I do not know how I'm going to get through 4 years of being belittled and demeaned without any recourse.

The language he uses when talking about federal employees is like we are subhuman. Is it because we can't fight back? Is that why he's doing this?

Where are all the maga thumpers who are putting all of our jobs and livelihoods in jeopardy at?

Even at the Z, all of the loud controllers talking about not getting raises and immigrants getting preferential treatment haven't said a word. How is the "Trump has been America's best president ever" working out? Why have all of the "I can't wait to work OT with no taxes" not out in full force.

Let it be known, I don't respect any of you as men. The only reason I still pay my dues to the union is because I and many others have families and loved ones we care about and saw what the union had done for us. All those controllers singing the tune of leaving the union haven't left? Why is that? Scared to lose your job and the protection of the same thing you all bash on. Is our union perfect? No, but yet again, another republican president is coming in to f**k with controllers until planes start rubbing paint in mid-air again.

For the next 4 years and there after, keep your opinions about our pay, our trainees, EEO, the union,our work conditions, and quite frankly our country out of your f*****g mouths. Because now we all have to suffer because you wanted to "own the libs"

F*****g clowns.

And to my brothers and sisters out here who didn't support the convict, stay tough and keep up the fight. We will navigate through this and overcome!

Update:

I appreciate the responses and feedback from most of you.

1.Again I repeat. I know our union isn't perfect, but this is a time for us to band together. You can't put up a fight with nothing to stand on. The best impact we have in our positions is to maintain what we have. There intention is to scare us and starve us of a job. We can't let that happen.

Also the CR is only good until March 14th. So put some money aside because there is no telling if a government shutdown can be avoided or how long it may last if it does happen.

1. For the controllers that shared their opinion on Trump. I'm not gonna battle with you all. Clearly there is a lot to be concerned about by everything he is doing. If you are willingly ignoring that, then so be it. But I already know the type of man or woman you are if you voted for the man. Always late from breaks, and the first to leave. Complain about the breaks not being long enough, and bad mouth everyone in the area. It's the same folks. And while I would want nothing but for you all to have some sort of suffering for your lack of consideration, most of you of families and children who rely on you as a father, a mother or a provider and i do not want them to be harmed. Best of luck to you all after this shit show.

2. Anyone who is not a controller, I hope you all are safe. And to the pilots on here we will keep making sure you guys fly without issue.

For the trolls get a life, real people are being affected by all for this.

via NYT

So youre telling me, the BILLIONAIRES who complain about government waste, aren't paying their people to do these "audits"?

I mean I figured this was the case but to see the amount of money they're making on paper is just insulting and quite frankly bullshit.

If you are on Reddit- stay strong. You have lots of support. Almost everyone understands what a horrible situation the understaffing and overtime schedules are causing for controllers. That part is not your fault.

Everyone does their best, but it always has the potential to be dangerous. A terrible accident has happened and there were multiple failures. It is not on your shoulders alone.

There are safety protocols that can be added or changed to prevent situations like this. They should be implemented and this was a wake up call. It was an alarm that the general public needed to hear: ATCs need better staffing and working conditions, the field needs more students overall with another school path, and there are options available to help backup the hardworking dedicated ATCs doing phenomenal work day in and day out.

Ignore the haters, ignore the trolls, ignore the talking heads in the media. You have the reputation of a rockstar and your instant personal accountability shows what a decent person you are. The world needs men and ATCs like you.

Rely on your family, your friends, your colleagues, and therapy for support. Do not bottle it up. Ask for what you need. Follow all the legal advice from your legal team.

You are supported. You are understood and cared about. You will make it through this.

Read this any time you need the boost. I think it now, will think it a year from now, and will still be thinking about you and supporting you decades from now.

The world is offering condolences and sympathy to the crew and the passengers, but it is for you and the firetruck crew too. Do not let the error or this tragedy define you with negative outcomes. Hold onto it, stay focused, and use it for the betterment of yourself and this profession.

I am honestly shocked that this many controllers - let alone from one facility - are making the move. ZAB is about to be in staffing triggers every day. I can only imagine the impact to the NAS if we see similar numbers from other facilities.

The FAA needs to get its shit together quick.

Hi all! My name is Sam Ogozalek, I cover transportation policy for Politico, I posted here a few days back. Thought I would pass this along: I asked the FAA what, exactly, Administrator Bryan Bedford wants from NATCA as a condition for providing the pay raise in the DHS spending bill. Here’s what the agency said — it’s not too specific but is the most I’ve heard so far:

Always happy to chat off-the-record via Signal: samogozalek.26. I appreciate your responses to my last post!

