Diversity air controllers?
It’s recently been publicized that under the Obama administration some very strange and disturbing policies were put in place governing the hiring of air controller trainee candidates:
…Tucker Carlson revealed the Obama administration modified the FAA’s candidate selection process to value workplace diversity over competency, experience and skills…
According to Carlson, due to changes implemented during the Obama administration, air traffic controller candidates are now required to complete a “biographical questionnaire” before even being considered for a job with the FAA.
If they don’t pass, they aren’t considered for a position ”” no matter how much experience they have or how qualified they are.
Fox News obtained a copy of the questionnaire and how it is scored. According to Carlson, candidates whose worst subject in high school was science and candidates who are unemployed receive the most points possible on the test. In contrast, licensed pilots and those with extensive air traffic control knowledge aren’t highly scored.
This seems insane on the face of it, because there are other and much better ways to implement diversity if diversity is the goal—unless the “diversity” you’re seeking is to get candidates who will flunk out of the program or fail to show up (see this forum for some detailed discussion of that).
Actually, not all of that quote with which this post began is factually correct. It took me a while to get more updated information, but apparently Congress passed an act in 2016 that at least partially corrected some of the problems described above. This court case (still lumbering through the court system) provides a fairly thorough description of the situation prior to the Obama changes, during the changes, and after the 2016 law (the partial correction) was passed:
Prior to 2014, as part of their hiring program, the FAA considered candidates who completed Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) programs at approved CTI Institutions. To be eligible for employment as a trainee controller, graduates of these programs were then required to pass an air traffic aptitude test, known as the Air Traffic Control Selection and Training (AT-SAT) exam. Once the candidates graduated from an approved CTI Institution and passed the AT-SAT, they were entered into a “direct hire pool of applicants, were placed on a Qualified Applicant Register List, and were given hiring preference for Air Traffic Control Specialist” (ATCS) positions.
In 2013, the FAA decided to modify its hiring process and notified candidates that it was “planning to open a general public announcement in FY 2014 to add more depth and diversity to [its] controller hiring sources.” As part of this new hiring strategy, the FAA required all applicants, including CTI graduates, to apply through this vacancy announcement. A revised testing process was also implemented, under which candidates were required to complete a biographical questionnaire (BQ). If the candidate passed the BQ, he would then be eligible to take the cognitive portion of the AT-SAT and be referred for a selection decision. ….
…[O]n July 15, 2016, “Congress passed the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016, which, inter alia, addressed the hiring of ATCS positions by the FAA.” The Act provides that the “FAA should give preferential treatment for ATCS positions to qualified individuals maintaining 52 consecutive weeks of civilian or military air traffic control experience.” The remaining ATCS positions are then hired equally out of two pools. The first pool is made up of: CTI graduates who have received recommendations from their institution, honorably discharged veterans, eligible veterans with aviation experience, and preference eligible veterans. The second pool is made of up “off-the street” (OTS) applicants. The Act “prevents the FAA from using the [BQ] on applicants from the first pool,” but “does not prevent the FAA from using the [BQ] on OTS hires.” Further, the Act permits any applicant who was previously disqualified as a result of the BQ to reapply for an ATCS position.
So there are now two pools for trainees, after the first group of experienced people (given preference) is hired. One is the more traditional route of taking the proper courses and then applying without having to answer any cockamamie BQ questions that reward lack of employment and stupidity at science. The second pool requires no training and rewards those rather glaring deficits.
I repeat that if the goal is diversity, that’s still a strange way to go about it (that last pool and the BQ, that is), and one just about guaranteed to have a high fail rate (although it’s hard to obtain any statistics on that, there’s a discussion of the fail rate here). Surely it’s possible to get a fair number of minority candidates that go by the first route, and in fact I saw a discussion on Tucker Carlson last night (a program I watched because I knew this topic would be addressed) that indicated that when the standards were first changed, quite a few of those who lost out were actually minority candidates who were either military veterans or had gone to a CTI program, done well, and were in line for trainee positions and then were dumped in favor of the “off the street” candidates.
Seems insane. Here’s further documentation on how the dumping worked (here it’s called a “purge”):
Prior to the 2013 purge, the FAA collaborated with universities and colleges to create accredited degree programs in Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) schools. The FAA gave a hiring preference those who obtained CTI program degrees, references from CTI administrators, and “well qualified” rankings on the challenging Air Traffic Selection and Training exam (AT-SAT)””a validated, proctored, eight-hour, computer-based test. In December of 2013, the FAA began its new hiring process and told approximately 3,500 trained and qualified graduates of CTI programs””who were on the FAA’s referral list and ready for immediate hire””that their AT-SAT scores were no longer valid and that they must reapply for employment. The new application process””open to anyone””required applicants to pass a nonsensical “Biographical Questionnaire (BQ),” which was instituted to select minority candidates. Despite obtaining a perfect score on the AT-SAT exam, lead plaintiff Andrew Brigida was told he failed the BQ and was therefore no longer eligible for employment as an ATC.
