Air traffic controllers at LAX begin their first day of work without pay

As the government shutdown continued into its 27th day, air traffic controllers at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) distributed leaflets at Terminal 5 in hopes of informing the public and calling on the government to sort out the shutdown. Tuesday marks the first day these federal employees will not be receiving paychecks.

The shutdown is due to a congressional deadlock over the healthcare budget, incited by a bill introduced by Republican senator Tom Cole. Republican and Democratic senators were unable to find common ground on federal funding, with Democrats opposing cuts to federal health services. According to the White House, around 251,000 federal workers are either furloughed or currently working without pay in California.

LAX’s representative of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), Michael Flores, organized the leafleting.

“Today we’re here sharing information about the government shutdown. It’s the first day that we are receiving a zero on our paycheck,” Flores said. “You can imagine how stressful that is for air traffic controllers in an already stressful profession, [who] now have to worry about how they’re going to pay their bills.”

James Squire, another member of the union at LAX, said that the Tuesday leafleting is not a strike. The NATCA shared a statement on its website’s home page condemning any strike action that may put the safety of travellers at risk.

“NATCA does not endorse, support, or condone any federal employees participating in or endorsing a coordinated activity that negatively affects the capacity of the NAS [National Airspace System],” the statement reads.

The event was intended to “inform the public of the issue” and “try to bring an end to the shutdown as soon as possible,” Squire said.

“Me and a couple of others, we drove all the way down [from Palmdale] to hand out leaflets and spread awareness,” Squire said. “We have QR codes to help people go and get engaged, to write their members of Congress and ask them to end this shutdown.”

Traveler Gregory Cohen, arriving from Dallas, TX, said he was concerned the event would cause a flight delay. Cohen called for an end to the government shutdown and reparations for federal workers.

“Democrats and Republicans, I don’t think any senator should be receiving a paycheck until every employee that has not received a check is paid in full,” Cohen said. “I think [senators] ought to be losing their salaries for the duration of the closure.”

The NATCA emphasized the importance of continuing operations despite the lack of payment in a statement to its members.

“At this critical juncture, it is more important than ever that we rise to the occasion and continue delivering the consistent, high level of public service we provide every day,” the statement reads.

Both Flores and Squire expressed concern surrounding the ability to provide for their families financially during this time. Despite the shutdown, employees are still expected to work both regular and overtime shifts without pay.

“I have a nine-month-old at home. My wife was going to drive [for] Uber today, but instead, she’s with the baby right now,” Squire said. “I almost brought the baby to this. We’re just trying to get this done, because I’ve got to go to work at 4 p.m. today, to work an overtime shift.”

Squire said staffing shortages on a national level have been going on “for quite a while,” and that delays can be expected — just a few days after an LAX air traffic controller staffing shortage led to planes bound for Los Angeles to be held at airports around the country.

“On a given day, people are sick for various reasons … not just because they’re incapacitated themselves, but taking their kids to appointments, taking themselves to appointments,” Squire said. “It’s already a situation that is very, very strained, and so adding this into the scenario, people are having to just find ways to make ends meet and pay for child care, pay for hospital.”

Squire says the Federal Aviation Administration Academy in Oklahoma City will also experience losses as long as the shutdown continues.

“The only way our staffing will improve is to keep [employees] coming, and then they come to the facilities and they train, and that takes years,” Squire said. “Even a stop to that Academy for four months at a time could possibly have huge implications on finally fixing the staffing long-term.”

NATCA continues to push for an immediate end to the shutdown as air traffic control employees are expected to continue work without seeing a dollar in return.

“We show up. We are here. We are working,” Squire said. “People are still flying like this, we’ve been through this before, and we show up.”