Senator demands $10,000 bonuses for all air traffic controllers, not just select few
A top Senate Democrat is demanding that the Trump administration award $10,000 bonuses to all air traffic controllers, not just those who didn’t miss a single day of work during the recent federal government shutdown. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., the ranking minority member of a Senate aviation subcommittee, sent a formal request to the Department of Transportation on Wednesday.
In a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Duckworth said excluding all the other workers is “unfair, divisive and disrespectful.”
“It is wrong to financially penalize these Federal employees for responsibly managing life events beyond their control while working without pay,” Duckworth wrote.
Bonuses awarded
Duffy announced in November that just 776 of approximately 20,000 controllers and technicians qualified for “perfect-attendance” bonuses. “Santa’s coming to town a little early,” he wrote on X.
“These patriotic men and women never missed a beat and kept the flying public safe throughout the shutdown,” Duffy said. “This award is an acknowledgement of their dedication and a heartfelt appreciation for going above and beyond in service to the nation.”
The bonuses were awarded after President Donald Trump previously floated the idea, calling controllers who didn’t miss a day of work “great patriots.”
“For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” Trump added.
The bonuses awarded so far have cost the government about $7.7 million. Awarding all controllers and technicians would run to about $200 million.
Duckworth’s concerns
Duckworth questioned the standard that the bonuses are setting for controllers. In the letter, she expressed concern that, in future government shutdowns, some workers may report to work even when they shouldn’t in an effort to receive a future bonus.
“If there is another lapse in appropriations during the Trump administration, Air Traffic Controllers will have a financial incentive to avoid using authorized leave — even while suffering from illnesses that degrade controller performance and risk infecting an entire cadre of employees working a shift.”
Backlash over bonuses
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents controllers, also expressed concerns regarding the limited bonuses in a statement to CBS News.
“We are concerned that thousands of air traffic controllers who consistently reported for duty during the shutdown, ensuring the safe transport of passengers and cargo across the nation, while working without pay and uncertain of when they would receive compensation, were excluded from this recognition,” it said.
In addition to the bonuses from Duffy, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem awarded $10,000 bonuses to Transportation Security Administration workers who took on extra shifts during the government shutdown.
Duffy’s comments
Duffy has stressed that while not all workers received bonuses, they all received full pay.
When questioned about workers who possibly missed work to care for their children or because they were ill, Duffy said, “The administrator and I have been very grateful through the course of the shutdown and recognizing some of the difficult circumstances our controllers were going through. But, you know, we have to look and say, where’s the cutoff?”
In her letter, Duckworth said she does not need a response from Duffy, but requested that he “act swiftly in issuing $10,000 awards to the entire dedicated Air Traffic Controller and Technician workforce.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
