the ATCs when they tried to assert their rights - can't be good if they think they may be the next in line for DOGEing.

richwater 2y ago
> when they tried to assert their rights That's an interesting way of phrasing going on an illegal strike which they agreed not to do as part of their employment contract.
- brendoelfrendo 2y ago
  The fact that a strike can be illegal is, in and of itself, an erosion of worker rights.
  - richwater 2y ago
    It's a compromise to ensure the functioning of the country. PATCO members were offered more than double % raises of any other government employee with a small reduction in work hours. They overplayed their (illegal) hand and it bit them. No sympathy.
    - snailmailstare 2y ago
      Everyone else was offered 2.5%?
  - amazingamazing 2y ago
    unpopular opinion - but public workers should not be able to go on strike, and in fact shouldn't even be allowed to unionize. it's antithetical to democracy. they should simply run for office and change things, not hold taxpayers' services hostage. unions make sense for private organizations because private organizations are effectively authoritarian entities, not democracies. there is no mechanism in which you could actually "vote" anyone out or establish a leadership position by virtue of popular support, and most importantly there's no constituency to air grievances to
    - jacobjjacob 2y ago
      I don’t agree with your opinion but I think you make a great point. They are definitely very different situations which at least warrant some differences in policy.
    - lesuorac 2y ago
      Yeah, imagine if somebody at say Google made a union as opposed to just buying up 51% of the stock to vote somebody out. Everybody makes in-groups to advocate their positions. idk why when it comes to workers people are all like "but they shouldn't". Let me know when you're against the US Chamber of Congress ...
    - nemo44x 2y ago
      I don't think that's an unpopular opinion really. Unions are supposed to be an adversary of management who they negotiate with, and depending on who wins the election they are an ally. There's a conflict of interest. So naturally the group that supports the person that wins the election will have a favorable contract and be able to grow their union as that's beneficial to the political party and the union. At the very least states should implement laws and statutes that define limits and rules such as union compensation must be paid with the current years revenues and not with bonds that are paid for by future generations, etc.
    - callc 2y ago
      That’s a good point against unionization for government employees. But anti-union is against the right to assemble, and any law requiring an individual to work goes against some very basic freedoms (self-determination, slavery?) Let’s not make stripping away of freedoms a common thing that employers, government or private, can do. Rights are rights.
paulddraper 2y ago
[flagged]
- Something1234 2y ago
  Considering how high stress the job is they definitely should have a 32 hour work week. Strange hours with lots of complicated bits. And a union is about more than just workers rights it's about ensuring worker safety. Workers must be able to advocate for safety within their jobs and to ensure the best end result for a customer.
  - paulddraper 2y ago
    > And a union is about more than just workers rights it's about ensuring worker safety Sure, I was just responding to the claim they "asserting their rights." Whereas it was a comp+workload disagreement.

neuronexmachina 2y ago

> Considering that the head of the FAA and TSA were forced to resign For context, the heads of the FAA and TSA are supposed to serve 5-year terms. The FAA Admin (Michael Whitaker) who was forced out started serving in Oct 2023. The TSA Admin (David Pekoske) was first appointed in 2017, and then nominated for another 5-year term in 2022. As far as I'm aware, this is the first time those positions have ever been told to resign by a new administration.

venusenvy47 2y ago
I've been avoiding the typical outrageous statements from the current POTUS for many years, but his comments at his press conference today, about how DEI hiring could be responsible for this accident, are just unbelievable. And all of a sudden it seems to have made him to decide that the FAA needs a director today.
- baggy_trough 2y ago
  [flagged]
- jumpman_miya 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - teachrdan 2y ago
    With all due respect, Hacker News is not the place for making blanket assertions with no references. Please post a citation if you have one. Otherwise please don't waste readers' time with unfounded rumors.
    - j-bos 2y ago
      Poster may be referring to the complaints about the devaluation of the standardized CTI process https://ojs.library.okstate.edu/osu/index.php/CARI/article/download/7406/6805/14556 https://ojs.library.okstate.edu/osu/index.php/CARI/article/d... There was also a lawsuit against the last Sec of Transportation which I believe was related but not too sure.

Slava_Propanei 2y ago

[dead]