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Watchdog Warns DOGE Cuts to FAA Make Next Airline Disaster 'More Likely'
"Maybe in the DOGE boys' video game simulations, it doesn't matter if they lay off hundreds of staff from the FAA. In the real world, however, it will make flying less safe," said Public Citizen's Robert Weissman.
Feb 17, 2025
As the Trump administration began firing hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration employees amid a surge in plane crashes, a leading U.S. consumer advocacy group warned Monday that the slash-and-burn approach of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is making the "next air travel disaster more likely."
While Musk recently said that DOGE will "aim to make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system," critics have countered that the Trump administration's termination of FAA personnel, including critical air traffic control maintenance staff, poses major risks.
"Maybe in the DOGE boys' video game simulations, it doesn't matter if they lay off hundreds of staff from the FAA. In the real world, however, it will make flying less safe," Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman said in a statement. "Just like having fewer people safeguarding the nation's nuclear arsenal will make the risk of a nuclear accident much greater."
Elon’s DOGE rampage will be a wake up call for what a decimated government really means. Cuts to FAA? Higher risk of plane crashes. Cuts to Forest Service? Higher fire risk. Cuts to the CDC? Higher pandemic risk. Cuts to the EPA? Higher toxic exposures risk — and on and on.
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— Public Citizen (@publiccitizen.bsky.social) February 17, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Weissman continued:
The Musk rampage through government is making it virtually certain that we will suffer through otherwise avoidable health, safety, and economic catastrophes. Cutting the Forest Service increases fire risk, cutting the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and blocking information-sharing risks worsening infectious disease outbreaks, cutting the [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau] guarantees Big Bank and predatory loan ripoffs, cutting [Food and Drug Administration] staff increases the risk for dangerous devices, drugs, and food additives, cutting the [Environmental Protection Agency] will increase the risk of mass toxic exposures, and on and on.
"If permitted to proceed, the mindless Musk-Trump governmental annihilation is going to touch every American community, imposing tragedy upon tragedy," Weissman added.
In a Monday social media post, U.S. Congressman Don Beyer (D-Va.) said that "mass firings of FAA workers—at a time when they already have serious staffing problems—would be dangerous at any time," but "Musk and Trump doing this weeks after the deadliest crash in years is stupid beyond belief."
Public Citizen's warning came on the same day that a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis to Toronto crashed and overturned on landing. The FAA said all 80 people aboard the flight were rescued. At least a dozen people were injured in the crash, three of them critically, according to the Toronto Star.
While the FAA firings were not a factor in Monday's accident, the Toronto crash was the latest in a recent surge in air disasters. Last month, 67 people were killed when an American Airlines jet and an army helicopter collided at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. According to initial reports, only one air traffic controller was working both civilian and military flights when the crash occurred.
On January 31, seven people died when a medical transport jet crashed near Philadelphia, 10 people were killed in a February 6 Bering Air commuter flight crash in Alaska, and one person died when a private plane belonging to Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil crashed during landing in Arizona last Monday after its landing gear failed to properly deploy.
We condemn the decision to fire these safety inspectors. Everywhere I go I am asked, “is it safe to fly?” My response is yes because thousands of frontline workers ask that all day long. If federal workers can’t do their jobs, we can’t do ours. 1/2 www.passnational.org/index.php/ne...
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— Sara Nelson (@flyingwithsara.bsky.social) February 15, 2025 at 1:59 PM
David Spero, national president of Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, the union representing more than 11,000 FAA and Defense Department personnel who install, inspect, and maintain air traffic control systems, said in a statement Saturday that the Trump administration's terminations "will increase the workload and place new responsibilities on a workforce that is already stretched thin."
"This decision did not consider the staffing needs of the FAA, which is already challenged by understaffing," Spero added. "Staffing decisions should be based on an individual agency's mission-critical needs. To do otherwise is dangerous when it comes to public safety. And it is especially unconscionable in the aftermath of three deadly aircraft accidents in the past month."
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55,000 Ontario Education Workers Strike Despite 'Draconian' New Anti-Labor Law
"Doug Ford and his government are once again telling workers across the province that their rights don't matter," said one Canadian labor leader.
Nov 04, 2022
Defying new legislation fast-tracked by right-wing Ontario Premier Doug Ford outlawing strikes, more than 55,000 education workers in the Canadian province hit the picket lines Friday, vowing to stay in the streets for "as long as it takes" to secure a contract they feel is fair.