“The FAA jeopardized passenger’s lives to advance a political agenda,” said William Perry Pendley, president of Mountain States Legal Foundation.
If you go to the FAA’s site on diversity and inclusion, you can see how dedicated the institution is to these principles [emphasis mine]:
Diversity is integral to achieving FAA’s mission of ensuring safe and efficient travel across our nation and beyond. Our inclusive culture is defined by our values and we continuously seek employees from all backgrounds with distinctive ideas, perspectives, insights and talents. As our NextGen technology and systems continue to evolve to meet the aviation challenges of tomorrow, so must our workforce.
Because diversity is so critical, FAA actively supports and engages in a variety of associations, programs, coalitions and initiatives to support and accommodate employees from diverse communities and backgrounds. Our people are our strength, and we take great care in investing in and valuing them as such.
I’m all for diversity as long as safety and competence are not sacrificed. But here’s my question for the FAA: is diversity so integral to your mission, so very critical, almost entirely for political reasons? Because you merely state how critical diversity is for safety, but fail to give us a clue why that would be so. It seems to me that the two things—diversity and safety—are very separate issues. But that’s not the way the website reads.
Why should anyone be surprised by this? Obama’s administration was ruled by the “principles” that govern academia, which arise from the absurd contention that “diversity is integral to achieving FAA’s mission of ensuring safe and efficient travel across our nation and beyond.” Here’s a great explanation of why diversity–upon which Obama’s entire worldview rests–is the dumbest idea ever: http://wmbriggs.com/post/22420/
FunkyPhD:
But the weird thing is that it wasn’t the best way—or even a sane way—to obtain diversity. They threw out all the minority candidates who had already gone through the training program in favor of ones who hadn’t. It made no sense even under diversity terms.
“Diversity is our Strength” is the sort of mindless slogan beloved by leftists (such as the brainless leader of our northern neighbor) who prefer not to think deeply or rationally about such an important topic; interested readers should consult Peter Wood’s Diversity: The Invention of a Concept, published fifteen years ago and still relevant.
j e Says:
June 5th, 2018 at 4:47 pm
“Diversity is our Strength” is the sort of mindless slogan beloved by leftists
* * *
and generally not true.
It kind of depends on what factor is diversified.
Elsewhere on the FAA page we see this announcement underlining the FAA’s love of diversity. See if you can see what IS NOT on the list.
=======
Employee Associations and Special Emphasis Programs
The FAA takes great pride in ensuring that all employees are afforded the opportunity to connect with others who share a similar culture, background, identity, interest or goal. Our employee associations and Special Emphasis Programs serve to facilitate career development, formal and informal mentoring, diversity, inclusion and social interaction. The FAA supports the following groups, which are open to all FAA employees.
FAA GLOBE – Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees
National Native American Alaska Native Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NAAN)
National Hispanic Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NHCFAE)
National Asian and Pacific American Association (NAPA)
National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE)
National Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees with Disabilities (NCFAED)
Professional Women Controllers (PWC)
Technical Women’s Organization (TWO)
Special Emphasis Programs
Federal Women’s Program (FWP)
Hispanic Employment Program (HEP)
People with Disabilities Program (PWDP)
====
Lots of diverse groups there. Seems to be one hue missing.
“Unity is our strength. Seeking diversity, for the sake of diversity, is our weakness.” Oldflyer
Some people claim that the Israeli Air Force is the best in the world–a claim with which I do not agree. But, they are outstanding in the environment in which they function. I have always been led to believe that their pilot selection process differed greatly from ours. That is, Israel set near impossible entry standards, with a near universal training completion rate. The U.S. entry standards were high, but, not as stringent; based on a philosophy to throw a wider net, and assume a higher attrition rate in training. To that end, pressure was applied early in training to screen the weaker students, and attrition was relatively high. Israel did not feel that they could afford the cost associated with this; while the U.S. was willing to bear that cost. Either system works, so long as standards are applied rigorously at some point.
Either of these divergent concepts can be honestly applied over a broad spectrum, so long as there is a mechanism–and the will–to maintain standards. However, in today’s climate, most organizations will incur the wrath of the unsuccessful, and their advocates, regardless of their methodology. Thus, standards become flexible.
“Seems insane.” Yes it not only seems, it is.
“I’m am for diversity…” In a sane society ‘diversity’ is meaningless. The rule of thumb should be competency. I could give a damn about race/gender/blah blah pronouns. When merit is rendered soggy dead to diversity it is a sign your civilization, starting with the rule of law; is dying.
