this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2025
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Government workers, especially ATC, should just walk out on their jobs now.

top 32 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Red0ctober@lemmy.world 57 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I cannot believe these fucking shit stains are getting paid. Meanwhile, people doing important and life saving work, like air traffic controllers, aren't.

[–] ngdev@lemmy.zip 16 points 6 days ago

ATC is getting absolutely hosed this year

[–] arin@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)
[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

We build louisettes.

[–] PenguinMage@lemmy.world 69 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Of course they'll pay their fucking stormtroopers. Throw more sandwiches at these fucking fascists. Real govt employees deserve pay.

[–] xyzzy@lemmy.today 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

First, this is just an email they sent to the goon squad. There's no mechanism described to do this, so who knows if it's even real. I think we can assume it's illegal, for whatever that's worth these days.

Second, TSA is not included:

Two government officials separately confirmed that the 50,000 TSA officers that staff airport security checkpoints are not part of the group that will be paid.

ATC and TSA need to walk off the job. Shut it all down.

[–] arrow74@lemmy.zip 7 points 6 days ago

Unfortunately then federal government has passed laws about this. An organized walk out would be considered a strike and illegal for federal employees. This administration would put them in prison.

Otherwise if it's unorganized it's a fireable offense and they will lose their jobs.

Something similar happened with air traffic controllers in the 80s. They were all fired and the military filled their jobs until new employees were brought on.

So for these employees they can either lose their jobs, go to prison, or work temporarily without pay (they will be paid once a budget is passed).

It's not a great situation

[–] ramble81@lemmy.zip 36 points 6 days ago

This is what the democrats need to be latching on to and screaming from the roofs. It can be simple too: “Republicans are paying ICE but not ATC”, or “Republicans are paying ICE and wanting higher healthcare prices for you”.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 36 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 children)

I'm still flabbergasted that government shutdown is a thing in the US. Basically holding the whole country hostage, or at least the part that is most likely to vote against you (at least when Reps do the shutdown). Just like that.

[–] dhork@lemmy.world 27 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

There are two factors that make these shutdowns uniquely American:

First of all, the responsibility to run government agencies rests with the President, while the responsibility over the budget is held by Congress (subject to a Presidential veto). And those are separate branches, with separate governance, even when the same party controls them. In most other countries, the legislative and executive branches are run by the same people, and an inability to appropriate funds to executive agencies is seen as such an obvious failure that it can prompt a no-confidence vote in the government. Here, we see that as a negotiating tactic. Even when new departments and functions are created, they get to negotiate whether that new thing is "subject to yearly appropriations" or is funded automatically.

But the second factor is the anti-deficiency act, which speficially prevents Federal agencies from spending money that has not been appropriated. While that law has been on the books since 1884, it was last revised in the early 80s, and it was around that time where the Reagan administration decided that these agencies needed to shut down in the absence of appropriations. Before then, the agencies would keep functioning (and, more importantly, paying their employees), and run a deficit while the matter was sorted out.

Basically, Republicans who thought government was too big in the 80s specifically manufactured this process, putting up roadblocks in the way of spending government funds, because our system lets them do it. (No politician loses their job when it happens.) They can now pass budgets full of things they never intend to actually fund, and then hold up appropriations while still getting "credit" for passing the budget in the first place.

[–] excursion22@piefed.ca 7 points 5 days ago

Reagan really fucked some shit up, hey?

[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 21 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

I kinda wish we had a system where we could just declare the government a failure, and kick out the lot in favor of a new one. There are other things I dislike about parliamentary systems, but that's good.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Parliamentary system seems superior in every single way to what we have here.

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Didn't Belgium go for almost 3 years without a government a while back? Meanwhile France is on their 5th prime minister in 2 years. I think the issue is that Democracy is entirely incompatible with capitalism.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 6 days ago

I never said it was perfect, but it is better if only for the fact that it allows for more than two parties.

[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 1 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I really dislike voting for parties rather than individuals. I realize parties are inevitable, but I hate them. I want to elect an individual who I trust to fight hard for the things I want and to have the wisdom to make compromises—even painful ones—to achieve a greater good.

Like with Obama, I trust that he had to make some difficult choices and did the best he could, even when I vehemently disagreed with some of them. Literally the only President in my lifetime I feel that way about, and the party would never have made him President. Or PM, I suppose it would be.

I'm not saying the benefits of parliamentary systems wouldn't outweigh the harms, but they definitely aren't perfect.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

At least parliamentary system allows for more than two parties.

Also, people do directly vote for their MPs in most systems.

[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I thought they elected a party and the party chooses who leads it? Have to be honest I don't follow foreign politics as well as I should. But the same thing applies at a local level. I want to vote for individual representatives and senators. At whatever level I don't want a bunch of out of touch rich folks deciding who best represents my individual interests.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

You should refresh your memory on what a parliamentary system actually is...

[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

You're right. I had some fundamental misunderstandings of the system. My apologies. I'll go rethink things. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 6 days ago

No worries... No system is perfect, but I personally think there are a lot of benefits to it over what we currently have in the US.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Even though most countries (that I know of) have a similar personality cult, the head guy has never as much power as POTUS.

[–] WhatGodIsMadeOf@feddit.org 9 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

We are hostages even when the government is working. Unless you are born into a privileged family or enough of a cunt/psychopath to live the greedy American dream lifestyle. Crabs in a bucket they figuratively rape lives to get the American dream.

They feed us psychologically marketed lifestyles and escapism to keep people guided on a path they can keep control of. Most people barely know the full spectrum of what it actually means to be a living human being here. They are more like farm animals.

[–] AWistfulNihilist@lemmy.world 41 points 6 days ago

These fucks are all privately funded.

[–] devolution@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

ICE. Stormtroopers. Meh. They both can't shoot for shit.

[–] klammeraffe@lemmy.cafe 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

If they walk, how can they pay rent? Jobs aren’t available.

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 22 points 6 days ago (1 children)

How can they pay rent without pay? This is probably gonna be the longest shutdown in history. Most people live paycheck to paycheck

[–] klammeraffe@lemmy.cafe 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They’ll lose their pension if they quit. They might have to kill Trump 🤷‍♂️

[–] CannonFodder@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They can negotiate it back when they are rehired. Which they will be - there was already a shortage.
If they walk, air travel pretty much shuts down. The gov will have to react.

[–] klammeraffe@lemmy.cafe 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They won’t have that option because they will hire trumpets

[–] CannonFodder@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It takes quite a bit of training and then experience in smaller operations before moving to the larger ones. You can't just hire random people for it. Well you can, but that will lead to disasters.

[–] klammeraffe@lemmy.cafe 4 points 5 days ago

Correct, we should expect disasters