"We need our voices to be heard and for the government to realize this is not acceptable."
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) launched what it called "a wake-up call and a call to arms for organized labor across Canada" after Ontario's Progressive Conservative government on Thursday enacted Bill 28--the Keeping Students in Class Act--which imposes contracts on CUPE members and prohibits them from striking on pain of a $3,000(USD) daily fine per employee and up to a $371,000(USD) penalty for the union.
The new law also utilizes the notwithstanding clause to shield against constitutional challenges. The controversial legal mechanism has only been invoked twice in Ontario's history--both times under Ford.
Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Bill 28 an "attack on one of the most basic rights available, that of collective bargaining."
\u201cThe Government has just passed Bill 28, and in so doing, trampled on the rights of education workers. I\u2019m terrified to think which workers will be next. \n\nThe Premier and Deputy Premier didn\u2019t even have the courage to appear in the chamber themselves and vote.\n\n#onted #onpoli\u201d— Dr. Adil Shamji \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 (@Dr. Adil Shamji \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6) 1667512321
CUPE national president Mark Hancock said in a statement that "this isn't just about education workers, this is about the rights of all working people across the country."
"The message from our leaders here in Ontario is clear," Hancock added. "Our members are united, and they intend to fight--and they have Canada's largest union in their corner and we are going to fight alongside them."
CUPE national secretary-treasurer Candace Rennick said that "now is a moment for us to ask ourselves what kind of union we want to be, in the face of the worst piece of legislation we've ever seen leveled at the labor movement."
"Our members have spoken," she added. "They are prepared to fight. They aren't part of the largest union in the country for nothing. We are going to have their backs, and we'll stand with them for as long as it takes."
\u201cThis is a truly dark day in Ontario\u2019s history. A govt that\u2019s willing to override Charter rights, human rights, collective bargaining rights & labour law to impose contracts on low paid, mainly female, edu workers & criminalize strikes. Outrageous & unacceptable. #ontedsolidarity\u201d— Professor Carol Campbell (@Professor Carol Campbell) 1667513994
According to the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL):
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrines Canadians' right to a free and fair collective bargaining process, and the Supreme Court of Canada has found that the right to exercise economic sanctions (i.e., the right to strike) forms an integral part of that process. In addition to violating workers' constitutional right to strike, the Keeping Students in Class Act enforces a concessionary contract on Ontario's 55,000 education workers--the lowest paid workers in the education system--many of whom are women workers and workers of color.
The bill unilaterally imposes woefully low wage increases--well below inflation--on low-income employees who have previously been subjected to three years of 1% increases... inadequate protections against job cuts; no paid prep time for education workers who work directly with students; a cut to the sick leave/short-term disability plan; and many other imposed terms which penalize employees. All told the imposed compensation changes amount to a mere $200 in the pockets of workers earning on average $39,000 and facing 7% inflation.
Karen Brown, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, said that by enacting a law that forces a contract on CUPE members, the Ford administration has chosen the "most draconian manner of legislating away two fundamental rights protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: the right to bargain collectively, and the right to strike."
"The Ford government has signaled it is uninterested in reaching collective agreements that are negotiated freely and fairly," she added. "And its oppressive use of the notwithstanding clause is another flagrant abuse of power--one that continues to attack democracy by trampling on Ontarians' constitutional rights."
Thousands of demonstrators turned out in Toronto's Queen's Park on Friday to denounce the Ford administration and show solidarity with the striking workers.
\u201cA massive demonstration at Queen\u2019s Park today as CUPE workers hold a \u201cpolitical protest\u201d which the Ford government calls an \u201cillegal\u201d strike. \n\n#onpoli #onted\u201d— Colin D'Mello | Global News (@Colin D'Mello | Global News) 1667572863
"We need our voices to be heard and for the government to realize this is not acceptable," Maria Gallant, a school secretary, told CBC News. "We are just asking to be paid what we deserve, nothing more."
Protesters also rallied outside the office of Education Minister Stephen Lecce in Vaughan.
"You cannot rip away the rights of workers and expect... that we are just going to take it sitting down," Laura Walton, president of CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions, told Global News.
Others expressed support for the strike on social media.
\u201cThe Ontario Dump Truck Association (ODTA) stands with CUPE and all workers in support of their strike action and against the deplorable use of the Notwithstanding Clause to erode and disrespect fundamental Charter rights! We urge @fordnation to negotiate. Not legislate. #onpoli\u201d— ODTA (@ODTA) 1667507886
Birgit Uwaila Umaigba, an intensive care unit and emergency room nurse who is also clinical course director at Centennial College in Toronto, dropped by a picket line to "protect our democracy."
