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Stories tagged with “Air Traffic Controllers”

Economy

Republican Crowd At Christie Speech Cheers Laying Off Thousands Of Government Workers

By Travis Waldron on Sep 28, 2011 at 12:45 pm

The last time prominent Republicans took the stage at the Ronald Reagan Library in California, the crowd at a GOP debate came under fire for cheering at the mention of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s execution record. Republican debate crowds have since booed a gay soldier and cheered at the thought of letting a sick man die instead of providing him with health care.

Last night, the focus of the presidential race again turned to the Reagan Library for a speech given by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R). Again, the crowd proved its indifference to those in dire straits, cheering when Christie mentioned Reagan laying off thousands of American workers:

CHRISTIE: In August 1981, the air traffic controllers, in violation of their contracts, went on strike. President Reagan ordered them back to work, making clear that those who refused would be fired. In the end, thousands refused, and thousands were fired. [applause]

Watch it:

The fact that Republicans would cheer laying off anyone at a time when unemployment is at 9 percent and the economy is reeling may seem out-of-touch, but the party has repeatedly made it clear that it sees a fundamental difference between workers in the public and private sectors. The GOP’s insistence on steep budget cuts has forced more than 500,000 workers to lose their jobs at the local, state, and federal levels.

To presidential candidate Mitt Romney (R), those workers aren’t part of the “real economy,” and he’s promised to layoff even more. And now, the GOP is threatening to enact massive cuts to the U.S. Postal Service, a move that would put even more people out of work.

The facts belie the Republican argument that reducing public sector employment will spur growth. According to the Brookings Institution, 19 of the 20 metropolitan areas that have had the strongest economic recovery since the recession have added government jobs, while 13 of the 20 worst suffered significant public sector losses. Despite overwhelming evidence against their position, conservatives continue to ignore the fact that their small government ideology is impeding the nation’s economic recovery.

Alyssa

In Honor Of The Air Traffic Controllers Ronald Reagan Fired 30 Years Ago Today

By Alyssa Rosenberg on Aug 5, 2011 at 9:52 am

Watch Pushing Tin. Unlike Breaking Bad, which uses air traffic control as a super-dramatic way of illustrating the wages of other people’s sins without giving us any sense of what being an air traffic controller is actually like, Pushing Tin actually gets at the pressures of the job and what it’s like to hang out with a bunch of controllers (something I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing):

It’s also worth marking this anniversary by noting that the Federal Aviation Administration had more than 4,000 employees on furlough because House Republicans wouldn’t back a bill reauthorizing the agency without including a provision in that bill that would create new obstacles for people who work in the airline and railroad industries to unionize. The people who were temporarily out of a job didn’t include controllers, but did include safety inspectors. Presumably, we place a pretty high value on people who are flying to their destinations getting there safely. It’s worth acknowledging how hard and stressful that work of keeping people safe is. They are, and should be, well-compensated for that work given the value we place on it. And theirs is a job where peace of mind, mental health care, and a positive work environment are not just some nice extras that their union gets for them — they’re integral to everyone else’s safety.

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