Houston tower, do you happen to know if the USA will ever give jobs to anybody other than US citizens?
Even if they did, who would want to move here ? It sounds just like what Guy D'ageradar described (or worse) and you get paid in dollars (which is falling every day). The FAA can't even keep trainees these days. They quit and go work elsewhere.
Maybe if we have another Great Depression folks willl wake up. (But that's another story. Sticking to this one..).
HALF OF THE VETERAN CONTROLLER WORKFORCE AT TAMPA TOWER IS NOW ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE
"Prior to the FAA’s imposed work rules implemented in 2006 there were 70 CPCs at Tampa tower, of the large number of veteran retirements since then only one has been mandatory – the rest leaving prematurely. By May 1st, when the next two veteran controllers retire, the facility will be operating with 43 CPCs (three of which are medically decertified) and 23 trainees. With the exception of four transfers from other facilities, only three of these new hires have begun training in radar – a process expected to take at least two years to complete. The rest are still training in the tower or waiting to go back to the Oklahoma City training academy for radar class and are at least two and a half to four years away from certification.
In addition to the overload of getting 16 more new hires in the next 12 months, 22 of the facility’s current 43 CPCs are eligible to retire now and could leave at anytime. The remaining 21 will be eligible within the next six years. "
NATCA (the U.S. controller's union) releases about one of those press announcments every week now. It's system wide. Keep your eyes open and watch the news. Congress will probably be holding more hearings and dropping more bombshells shortly.
Don Brown
Atlanta ATRCC -- RETIRED !