Due to the government shut down, air traffic controllers who are 100 percent guaranteed by law to be paid for 100 percent of hours worked are calling in sick so that they don’t have to “work without pay with (delayed) pay”. Now the FAA is cutting back on total volume so as to maintain safety with a reduced number of controllers who show up (CNBC):
Note the misleading statement about “gone unpaid since the shutdown began”. That would be like saying that a worker who has paid monthly has “gone unpaid since the start of the month”.
Cutting flights will cost the airlines a fortune due to the need to reschedule crews, passengers, aircraft, etc. Maybe a 6:00 am flight is only half full, but if it is cut the crew and plane won’t be where they need to be to operate a 9:00 am flight.
What if the airlines got together and offered interest-free loans to every controller, secured by the massive payday that all government workers, those who showed up and those who didn’t (the lucky “nonessential” ones and also the fake-sick ones), will receive as soon as Congress settles its differences? It could be done through the federal government, even. The airlines give the money to the Feds. The Feds issue paychecks as usual. The Feds then reimburse the airlines when the government reopens. Alternatively, the airlines could make the loans privately and directly to ATC employees.
Related:
- Is it unconstitutional to pay federal workers for not working during the shutdown? (Equal Protection clause question)
“guaranteed by “law”: How is that relevant? Trump (“I am the law”) is threatening to not backpay, and will do so if he feels like it. Oh sure the ATC can sue, but it’ll be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. So I guess there’s some salvation that maybe 3-4 years from now you’ll get your backpay. Sounds like a good way to hire quality people who are dedicated to their jobs.
Do you have a source for Donald Trump threatening to not provide back pay to workers who actually came to work? Or ATC specifically?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Employee_Fair_Treatment_Act_of_2019 says that workers who actually worked (the unfortunate “essentials”) were already guaranteed back pay prior to the 2019 law and cites a 2018 article on the subject: https://www.fedweek.com/fedweek/pay-benefit-considerations-for-shutdown-furloughs/
@SS,
> Sounds like a good way to hire quality people who are dedicated to their jobs.
If furloughed federal workers were truly dedicated to their jobs, they would still show up and do their work, knowing full well that they would eventually be paid. By doing so, they would give the finger to Trump and rally the country behind them, forcing Trump and the Republicans into a corner they could not back out of. Yet, that is not what is happening. So, who are they dedicated to?
Trump and his OMB have said that back pay is not guaranteed. Spearker Johnson has indicated that he’s open to this idea. Almost no one would work after their employer told them there’s even a chance they won’t get paid.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-federal-workers-back-bay-shutdown-785eb776d2312d1f68f7e91961d0a93a?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share
And do you know why those federal workers who have “gone unpaid since the shutdown began” aren’t protesting? Because they know they will still get paid for their unplanned vacation.