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Probationary
Keep hearing that DOGE is just getting rid of probationary employees like they are new hires, actually if you get promoted you become a probationary employee.
Here’s what it means and you ought to think about it if you’re planning a flight.
“Dear Senator
I am writing as a constituent, former FAA air traffic controller (26 years) and current Airline Transport rated commercial pilot. On Friday, hundreds of FAA technicians and engineers were terminated. These technicians and engineers maintain every piece of equipment that keeps flying safe, from the radars to the ILS, to ATC automation. They were identified as "probationary" and there is a reasonable speculation that Al was used to "find" probationary employees, assuming that meant that they were new hires. That is not an accurate assumption. A newly hired federal employee is probationary and may be subject to at will termination, but the term
"probationary" is also applied to promotions, to describe not that you are a probationary employee, but if the promotion or transfer is not successful, the employee would return to the pre-promotion position. That allows the government to retain the training and needed expertise.
However, even that is not the case in these positions as workers were indeed succeeding in their new roles.
FAA technicians undergo years of specialized training to maintain mission critical systems and cannot be replaced quickly. In the 30 years since I began my controller career, we have never had a surplus of technicians and engineers. To the contrary, it is a challenge to keep these jobs filled.
Once our aviation safety infrastructure is compromised, it will take decades to bring it back. Money will not be saved and lives may be lost.
We need your help to raise attention to this issue and use whatever tools of checks and balances available to undo this reckless action.
Sincerely,
Dylan Sullivan
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