Once again there's a big to-do about a lone air traffic controller being asleep while a plane is waiting to land. No one was injured - but I've a few thoughts on the subject of Air Traffic and chickens coming home to roost.
Remember Ronald Reagan? His first big victory in destroying unions in this country was the Air Traffic Controllers Strike in 1981. Reagan was able to break the union (PATCO) by firing all of the striking controllers and decertifying the union. Since then it's been downhill for labor in this country
Which leads me to a few thoughts. (more)
With all the demonization of unions for being greedy, for killing productivity, etc. etc. it might be time to remind people that unions aren't just about money or pensions or other benefits. Safety is a big issue - and not just for union members. Unions fight to get their members the resources they need to do their jobs safely - for everyone. No one should have to die or risk bodily injury because somebody somewhere figures saving a few bucks is more important.
Would we be having stories like this one from Reno or from DC if there was a union strong enough to ask if there are enough people on the job at any given time to deal with the situations that can come up? Is it a good idea to have a single person working alone through a night shift where other peoples lives may be a factor to consider? Is there anyone looking out for employees whose shifts keep getting changed around faster than their bodies can adjust? Is there anyone with the clout to make management pay attention when employees are having problems coping with expectations that may not be reasonable?
It's part and parcel of the whole culture that punishes whistle-blowers these days. We can't count on government to do the right thing without interest groups powerful enough to make it happen. Without strong labor unions to put some muscle behind regulatory efforts, things tend to slide. As per the Reno story, it's part of a larger problem.
In the last few years, several studies have documented how air traffic controllers are overworked in terms of hours and work-related stresses, and understaffed: in this decade, more than half of the air traffic controllers in the country will be forced to retire, and there’s not yet enough people in the pipeline to replace them.
The highly specialized field of air safety isn’t the easiest career to get into. Controllers are responsible not just for negotiating runway traffic, but policing the skies for about a 50-mile radius around their towers. It’s a high-stress position that requires eagle-eye attention on the job, which is difficult for anyone to keep up for a straight eight-hour shift; and many air traffic control units work rotating shifts in order to keep airports staffed round-the-clock.
One can’t be more than 31 years old to be hired and entered into the 3-to-5 years worth of training it takes to become certified, because the federal government mandates that controllers retire by age 56.
Every place where people work for a living has safety issues of some kind. Who is looking out for them? Who is looking out for us? Anyone who thinks market forces give a damn about health or safety is living on a different planet.
Unions - they're not just about a decent day's pay for an honest day of work.