Federal Employees Manning The Skies Miss First Paycheck Amid Government Shutdown

As nan authorities shutdown drags on, national labor who support nan country's airports, specified arsenic aerial postulation controllers and Transportation Security Administration workers, opportunity they are still successful nan acheronian astir erstwhile they will adjacent beryllium paid.

On Tuesday, workers received their first zero-dollar paycheck, reflecting 2 weeks of unpaid activity amid nan ongoing authorities shutdown. During nan astir monthlong shutdown, these individuals, whose roles are deemed essential, person been required to show up for activity without nan committedness of a paycheck astatine nan extremity of a modular salary period.

Their past payout was a partial paycheck that included costs for clip worked successful September earlier nan shutdown that began Oct. 1.

Also Tuesday, controllers took matters into their ain hands, pushing backmost connected nan activity nan authorities is demanding of them by handing retired leaflets that picture nan effect of nan shutdown connected aviation workers and really group tin interaction their members of Congress to telephone for nan shutdown to end. The actions were scheduled to return spot astatine astir 20 airports nationwide.

"We are present to guarantee that nan flying nationalist is safe each clip they get connected an airplane. We person to beryllium 100% focused, 100% of nan time," Pete LeFevre, an aerial postulation controller retired of Washington Dulles International Airport, said successful an question and reply pinch NBC News. "And each we’re looking for is to beryllium relieved of nan financial uncertainty that comes pinch nan authorities shutdown, and we’d for illustration to beryllium paid arsenic soon arsenic possible."

While these national labor will yet person backmost salary erstwhile nan authorities shutdown ends, acknowledgment to a 2018 law, nan uncertainty of erstwhile that will beryllium has aerial postulation controllers taking up broadside gigs to enactment afloat.

Some of these workers are now driving for DoorDash aliases Uber aft their grueling activity schedules, prompting a fewer to telephone successful sick owed to nan job's accent and nan other hours disconnected nan clock. The aerial postulation power manufacture is understaffed, and existent controllers had already been moving six-day weeks, 10-hour shifts, earlier nan shutdown.

"They should ne'er activity a broadside job, that they should ne'er get disconnected a nighttime displacement and past spell hold tables," Nick Daniels, president of nan National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said astatine a news convention Tuesday astatine LaGuardia Airport successful New York.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said astatine nan Tuesday news convention that he has been encouraging controllers to spell to activity and "do really important activity for our country," while acknowledging nan unease of moving without assured pay.

"They can’t make it without 2 paychecks," Duffy said of controllers, adding later, "controllers and those different captious labor request our authorities to beryllium unfastened and they request to beryllium paid."

He acknowledged that location person been "less problems" successful nan airspace this clip astir compared pinch anterior shutdowns, owed to his asking controllers to spell to work.

LeFevre added that nan deficiency of salary adds different furniture of accent to nan already high-stress position.

"It’s uncomfortable," he said. "We do our champion to time off each of our accent and interest astatine nan door, but financial accent is challenging and it’s unsocial and it’s different, and it’s permeating."

The aerial postulation controller made clear that flying is still safe, and that his colleagues are moving to guarantee information successful nan skies — thing Duffy besides called retired during nan news conference. Duffy has antecedently said that if location aren't capable controllers to grip nan workload connected immoderate fixed day, flights will beryllium delayed and canceled to mitigate risk.

Within nan U.S., 2,109 flights had been delayed arsenic of 1 p.m., according to formation search website FlightAware. At slightest 118 flights had been canceled. It was not instantly clear whether those delays and cancellations were a nonstop consequence of controllers calling retired of activity owed to nan shutdown.

But nan deficiency of contiguous salary is besides having a notable effect connected existent group successful their lives extracurricular nan office.

LaShanda Palmer, a TSA worker and nan president of Local 333, which represents Philadelphia and Wilmington Airport TSA employees, said this is nan "most trying" shutdown she's been done successful her 23 years successful nan industry.

"We’re each 1 measurement distant from being retired connected nan thoroughfare correct astir now," Palmer told NBC News. "I person officers calling maine honestly. They don’t person money for gas, they don’t person money to get kid care, they don’t person food. It is highly difficult this spell around. It’s difficult to get help."

She said she's successful a akin situation, pinch a owe costs owed Saturday that she isn't judge really she'll salary — her slope relationship is successful nan negative, and her slope keeps hitting her pinch overdraft fees.

"The oath that I took, thing has came down connected our watch, and I don’t deliberation group moreover see that," Palmer said. "We’re doing what we're expected to do, we should get our check."