"Doug Ford and his retrogressive conservative government crossed the line by enacting Bill 28 and banning 55,000 CUPE members from exercising their fundamental right to strike," she tweeted.
OFL announced a "Solidarity Saturday" day of action in the province, calling Bill 28 "a full-frontal attack on basic labor freedoms in Ontario."
\u201c\ud83d\udce2 SOLIDARITY SATURDAY \ud83d\udce2\n\nShow your support for education workers with a #SolidaritySaturday action in your community.\n\nWHEN: Saturday, November 5 @ 12PM - 1PM\nWHERE: Across Ontario\n\nLearn more & sign up here \u2935\ufe0f\nhttps://t.co/0cOarRdd1n #IStandWithCUPE #39kIsNotEnough #OntEd\u201d— OFL (@OFL) 1667585134
"Today is a dark day for Ontario workers. By introducing this legislation before education workers have even exercised their charter-protected right to strike, the Ford government is attempting to short-circuit the bargaining process and strip workers of a fundamental freedom," OFL president Patty Coates said in a statement.
"Doug Ford and his government are once again telling workers across the province that their rights don't matter," she added.
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Canadian Activists Pour 'River of Blood' on Israeli Consulate Steps to Symbolize Devastation Across Palestine
"The death and destruction inflicted by Israel in Gaza, as well as the heightened violence by Israel across Palestine, cannot be washed away."
May 21, 2021
Jewish Canadians and allies on Friday symbolically poured a "river of blood" on the steps of the Israeli consulate in Toronto to represent the human carnage in Gaza over recent days--and across historic Palestine for decades--as they demanded the Canadian government end its support for the Israeli government's violent policies.
The demonstration was led by World Beyond War, Independent Jewish Voices, Just Peace Advocates, and the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute.
"We are making the violence of Israel's brutal occupation, military attacks, and ethnic cleansing visible right here on the consulate's doorstep."
--Rachel Small, World Beyond War
The protest came a day after diplomats brokered a ceasefire between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas--a temporary reprieve that was desperately needed following an 11-day assault in which more than 230 Palestinians, including 65 children, were killed and nearly 2,000 wounded. According to Israeli authorities, 12 people were killed in recent days by Hamas rockets.
While the ceasefire was welcomed by Canadian advocates for Palestinian rights, Rabbi David Mivasair of Independent Jewish Voices said, "the ceasefire doesn't end the injustice and oppression."
"It can no longer be business as normal at Israel's consulates in Canada," said Mivasair. "The death and destruction inflicted by Israel in Gaza, as well as the heightened violence by Israel across Palestine, cannot be washed away. This belligerence is the latest in an ongoing aggressive 73-year settler-colonization project by Israel across historic Palestine."
\u201cPowerful photos from today's action. \u201cWe are making the violence of Israel\u2019s brutal occupation visible on the consulate\u2019s doorstep in Toronto. We are making it impossible for anyone to enter & exit Israeli govt offices w/o confronting the bloodshed they're complicit in.\u201d\u201d— World BEYOND War Canada (@World BEYOND War Canada) 1621611796
"Red paint streaming from the Israeli consulate onto the street in Toronto represents the blood of massacred innocent Palestinian civilians, the blood on Israel's hands," said the groups in a joint statement. "As Canadians, we demand that our government holds Israel accountable for war crimes and stops the Canada-Israel arms trade."
Canada has exported $57 million in weapons to Israel since 2015, including $16 million in bomb-making materials. The Canadian government also recently signed a contract to buy drones from the same Israeli company that supplies 85% of the drones used by the IDF to surveil and attack Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
"Jews in our communities in Canada are overcome with grief and anger," said Mivasair. "Many of us stand in solidarity with our Palestinian siblings. We say loud and clear, 'not in our name.' Israel can no longer continue to commit these atrocities in the name of the Jewish people."
By pouring red paint on the steps of the Israeli consulate, said Rachel Small, an organizer with World Beyond War, "We are making it impossible for anyone to enter and exit Israeli government offices here without directly confronting the violence and bloodshed they are complicit in."
"We are making the violence of Israel's brutal occupation, military attacks, and ethnic cleansing visible right here on the consulate's doorstep," Small said.
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