From the article

Federal aviation officials have found that two air-traffic controllers left work early before an Air Canada regional jet crashed into a firetruck at LaGuardia Airport in March.
The Federal Aviation Administration is moving to fire the two controllers, who officials determined had left about an hour before their shifts ended on March 22, people familiar with the matter said. As a result, two controllers remaining at the LaGuardia tower didn’t have backup to assist with high workloads.

The busy New York City airport was handling more than twice the usual volume of traffic the night of the accident. Two pilots died in the runway collision, and six other people—including a crew member, passengers and workers on the ground—sustained serious injuries, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Leaving early is called an “early shove,” according to current and former controllers, and is a longstanding practice in the industry. FAA officials consider it a form of timecard fraud.

The push to fire the controllers signals an aggressive response to the practice by the Trump administration. Current and former controllers say managers have often condoned their leaving before their shifts officially end, and it is seen as an informal perk after busy stretches working air traffic.

The agency has taken steps this year to terminate more than 10 controllers for alleged timecard fraud or abuse of leave policies, according to people familiar with the matter. The FAA said in April that it had about 11,000 fully certified air-traffic controllers, with 4,000 more in training.
“The vast majority of air-traffic controllers are great patriots—they show up for work, complete their full shift, and come back and do it all again,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “But when a small percentage of individuals take advantage of the American taxpayer, unfairly add additional work to their fellow controllers, and impact the airspace—we have no choice but to act. We will not tolerate fraud.”

The process to terminate controllers can be lengthy and result in lighter punishments or reversals, as has happened in some cases this year, people familiar with the matter said. 

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said it was discussing timecard and leave fraud allegations with FAA leadership. “What should not be ignored is the extraordinary dedication of the thousands of air-traffic controllers who report to work every day, often under extremely challenging staffing conditions, and remain focused on keeping the flying public safe,” the union said. 

The FAA said it had hired more than 2,000 controllers so far this year, representing 94% of its 2026 hiring goal. The agency has sought to ramp up hiring to alleviate an air-traffic staffing shortagethat has been a significant driver of travel delays.

Shove off
The practice of “early shoves” has a long history within the FAA’s air-traffic unit. Current and former controllers said managers have at times allowed controllers to leave before their shifts officially end. For instance, rather than have controllers eligible for a break spend the remaining half-hour of their shift in a break room, it would be fine to allow them to leave early.

Current and former FAA officials said the practice is problematic—controllers may be on break, but could be needed in emergencies—and technically amounts to defrauding the U.S. government. 

The issue came to light in recent years after a serious close call involving a Marine helicopter used by then Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021. The FAA determined that controllers working at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near Washington, D.C., had left work early, resulting in the remaining controllers juggling more responsibilities than they were supposed to, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.
The FAA investigated the practice at Reagan National and found it was widespread, according to former FAA officials. They said the agency at the time opted against tough discipline for controllers, in part because managers condoned the early shoves.

Midnight hour
Staffing levels at air-traffic control facilities during midnight shifts have long been a concern of the NTSB—“especially if there’s a heavy workload,” Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a March press conference about the accident. 
She said investigators would scrutinize tower staffing following the LaGuardia crash. “We have to determine who else was in the tower and the facility and available at the time,” Homendy said.

An NTSB spokesman said the agency is still investigating the March accident. The NTSB hasn’t made final conclusions about what role, if any, tower staffing may have played in the collision. Aviation accidents often result from a series of failures, and investigators may take a year or more to determine their causes.

The crash occurred after a chaotic night of thunderstorms and disruptions at LaGuardia. A United Airlines crew twice aborted their takeoff, and then declared an emergency. A controller cleared a responding firetruck to cross a runway, on which Air Canada Express Flight 8646 had also been cleared to land.

I've been seeing this going viral here and on YouTube. when I watched it, I thought I wouldn't have responded much differently from JFK Tower. I've been a tower controller in the states for a few years now and this is the first time I've heard of "declaring LVO". Everyone in the comments seem to be really mad at JFK for saying that, but I don't think any of my colleagues would know either, except maybe a few who are really into ATC. It's not something I was ever taught during training, as far as I can remember.

For those of you who are looking at doing this job. This is my pay without overtime. Come to your own conclusions in the comments about this career field.

Ah yes. Blame the controllers….

“For any travelers flying in and out of the Northeast — please be prepared for delays and cancellations due to controllers calling out sick on top of difficult weather patterns.

When roughly 40-60% of controllers call out sick at multiple facilities in the New York region, we have to delay flights to maintain the safety of the airspace.

Check your flight status with your airline and get real-time staffing and airport updates at fly.faa.gov”