Memorial Day Weekend Travel and Air Traffic Controllers

This past weekend, people in the United States traveled to see loved ones and to enjoy the unofficial start of summer. In my case, I stayed home, resting and reflecting on the meaning of Memorial Day, and participated in a 5K run in honor of those who are no longer with us. I hope you had a nice and peaceful weekend.

On Friday, the Transportation Security Administration officers screened 2,951,163 passengers at checkpoints nationwide — breaking the agency’s record for most travelers screened in a single day.1 The news were discussing this milestone and, of course, the shortages of air traffic controllers in the U.S. That discussion reminded me of something I read in the book “Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek. In Chapter 12, he wrote about “The Day We Embraced Layoff” and went on to say, “August 5, 1981. That’s the date it became official. It’s rare that we can point to an exact date when a business theory or idea becomes an accepted practice. But in the case of mass layoffs, we can. August 5, 1981, was the day President Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 air traffic controllers.”2 Sinek later expanded on this comment and stated, “President Reagan fired 11,359 air traffic controllers, nearly every controller working for the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) at the time. And it didn’t stop there. Reagan banned every one of the strikers from ever working for the FAA again for the rest of their lives, a ban that remained in effect until President Clinton lifted it in 1993”.3

I did some research and found that there were about 14,000 controllers 4 then, and that’s about the same number of controllers we have now. The FAA website says that there are “14,000+” now.5 

So, about 43 years later, we still have the same number of air traffic controllers. Are you kidding me? Obviously, the number of flights and the complexity of air operations have increased, so for the FAA and the Department of Transportation to be okay with that, or to treat this issue like any other issue by saying that “we are working on it,” is ridiculous. 

In 1981, the air traffic controllers were asking for “a reduced 32-hour work week, a $10,000 pay increase for all air-traffic controllers and a better benefits package for retirement.”6 Today, they still have similar issues.7 

Sounds to me like a leadership failure from every administration since President Ronald Reagan until now. Clearly, leaders are not eating last, and the result of bad leadership has long-term consequences. 

I know that we can do better.

Of note, the term “Leaders Eat Last” is used in the military to highlight that officers and leaders are expected to eat last to ensure soldiers have enough to eat and are taken care of.

  1. https://www.npr.org/2024/05/23/nx-s1-4977560/memorial-day-travel-weather ↩︎
  2. Sinek, Simon. Leaders Eat Last. (P. 91). New York: Penguin Group (USA), 2014. ↩︎
  3. Sinek, Simon. Leaders Eat Last. (P. 91). New York: Penguin Group (USA), 2014. ↩︎
  4. https://www.tc.faa.gov/its/worldpac/techrpt/AM98-23.pdf ↩︎
  5. https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/by_the_numbers ↩︎
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Controllers_Organization_(1968) ↩︎
  7. https://thehill.com/regulation/transportation/4617992-buttigieg-us-needs-air-traffic-controllers/#:~:text=Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said,to hire 2,000 additional controllers. ↩︎

32 thoughts on “Memorial Day Weekend Travel and Air Traffic Controllers”

  1. What?? The same number of ATC’s 43 years later? That’s stunning.

    I love how you’ve applied Leaders Eat Last. May we all remember that approach in whatever leadership roles we have.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Mary. It’s interesting to follow some of the issues affecting our country over time and the typical response from the government of “we are working on this issue,” but really, nothing is being done.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. Goodness, “we can do better,” yes! Sooner than later, preferably. Thank you for the informative article, Edward, and bravo to you for running a 5K and the reason behind it. 👏🏻🥇

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. Love the ‘leaders eat last’ philosophy — speaks to the humility aspect in leadership that I value. Willing to work alongside – all work is good work – with respect.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. I commend you for running and marking the day in a significant way, Edward! Something to be proud of as opposed to the later where nothing adds up. It is truly not something ai can get my head around. ❣️We can and should do better💕

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  8. I see leadership articles all over the internet these days, and sadly, I still see shortcomings all over the place, particularly in the “upper management” and above levels. A lot of leaders are still at the front of the chow line and that’s not okay.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes, they are definitely jumping to the front of the line. I think one of the main issues is that some individuals believe they are leaders, but in reality, they are not. Most of the time, they behave like managers, and there is a big difference between the two. Sadly, most of them know the difference because they learned it in school or during professional development courses (or at least they should have), but they decide not to lead. They manage their bosses’ wants and desires but, in some cases, don’t care about their people.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I agree. In a lot of cases, it’s a conscious choice these people are making. The one key factor they all ignore is that without their people, they are nothing.
        As someone who spent a lot of time in the trenches and worked his way up the ladder without formal “management” training (I did take some later on), I knew firsthand the frustration of working under bosses as opposed to leaders, and I brought that knowledge with me. When I said “we” to my team, they knew I meant it. And they knew I understood the POV of the person down in the weeds.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  10. Air traffic controllers do an important and stressful job. I think that the huge lay off 40 years ago was a lack of wisdom, communication and arbitration. We are still feeling the negative effects if the number of workers is the same.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Yes, it’s crazy. That kind of top-down leadership approach is unacceptable. According to the latest Congressional Research Service Report, there are about 12,000 congressional staffers (Senate and House combined). We are not getting much from Congress, so I know where we can get money to increase the number of controllers.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Clearly, leaders are not eating last, and the result of bad leadership has long-term consequences

    Some of it is driven by globalization, but in this case, just outright disregard and vitriol from the right against unions. Like the government could not of afforded to accomadate them, insane. It is like when the Republicans go after the Post Office, by all measures a model government institution. It drives them nuts…which is quite telling.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. So true. What drove me crazy was finding out that decades later we still have about the same number of controllers even though the requirements went up. Like always, the government is trying to do more with less.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  12. I wish there were nursing supervisors and managers who followed that same philosophy! 😂 It’s very true that leadership has often gone downhill in some cases, unfortunately. Glad you had a peaceful weekend and so awesome you completed a 5K. 👏👏

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

Leave a reply to Mary K. Doyle Cancel reply