Item — HN Reader

I have just finished chapter 2.

About congress overriding safety concerns for their personal convenience

Air traffic controllers' concerns were shutdown by the FAA because of "politics"

I am gobsmacked. Where was the air traffic controllers' union? They could have used industrial action to address the unsafe conditions

I am yet to finish the document. I am expecting to see the ATCs and the pilots blamed by the authorities, I hope not.

4 comments

> Where was the air traffic controllers' union? They could have used industrial action to address the unsafe conditions

Effectively neutered 45 years ago after the strike in 1981.

And, fittingly enough, the airport where the accident happened is named after the guy who did that. Must feel like a daily middle finger to all the controllers who work there...

The problem here is not the ATC union failing to enforce safety measures, it's the federal agency whose job that is failing to do their job, and Congress for failing to oversee the organization effectively.

Chapter 7 has the juicy details that nobody wants to discuss.

>I am gobsmacked. Where was the air traffic controllers' union? They could have used industrial action to address the unsafe conditions

Think about the incentives for a few nanoseconds.

If you think a union wouldn't wheel and deal and enter into some handshake agreement to "table this one concern to next year" indefinitely in exchange for something I've got a bridge to sell you.

Adding another entity isn't gonna change the fact that the local controllers will still be the only people who care (because it's likely their ass if something happens).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Professional_Air_Traffic_...

That's the last time there was an ATC strike, 90% were fired and they got none of their demands. Turns out, the people of the US don't care if their air traffic controllers are overworked, understaffed, and chronically exhausted. They just want to (maybe) get to their destinations.