Unpaid but still on the job, air traffic controllers call for end to shutdown at MSP
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Air traffic controllers spoke to travelers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Tuesday about going unpaid while working during the federal government shutdown.
Members of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association passed out leaflets outside Terminal 1. Jerah Kavoosi, a union organizer, said many air traffic controllers are working mandatory overtime and not getting paid for it.
"We're people with jobs, and we're just like anybody: We have jobs to pay our bills, to put food on the table, to take care of our kids,” Kavoosi said. “We believe that we put in the time we're working, and we believe that we should get paid for the work that we do.”
Air travel is safe despite the government shutdown, she said.
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Kavoosi spoke to passenger Catherine Haley as she arrived at the departures area. Kavoosi introduced herself as an air traffic controller.
“We’re looking for your assistance in ending the government shutdown,” she said. Then, she asked Haley if she could reach out to her representatives to call for an end to the shutdown.
Kavoosi said, “We’d appreciate it.”
Haley responded that she hadn’t followed the shutdown closely.
“But we did wonder about today what we would experience in terms of flying, and we have heard some horror stories.” She said she’d like to see the government open up again.
So would many air traffic controllers. The shutdown hovers in the work environment, Kavoosi said. She said air traffic controllers speculate about the shutdown: When it will end and how long can people go without pay.
“It is definitely something that we talk about. So air traffic control — you don't want to have a distracted air traffic controller, you want somebody who's very focused,” Kavoosi said. “This shutdown, it's definitely a distraction for us."
