Eight days into the shutdown of the US government, the consequences for the country's air travelers are noticeable – 6,000 delays and 600 canceled flights are the result so far.
And it is the lack of air traffic controllers, the critical personnel responsible for coordinating departures and landings, that is causing air traffic to come to a standstill. Without supervision in the airspace, safety is compromised, resulting in canceled departures.
Work without pay
The US's approximately 13,000 air traffic controllers are, unlike other federal employees, required to go to work despite not receiving any pay, since their work is considered too important for them to be furloughed. At the same time, signals are coming from the White House that they will not be paid retroactively.
Now, sick leave is increasing within the profession, which has led to extensive delays and canceled departures. The air traffic controllers are believed to be staying home partly in protest against a system they consider unsustainable and unfair, partly to devote themselves to other tasks that actually pay them – for example, driving a taxi.
They take jobs as waiters and waitresses, bartenders, craftsmen, and the like, says Mick Devine, vice chairman of NATCA in New England, the union that gathers air traffic controllers, to CBC.
They start driving for Uber or Lyft and drive a taxi on their way home from work, on their way to work, and during the hours between shifts.
"Do not deserve to be taken care of"
At the same time as the union encourages its members not to engage in anything that can put the union in a bad light, it emphasizes the strained working environment for its members.
"We have insufficient personnel and unreliable equipment. This stress is an unnecessary distraction that leads to fatigue and a real problem that we must deal with and work with day after day," writes NATCA in a press release.
During the government shutdown, around 900,000 federal employees have been furloughed and are going without pay. The question of whether they should be reimbursed retroactively is currently a hot potato for lawmakers in Washington, who are struggling to agree on a budget that could put an end to the shutdown.
US President Donald Trump has announced that it is not a given with retroactive payment. It depends on "who we are talking about", and "some do not deserve to be taken care of", he says to Time.
