00:00You know, the background context here is this is a core group of workers who've been complaining
00:06about staffing shortages, long hours and stressful conditions for years. And now you're adding to
00:13that mix the uncertainty regarding when their next paycheck is going to come.
00:20Air traffic controllers are legally required to work without pay as the government shutdown
00:25stretches into its fourth week. But many are reportedly calling in sick, causing delays and
00:31ground halts. Analysts warn the problem will grow worse as more workers call in due to burnout or
00:36to work second jobs, jobs that are necessary to make up for lack of a paycheck. Their incentive
00:42to show up to work each and every day, already frustrated and aggrieved on top of the fact that
00:49now they don't know when their next paycheck is going to come, not to mention the fact that the
00:53president floated the idea of maybe not offering back pay. You know, that's just going to lower
00:58the incentive to keep showing up as the shutdown carries on. Flights across the nation were
01:04disrupted by staffing shortages Sunday, even prompting a temporary grounding of flights
01:08at Reagan National Airport. More than 8000 U.S. flights reportedly experienced disruptions as a
01:15result of staffing shortages and other factors such as weather. Analysts say even a handful of sick calls
01:21can result in flight disruptions. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association condemns such
01:27protests and says if an employee is found to have participated in such an action, they may be fired.
01:34During a 35-day government shutdown during President Trump's first term, staffing shortages among air
01:39traffic controllers and TSA staff represented a breaking point for lawmakers to finally reach a deal
01:46to reopen the government. Officials representing these workers, however, say lawmakers should not rely
01:51on such dire circumstances to reach a deal this time. The American worker that lives paycheck to paycheck,
01:58which is almost every air traffic controller, cannot last without pay. It's that simple. And so stop
02:03waiting for us to be the ones that break in order to somehow fix the government. Passengers are saying
02:08they're holding out hope that their travel plans are not upended. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Craig DeGrelly.
02:14I'm Craig DeGrelly.
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