Air traffic controllers received an email from the Trump administration to resign following a Washington D.C. plane crash that occurred 24 hours earlier. The Office of Personnel Management delivered this message to federal workers through an email at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday to encourage them to accept “buyouts” that would lead them to private-sector employment.
The email arrived after a fatal airplane accident at Reagan National Airport when an Army helicopter struck an American Airlines jet during landing, which resulted in 67 fatalities. Reports indicate that one air traffic controller operated the positions of two controllers at the time of the incident. Staffing shortages did not stop the administration from advancing its controversial goal to downsize the federal employee base.
The email sent to air traffic controllers stated that they should transition to private sector employment whenever they desired to do so, according to The New York Times. The program was presented as an opportunity for workers to extend their vacations or obtain new employment while maintaining their government salary. The policy stands in opposition to established federal rules that prohibit government employees from obtaining secondary income during their public service period.
The administration’s forceful pressure for employees to resign supports Trump’s goal to move public servants into private employment positions. At his Friday press conference, President Trump declared that his ultimate goal was to transition all workers from public sector employment into private sector positions. During his press conference, Trump tried to shift responsibility for the crash toward previous Democrats who allegedly chose policy goals over safety measures.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association president Nick Daniels warned about worsening an existing critical staffing crisis because of the planned resignation of experienced controllers. Public statements from the administration regarding these worries have not appeared yet.