The demand for diversity, without regard to merit is insanity. Period.
dear j e:
I have come to know Peter Wood personally. He is a great warrior for truth. As president of the small National Association of Scholars (NAS), he has led that tiny group of diligents well. Their recent clarification of the Confucius Institutes, propaganda mechanisms implanted in many US colleges and Universities and all funded by an arm of the Peking (oops, Beijing) government, has led to initiation of Congressional inquiries and, hopefully, hearings.
I strongly recommend all of you here join me as a member of NAS.
The cost is modest, the work is important, and one need not be a formal ‘scholar’ to join.
As someone who spent many hours in the Air Force in a darkened room at a radar scope talking to airplanes, I can’t see where the race and ethnicity of controllers would make a difference in performance.
Mayor De Blasio Details Plan To Diversify New York City’s Elite High Schools
Mayor Bill de Blasio is demanding that eight elite high schools scrap admissions tests so more minority students can get in.
“The status quo is broken. We have to make a major change. We have to make sure that the very best high schools are open to every New Yorker, every kind of New Yorker. They need to look like New York City.”
its the school, not the attendees being sorted… right?
it was time to end having students take tests to get into the school because right now because just 10 percent of students at the elite high schools are Black and Hispanic, while 70 percent of students in city schools are Black and Hispanic.
lets, reserve 25% of the seats for diversity…
[this is really homogenization, not diversity]
The mayor wants 45 percent of the 5,000 seats to go to black and Hispanic students.
you thought i was kidding
but my wife and i don’t have a family cause academia sees fit to do this kind of thing.. play god….
I came from that same neighborhood blasio talks about being fair to people
I gave up my childhood to work my ass off to do college level work in grade school…
My parents were not wealthy, connected, etc. – but that couldnt be easy on them
Made it in a year early
but no one asks blasio the question…
Why are you punishing the people who you wanted to be successes before?
Because the real answer is that they weren’t supposed to succeed
That these people didn’t believe in them but were using them, and that their chance at being successful was assumed to be nil
which is why when they do grow up, and are successful, they are no longer assumed or connected with that past who no one escapes, and so, must be held back… if they also aren’t from there, and the right sex, or color, or declare their proper affiliation by violating their own privacy… then what?
(anyone but me realize we force the handicapped to give out their own medical information just so they can not be accepted and of course be treated differently too)
now this is their fix..
these are not stupid people
you cant homogenize the people / domesticate the population
While keeping and allowing places where poor kids who have no money to attend a private school, but give themselves better education, had a place to go to succeed…
Just by passing a test
and change their status and that of their family
such a thing has to be broken
they had no way to break it until the cows made a hammer
a hammer that can only be stopped by accepting what cant be accepted…
the article continues:
He wants 20 percent of the seats reserved for low-income students starting in September 2019. He will then seek to have state legislation to eliminate the tests and replace them with admission criteria based on middle school class rank and state test scores.
The problem is, what if you don’t go to a public school?
Thats the problem?
Blasio responded.
“Obviously, we want fairness for everyone.”
and god decides whats fair, right?
now who is god? Hegel? Marx? Blasio?
Are minor functionaries god when needed?
there are other ways to prune trees
my wife and i found that out…
7 percent of the space in the elite schools will be left for students from non-public schools who will be selected.
“Based on a lottery,” Wallack said.
and they aint going to be elite no more…[paraphrasing an old song]
Manhattan Councilman Ben Kallos, an alum of Bronx Science, is against the changes.
“The fact that fewer black and Hispanic kids is getting into these schools is not the failure of the schools. It’s the failure of the public education system that has been failing them since day one,” Kallos said.
no no, its a magical school
its not the students, its that they found the magic place
just like they broke up the mens magic places!
they will break these up too… (same hammer)
and by their god Hegel, everything will be used to smash everything
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
and in the interest of the peace:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBxMPqxJGqI
and then the problem was solved and there was peace and much rejoicing in the kingdom.. huzzah!!! vivat!!! vivat!!! vivat!!!
“Why should anyone be surprised by this?” FunkyPhD
Indeed. Once you are willing to reject reality, as to one degree or another all on the Left demonstrably do… a trivial matter such as competency hardly compares.
Add this to the mounting evidence that people on the Left are, in varying degrees, suicidal.
What else might we call liberal support for importing millions of Muslims and third world Africans into Western Europe and millions of third world Hispanics into America? What else might we call liberal support for destroying America’s cultural institutions and gelding America’s police forces?
What else to call liberal support for disenfranchising the half of America that disagrees with them?
Mr. Frank it depends on what your definition of performance is
if the screen and the job is the point, then no, technically it don’t matter depending on the individual
if how they perform in their lives vs the people deemed to lose
they perform better, which is why they will vote the right way to reward people that did that for them.
no?
This is an example of my comment about diversity in colleges. The progressive assumption is that all are able to do the work, but have been denied the chance because of race, gender, ethnicity, criminality, etc.
