September 1, 2004
ISN'T THERE A BUTTON I COULD PUSH ALL DAY:
Air traffic controllers see looming shortages (Keith Reed, September 1, 2004, Boston Globe)
The retirement of hundreds of air traffic controllers in the next decade could leave too few people to direct planes over New England, the controllers union warned yesterday.About half of the controllers at the three facilities that guide planes to and from Logan International Airport will be eligible to retire within a decade, according to the union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. And it can take up to five years to fully train a controller, members of the union said at a news conference yesterday. [...]
Controllers face stressful jobs that are difficult to get into. Yesterday, controller Kevin Bianchi said he waited 18 months for his first round of training when he was hired 16 years ago. But the job can be lucrative, paying between $81,000 and $105,000 per year for 40-hour work weeks at large airports like Logan, Bianchi said.
But the union estimates half its members will retire in the next decade, so ''If you bring a lot of trainees in, who's going to train them?" asked Tom Coronite, president of the union local at Logan.
There are plenty of such high-paying service jobs around, but folks don't want to make the effort to acquire the necessary skills. The beauty of manufacturing jobs was that any idiot could do them. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 1, 2004 9:20 AM
But not any more.....
Well, if UA goes down, traffic should ease. And when more planes go boom! that'll also take care of the problem.
Posted by: Sandy P at September 1, 2004 10:02 AMMost of the no-brainer manufacturing jobs have been automated, those that cannot be automated require higher skill levels in areas of process control, qa/qc, etc.
There will be a dearth of skilled Information Technology and Engineering personnel in the near future as well, as not enough college students are going into these programs. I guess people don't want to make good money anymore.
Posted by: Robert Duquette at September 1, 2004 10:34 AMWhat is the problem? Why has it not been addressed before now? Hire the people and train them to become air traffic controllers. I know the US has no shortage of highly capable young people who would jump at the chance to make that kind of pay. Unless, of course, this is another "plug" to bring in foreigners to do the job at lower pay????
Posted by: JR at September 1, 2004 10:38 AMJR:
It's all computerized and should be easy enough to outsource.
Posted by: oj at September 1, 2004 10:57 AMSo what are they harping about. They have already decided to justify sending the jobs overseas anyway. I wonder who is going to buy all these wonderful things these companies send back to the US when we have no jobs.
Posted by: JR at September 1, 2004 1:01 PMJR:
No jobs? The point is we have more jobs than we can ever fill.
Posted by: oj at September 1, 2004 1:07 PMIf you are going to be facing a shortage in the near future, start training now. Duh.
You need trainers? Then contract out to recent retirees and have them train the newbies.
Posted by: Mikey at September 1, 2004 1:43 PMI would like to see an analysis of how many jobs are unfilled due to drug-testing requirements. The ATC jobs described here certainly require drug screening (and probably random testing), but even Home Depot and other 'big box' employers are testing prospective employees.
I know in my field that the number of 'problem' employees is way down since drug and alcohol screening was put in place over 10 years ago. It doesn't really affect those with permanent jobs, but it does (somewhat) limit the boundaries for the temporary and consulting workers.
Posted by: jim hamlen at September 1, 2004 2:21 PMOJ, you want to outsource the ATC system? Umm, are you crazy? First, it wouldn't be practical, as there do need to be a few people up in those towers looking out the windows. Second, do want the nation's air traffic controlled from Pakistan or China?
Posted by: PapayaSF at September 1, 2004 3:19 PMPapayaSF
Aircraft controllers do not look out the windows. Pilots don't either.
Posted by: Uncle Bill at September 1, 2004 5:25 PMI'm pretty sure someone is looking out those windows, to make sure a baggage cart hasn't rolled onto the runway or whatever.
Posted by: PapayaSF at September 1, 2004 9:32 PM"It's all computerized and should be easy enough to outsource."
Wrong.
"Pilots don't either."
Difficult though it is to believe, even more wrong.
Posted by: Jeff Guinn at September 1, 2004 10:18 PMIt's kinda difficult for someone living in the 18th century to get his hands around the way things work today.
Orrin also thinks assembly lines work flawlessly, like in cartoons.
Posted by: Harry Eagar at September 1, 2004 10:27 PMHarry:
No, I think they work like all human creations. Pretty sketchy. But the folks on the assembly line don't fix it.
Posted by: oj at September 1, 2004 11:42 PMSomeone monitors taxi traffic, to prevent runway incursions (what a word!). Just today, the FAA announced there were 324 in 2003 (10/1/02 to 9/31/03), down 4% from the year before.
But how do they watch at night (or in heavy overcast)?
Posted by: jim hamlen at September 2, 2004 12:04 AM