The “$10,000 patriot bonus” announced by Donald Trump just two days ago has morphed into “you’ll get 70%… eventually.” The GOP is openly bullying Air Traffic Controllers amid the government reopening, and it’s unbelievable.
Trump’s Truth Social edict for Air Traffic Controllers from two days ago was a threatening ultimatum. Report “NOW!!!” or be “docked,” he announced. And for the workers who didn’t leave despite no pay, he dangled a $10,000 bonus, calling them “GREAT PATRIOTS.” But the details on that funding are still TBD. Trump claimed he’ll get it from “somewhere” (via Independent).
So, promise first, appropriation later, and compliance now is the government’s new strategy. On Nov. 12, two days after Trump’s threats, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy came out with another statement. Once the government reopens, he said, controllers will get 70% of their pay within 24–48 hours. The rest? within a week or two, maybe.
In other words, the administration is offering partial back pay on layaway after weeks of zero salary.
“I mentioned I wanted air traffic controllers to come back to work. So, to be clear, anywhere from 24 to 48 hours after the government opens, they are going to get 70% of their pay… So I encourage all of them to come to work, to be patriots, and help navigate the air space effectively for the American people.”
And they’re doing this while urging controllers to “be patriots.” So, threaten, then front 70%, and then moralize is their new incentive structure. But weaponizing pay, then calling the workforce unpatriotic, isn’t really an effective staffing plan. Controllers are already understaffed and burnt out. The shutdown triggered FAA-ordered schedule cuts and mass cancellations, as safety buffers snapped on and off like hazard lights (via NY Post).
From the ATC perspective, they worked through missed paychecks, got vilified if they didn’t, and are now being promised a partial catch-up. Those who grind through are offered a five-figure bonus that no one can legally or fiscally source on the spot. So, their loyalty might get rewarded, but their supposed “dissent” will definitely be punished. What a day to serve the nation.
Duffy’s “70% within 48 hours” sounds compassionate, but the question is, where is the remaining 30%? With Trump boasting about trillions and trillions pouring in due to his brilliant policies, federal workers should ideally be getting 110% of their salaries. Yet, Duffy stood there, boasting of 70% pay as some sort of extraordinary feat. What the administration is doing isn’t governance, it’s a shakedown. Or, as one user on X put it, “The GOP’s bait-and-switch is legendary.”
Another user bluntly called out Duffy on his incompetence, saying, “Our ATCs have been doing their jobs longer than you have been doing yours and longer than you were on your reality show. Your lack of EMPATHY and support during a situation your party created makes you look weak. Do better.”
And truly, it was the last place for the performative austerity of these clowns. Air Traffic Controllers should be paid fully, promptly, and without partisan loyalty tests. Because national security isn’t a tip jar, and the sky is no place for budget cosplay.
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