I’m beginning to believe that Obama was passed through his higher education in such a way that he decided if he could get a law degree, anyone could. His entrée was a prep school and a grandmother who knew how to pull the right strings. Thus, he believed that, if a BS prone goof ball like him could get passed up the ladder, why not those poor brothers who never caught a break. Impossible? No one thinks like that, right? After what went down during the Obama administration, I’m not so sure.
I guess it is just ideology at this point that results that don’t match the population are racist. Training, competence, reality… all aside.
J.J. Says:
June 5th, 2018 at 10:27 pm
This is an example of my comment about diversity in colleges. The progressive assumption is that all are able to do the work, but have been denied the chance because of race, gender, ethnicity, criminality, etc.
* * *
I read an article recently (which of course I cannot find again) that posited this chain of reasoning (paraphrased of course):
In the days before Affirmative Action, any minority students who made it through the top schools actually were among the best and brightest, because the others flunked out or were second-tier grads (like the unqualified white kids, but they don’t mention that).
The Left concluded that they succeeded just BECAUSE they went to the top schools, ignoring the actual talent and effort required.
Therefore, beneficiaries of Affirmative Action assumed that their attendance at these schools was sufficient to also be top-tier grads.
When that didn’t happen, for many of them, the new conclusion was not “we were unprepared and/or didn’t work hard enough and/or really didn’t have the intellectual capacity for quality study” BUT “it’s someone else’s fault.”
It’s kind of a blend of the Cargo Cult mentality with a Lake Woebegone belief that all of the students are above average.
You can’t fix stupid at this level.
I think I will name this phenomenon the Keillor Kargo Kult Konstruct.
Some parts of the Obama legacy – the FAA diversity policy is a prime example – are so profoundly stupid as to be an embarrassment to humans as a species. So obsessed are Obamite SJWs with the fictional concept of race, that they are willing to jeopardize everyones safety to achieve their absurdly derived hiring quotas.
The juggernaut is relentless….
https://nypost.com/2018/05/01/de-blasios-school-diversity-plan-will-be-a-progressive-failure/
…as the question 24/7 is, “What can we destroy next?”
Special Emphasis Programs?
“Diversity” has jack to do with safety, efficiency or anything else. This idiotic rot has been around for decades (just ask anybody in Federal service or the military).
Obama simply turned it up to 11 and put more people at risk.
At some point open admissions becomes open graduation. The people you let in become the people you let out.
you guys are actually discussing the move to Tabula rasa concepts of environment and outside makes you who you are, which the feminists championed…
so, now, decades on no one hearing the warnings, or believing, we now have that as our normal reality as it was unchallenged before…
under this, i was never to get out of the slum, so it was a joke
and thats why if you do succeed, you are not from there, you cant be, you had to have help (like obama did)
to them, collusion replaces competency
if you wanted this not to be the reality you live in, you had to have done something back in the late80s or 90s, and not let it solidify like concrete which you cant do a thing about
Tabula rasa refers to the epistemological idea that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that therefore all knowledge comes from experience or perception. Proponents of tabula rasa generally disagree with the doctrine of innatism which holds that the mind is born already in possession of certain knowledge. Generally, proponents of the tabula rasa theory also favour the “nurture” side of the nature versus nurture debate when it comes to aspects of one’s personality, social and emotional behaviour, knowledge and sapience.
Tabula Rasa: Feminist.
Gender Trouble: Gender Feminism and the Blank Slate – Areo
stephen pinker discussed this decades ago
Equity feminism is a moral doctrine about equal treatment that makes no commitments regarding open empirical issues in psychology or biology. Gender feminism is an empirical doctrine committed to three claims about human nature. The first is that the differences between men and women have nothing to do with biology but are socially constructed in their entirety. The second is that humans possess a single social motive — power — and that social life can be understood only in terms of how it is exercised. The third is that human interactions arise not from the motives of people dealing with each other as individuals but from the motives of groups dealing with other groups — in this case, the male gender dominating the female gender.
and the kind of argument you get from academia
i wonder what this person will do about old people being born first
Equity feminism, as presented in that quote, is nonsense. It’s like those people who claim they “don’t see color”, and therefore they aren’t racist and are treating all non-white people equally. You can’t pretend to be color-blind or sex-blind in a culture that privileges white maleness! Yes, we want to promote equal opportunity for all, but you won’t achieve that by pretending that the historical and social consequences of sex and race don’t exist. Respect human beings as male, female, or trans; as black, brown, or white. Recognize the realities of culture and biology, neither of which are as discrete and binary as postulated there.
Aesop: “I think I will name this phenomenon the Keillor Kargo Kult Konstruct.”
The Four Ks. Perfect. 🙂
Our freshman dorm presidency circa 1982 in action. This is why you don’t give the vote to 16 year old kids.