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US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages

bbc.com

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Re: US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages

#151

Post by brootstrap »

usaphp wrote: post #69

As a non US citizen, I don’t understand what’s that shutdown even about, seems like absurd thing to do. Is it all because of Trump or he is not the only one to blame? I remember there was some shutdown when Obama was there too? Or am I mistaken? Edit: downvoted for asking a question?

Hello, I am 28 years old and dont really ever recall a government shutdown happening in my years, pre-trump. People up above in the comments have written more details i would recommend reading thru the comments more to get info.

However for a quick summary, trump is whinging like a bitch (this is literally all he does) because the democrats wont agree to his finances for the wall. Something like 5.7billion for just a down payment. So instead of negotiating like a good person, he just cries and SHUTS DOWN THE WHOLE GOVERNMENT. He has done like 3 shutdowns so far lol. guy is a fuckin nutjob but someone we elected him =(

Re: US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages

#152

Post by shhehebehdh »

geofft wrote: post #124
toomuchtodo wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In no first world country should you be afraid that your child will die because you can't pay your electric bill because you're not getting paid for a job you're forced to work . > A Kentucky family whose main source of income was lost because of the partial government shutdown worries they will soon loose the ability to care for their 15-month-old daughter who needs special equipment to stay alive. https://www.cnn.c…

Honest question: I still don't understand how the "federal workers must work during furlough" thing doesn't violate the 13th Amendment. What's the story there?

It’s not that they literally must work. It’s that they can be fired for not showing up despite going without pay. Any private employer could also try this, although it’s questionable whether or how long people would put up with it. When the government is the employer, there’s some level of confidence that at least you’ll get paid in the future, whereas with a private employer once they stop paying on time they usually are going to continue to have trouble making payroll until they fold.

Re: US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages

#153

Post by brianwawok »

scarmig wrote: post #127
jazzyk wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strictly speaking, their pay is delayed - they will be paid for all the work, eventually. Still, regular employees should not be going through this, though.

There's at least two classes of employees here: 1) essentials, who are required to work and will indeed likely be repaid 2) non-essentials, who are not allowed to work and will not be repaid. They've effectively been forced into an unplanned month-long+ leave of absence. To be honest I feel worse for this group, though it sucks for everyone. ETA: this is inaccurate, was thinking of contractors. Though I do wonder how…

Non-essentials EMPLOYEES are going to get paid. They have in every other shutdown. They essentially are taking a paycheck delay in exchange for a 30+ day vacation.

Re: US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages

#154

Post by candu »

praneshp wrote: post #76
kej wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Atlanta is the busiest airport in the world; it would be a mess whether it's Super Bowl weekend or not.

I lived there for a couple of years for grad school, and flew out about once a week in my final semester for interviews. The airport is a super well-oiled machine, it doesn;t really feel different from say, San Francisco. IMO it feels way more comfortable than LaGuardia, which is easily one of the worst airports I've been at in the US.

I hope it feels different from San Francisco, which is a total unmitigated disaster for anyone coming in from an international flight on weekends, and not particularly efficient even for domestic flights.

Re: US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages

#156

Post by yardie »

Spartan-S63 wrote: post #51
mr337 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some banks are setting up low interest loan programs only for federal employees. They are low interest and are focused on amounts of 2-3 time your paycheck. Granted the rate things are going that might not be enough.

Not to mention that low interest loans are sort of predatory in this context, despite being lower than market rate interest rates. I understand that they have a profit a motive, but it doesn't make them the "good guys" in this scenario. There really are no good guys during a government shutdown.

One of the "no good guys" is used to not paying employees. So there is no good and worse guys.

Re: US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages

#157

Post by bouncing »

tibbon wrote: post #56
wonderwonder wrote: post #24

Bearing in mind that ~40% of american's could not come up with $400 to cover emergencies, this is going to become more prevalent in the next few days / weeks as people will simply not be able to afford gas to get to their unpaid work. I read an article today discussing how TSA workers in HI are living in their cars in the airport parking lot as they cannot afford to commute. The FBI just cancelled its internship prog…

I've seen too many people say, "Oh, government workers should all know this stuff happens all the time, and if they don't have months or years of savings in the bank then it's just their fault". It's really sad that instead of being compassionate, too many are focusing on what "should" be instead of what is the reality for many people. Like you point out, the reality is that most people don't have savings. They shoul…

When I was a kid, my dad was deciding between two engineering jobs; one for the US Department of Commerce and another in the private sector for a big aerospace contractor.

The private sector one paid more, I remember, but my mother brought up to my dad something interesting: You're less likely to get laid off, and you'll always have more job security, with the stable paycheck provided by a government job.

It's weird to think about it, but at this point in time, the United States Government may be one of the worst major employers in the country. Two missed pay periods, unstable leadership, no yearly budget, massive deficits, constantly changing its mind.

Re: US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages

#158

Post by nathancahill »

coldcode wrote: post #36
howlingfantods wrote: post #10

Seems like it’s just delays rather than a full stoppage. From Newsweek: ‘Flights arriving into LaGuardia Airport were delayed by about 41 minutes as of 10:15 a.m. EST and gate hold and taxi delays were between 15 and 29 minutes, although FAA said it was decreasing. Arrival traffic was experiencing airborne delays of 15 minutes or less.‘ Regardless, US scoring a lot of own goals here.

The US system is highly integrated, any slowdowns causes a lot of ripples elsewhere. Plus its not like it will get better at all. Add a few snowstorms and soon nothing will move.

https://flightaware.com/miserymap/usKEWR

Re: US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages

#159

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

brianwawok wrote: post #86
sremani wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you got to any bank website at least the ones I bank with, there is a flashing notice on the front page, if I were a federal worker who needs assistance due to shut down. I am sure, certain workers have easy ways than others but to say that at least some banks have not stepped up is incorrect.

Many are offering loans of 10%+ APR. That is helpful, but maybe not a great situation for many people that have no savings to need the loan.

10%+ feels exploitative and predatory. The current fed interest rate is 2.5% - 4x above that is "let's profit on the unfortunate".

Re: US shutdown: Flight delays caused by staff shortages

#160

Post by mbostleman »

save_ferris wrote: post #102
mayneack wrote: post #11

Federal workers should start striking. I gather that in most cases they're explicitly prevented from striking, but I think there's a good chance that it's too unpopular to actually punish them. Also yesterday some leadership of the flight attendants union called for a general strike until it was over: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/01/could-an-unlikely-av...

It's explicitly illegal for Federal Workers to strike, per the Taft-Hartley Act. On top of that, there's not much indication that this administration really cares about what's popular. Federal workers haven't gotten a paycheck in over a month, suggesting that they should break the law because of the low likelihood of punishment underestimates the lengths to which this administration will go to punish those who oppose…

It may be illegal to strike but it's not illegal to to not work if you're not paid is it?
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