A day before a deadly mid-air collision at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C., employees at the Federal Aviation Administration received an offer to resign with eight months’ pay. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association recommended that its members not accept the offer, citing the lack of clarity on which positions would be included in the resignation plan.
An official from the Office for Personnel Management, the U.S. government’s human resources arm, clarified that air traffic controllers are exempt from a hiring freeze across much of the federal government and are not eligible for the resignation plan.
The crash, which killed all 67 people on board an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter, has renewed focus on the real-world implications of President Donald Trump’s push to slash the federal bureaucracy. While there is no evidence that the White House effort to downsize government played a role in the collision, those who work in air safety say that dramatic changes to the federal workforce need to be done carefully, with consideration for the lives that could be put at risk.
A memo sent by OPM earlier this week offered FAA employees a chance to quit and find more useful work, citing the idea that “the way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector.”
However, union officials are concerned about the potential impact of a buyout program on air traffic control safety and efficiency. With a long-standing shortage of air traffic controllers, the union argues that the program could lead to a loss of experienced personnel just when they are needed most.
The incident has also raised concerns about the rhetoric and approach of the Trump administration, which has been critical of the federal workforce and has pledged to make drastic cuts. Some experts warn that the administration’s approach could make it harder to recruit and retain critical personnel in fields like air traffic control.