Air traffic controllers with ‘perfect attendance’ during shutdown get $10,000 bonus
According to NATCA, 311 controllers will receive the bonus check.
Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, and the National Air Traffic Controller Association (NATCA) have confirmed that controllers who had a “perfect attendance” during the United States government shutdown will receive a $10,000 bonus.
A leaked letter from Nick Daniels, the President of NATCA, to the union’s members read that Duffy “announced a unilateral decision to issue bonuses to a small group of air traffic controllers, specifically the 311 individuals who happened to have perfect attendance during the shutdown.”
The letter reiterated that while the work “performed by these aviation safety professionals during the shutdown deserves recognition, praise, and our collective gratitude,” thousands of NATCA’s members also deserved to be recognized for their work during the lapse in federal funding, which resulted in thousands of federal employees, including air traffic controllers, working without pay for more than 40 days from October 1.
“You carried this system through 43 days without pay in the longest shutdown in American history. Recognition is absolutely deserved, but this decision was made without any discussion or coordination with NATCA, even as the shutdown upended your lives, strained your finances, and created historic levels of stress and fatigue for a workforce operating with only 75% of its essential workforce.”
Daniels’ letter to NATCA members continued that, at the same time as controllers are sorting through errors associated with their paychecks, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chose to reward “a very small portion of the workforce.”
“I recognize that a decision like this can undermine morale and unity.”
According to NATCA’s President, the union has been talking with the DOT and the FAA to ensure “fair and appropriate recognition,” with NATCA looking forward to engaging with Bryan Bedford, the Administrator of the FAA, “to recognize the thousands of others who have and continue to ensure the safety of the flying public and keep America moving.”
“You carried this system. You upheld safety. You stood together for the flying public and for one another. No announcement changes that. We stand with all of you.”
Meanwhile, Duffy’s announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter, read that “Santa’s coming to town a little early.”
“President Trump wanted to give air traffic controllers and technicians BONUSES for showing up to work EVERY DAY during the government shutdown… and TODAY IS THE DAY!”
According to the Secretary of Transportation, 776 people will get $10,000 bonuses.
Donald Trump, the President of the US, first teased the idea of the bonus on November 10, which Duffy seemingly supported. Both Trump and Duffy expressed concerns about the patriotism of controllers who took sick leave during the shutdown, some of whom had to take up side jobs to pay bills.
During a hearing before the US Senate on November 19, Daniels confirmed that he did not ask either Duffy or Bedford to find additional funds to pay controllers during the shutdown, which effectively ended on November 12.
Rytis Beresnevicius
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