Originally Posted by
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Duffy literally said on national TV he would not fire ATC'ers for calling in sick.
At least he understands they have to pay their bills somehow and knows if he fires them, they're gone for good with no one behind them. Something like 20-25 are outright quitting every day as it is.
FAA mgmt was their own worst enemy under Buttigieg. Had a recent relative who was a Compscience grad with 3.4 GPA try for 1.5 yrs to get hired by ATC and could never even get to the test as he repeatedly got told via email "you are not the candidate we're looking for at this time".
After trying for several cycles circa 2021-2023 (all the while hearing how the FAA can't seem to find enough qualified applicants) and even meeting with an ATC supervisor who told him honestly he'd been a better "candidate" if he'd dropped out of college short of a degree, he gave up and joined the military.
Horrible leadership has consequences! I'm positive he'd made a great controller, but FAA wasn't interested in college grads who didn't fit any other boxes.