air traffic controller irony

[unblock]

so, if i understand correctly, the federal government will be shutdown tomorrow except for "essential services", which presumably includes air traffic controllers.

so reagan, who fired air traffic controllers, will be honored by giving all OTHER federal employees the day off, but forcing the air traffic controllers to work.

am i following this correctly? just checking.

[Fridays Child]

1. Sounds about right. I wonder...

...if the presidential corpse will be airborne, tomorrow.

[sundancekid]

2. yes, it's IRONY AND BEYOND ... thanks for the reminder in your post

:yourock:

[jean]

3. I wondered if air traffic controllers had a hand in Fletcher's plane

flying into restricted airspace, but it sounds like they're calling it 'pilot deviation.' Regardless, it still seems like a parting shot - the lack of control of the airspace preceding his arrival.

Plane puts funeral security to the test
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,9808296%255E2703,00.html

About 40 minutes before the former US president's body was to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, a light plane reportedly entered restricted airspace, prompting the frenzied evacuation of the seat of US government.

Although the plane was discovered to be a Kentucky police aircraft ferrying the state's new Governor, Ernie Fletcher, to Washington for the first lying-in-state of a US president since Lyndon Johnson in 1973, members of Congress and staffers had already fled the building, acting on police orders to "not stop ... keep moving".

- - - this next part would scare the hell out of me - - -

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's move like our lives depended on it," one police officer screamed, as some people dropped their briefcases and women took off high heels so as to run faster.


Capitol evacuated before Reagan procession
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/09/capitol.evacuation/

The plane that triggered the alert was authorized to enter Washington's restricted airspace, but was having problems with a radio transponder that prevented air traffic controllers from tracking the aircraft, an FAA official said.

[unblock]

5. f*cking fearmongers. whatever happened to "in a calm and orderly fashion"?

[whistle]

4. I'm glad you reminded me of that episode in the American...

...labor movement experience. Federal workers (which is what air traffic employees were and still are) did not have the same rights to bargain and stike for better conditions. Reagan took the very people who supported his election in 1980 and turned on them to demonstrate how strong of a leader he was. I did a lot of flying for business back than and that was some scary stuff. Here's a link that will give some history on that event:

The Eighties Club
20. The Air Traffic Controllers' Strike

On August 3, 1981 nearly 13,000 of the 17,500 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) walked off the job, hoping to disrupt the nation's transportation system to the extent that the federal government would accede to its demands for higher wages, a shorter work week, and better retirement benefits. At a press conference in the White House Rose Garden that same day, President Reagan responded with a stern ultimatum: The strikers were to return to work within 48 hours or face termination. As federal employees the controllers were violating the no-strike clause of their employment contracts. In 1955 Congress had made such strikes a crime punishable by a fine or one year of incarceration -- a law upheld by the Supreme Court in 1971. Nevertheless, 22 unauthorized strikes had occurred in recent years -- by postal workers, Government Printing Office and Library of Congress employees, and by air traffic controllers who staged "sick-outs" in 1969 and 1970.

<link to more>

http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id296.htm

It was a good reminder for me to look back and just reflect on how dangerous and desperate things were when Reagan was in office.