Nine NY TRACON controllers fired

[Check 6]

Story from Avflash (http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/446-full.html#190301)

[atcea.com]

Looks like the FAA has hit upon a clever way to reduce overtime at N90 ... "If they don't work here, they won't use much overtime."
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ATC Chat Now (http://atcea.com)

[Scott Voigt]

Yeah right.... They use overtime due to being short staffed, so now they get rid of 11 more folks... Now THAT will make the need for overtime go down...

Scott

[Lon More]

What is it with most managers in ATC?
Many of them start out as controllers but as soon as they're out of the Ops Room seem to do their utmost to dump on their erstwhile colleagues.

[atcea.com]

What is it with most managers in ATC?
It's my belief that all the qualities which make for an excellent controller - the ability to make quick decisions, the ability to issue orders with an economy of verbiage, the ability to make less than sterling decisions work, the ability to form a plan and stick with it, etc. - these same qualities make for a lousy manager.

I contend that we get our managers from the wrong pool: burnt out or marginal controllers. We need to find other sources for our leadership (university trained managers, perhaps) and find other work for controllers who need to get away from traffic.

[RevMan2]

Lon More

This isn't an issue that's restricted to promotion in the ATC environment.

These days - and it doesn't really matter where you're employed - any managerial position is target-oriented. If you have targets that say "Cut costs by 30%", then you're under-performing (in the eyes of the levels above you) if you don't achieve that target. And given that your bonus is going to be directly linked to the degree of target achievement, you'll want to try for 40%.

It didn't take me long to learn that it's not what I considered to be important, but rather what they considered to be important.

Fact of life, as unpalatable as it may be

[Lon More]

the qualities which make for an excellent controller ....make for a lousy manager Not neccessarilly. Some of the ones I was thinking of were lousy controllers.
targets that say "Cut costs by 30%" but if you throw the baby out with the bathwater you cut a lot more than costs

[RevMan2]

Lon More

but if you throw the baby out with the bathwater you cut a lot more than costs

Absolutely agree, but that's not your call. (What actually happens is that you achieve your targets, get promoted and then have to sort out the problems caused by myopic cost-cutting. Catch 22)

[Scott Voigt]

ATCEA;

You're thinking of the OLD days. We don't have the older controllers going for sup jobs anymore. For the last decade most of the folks going up and into management, have never had more than a year or two working traffic before bailing out and working their way up. So yes it is OUR fault for not going into staff and management (why bother.) and instead we get folks who NEVER knew how to work traffic and they are now the ones who make up the rules <sigh>. We are all doomed.

regards

Scott

[EltorroLoco]

Got to agree with you Scott, and what makes it worse is that it's the same around the world, just a different accent. Everybody loves the benchmarking BS but one ends up chasing one's tail, no-one will stick their necks out and be the bench.

I am also astounded as to how a former average colleague from the floor forgets so soon, once they turn to the dark side, how it was on the floor.

The people above the sith apprentices are also control freaks and don't let anyone make a move without their approval, maybe it's because they don't have the same hold on ATC, since we can always say, "Here's a hat, you do it, what?, no license, that's what I thought - now get out of my radar hall!"

<african sigh> We are all doomed...