Frustrated. That word is a mild way to describe how air traffic controller Marc Schneider felt when he found out the U.S. Senate failed to pass a proposal to reopen the federal government Thursday. Schneider represents 340 air traffic controllers in the tower at the Indianapolis International Airport. He’s president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Assoc. (NATCA).
But, he said you should know that their job requires laser focus. They keep hundreds of planes from running into each other. Now they’re worried about how to make ends meet. They’re getting a pay check Friday with nothing but zeros.
“If someone in our government believes they can continue to not pay air traffic controllers and that air traffic controllers will remain working uncompensated, without any hope in sight or plan to come back together, they are completely delusional,” said Schneider, who added they cannot strike, and it is tough for controllers to work a side job.
He said air traffic controllers in the building are working ten-hour days, six days a week, “and if you want your air traffic controller driving Uber on the seventh day of the week, that’s your call. It’s not something I would recommend.”
Some people have said that employees of the federal government should know shutdowns happen. Schneider said he planned for that, saved $20,000, and then his mother and wife both got cancer. Expenses ate his savings.
Schneider said he’s getting by with credit cards.
“The problem is, my credit card bill came in the mail yesterday,” he said. Schneider’s troubles are the same as about 5,000 other Hoosiers, who are also continuing to work without being paid.
“There is not path out of this for us, other than getting another job, or resigning and getting another job.”
He said for now he is encouraging the members of his union by appealing to their sense of pride in their job.
“They are preventing aircraft from colliding with each other. That is their job. And they’re proud of doing that. So, we focus a lot on the pride of the job. We focus a lot on the commitment to the public,” said Schneider.
He said air traffic controllers don’t care who wins the political battle, they just want to be paid for the work they do.