“This is a dangerous game,” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), said during a news briefing Wednesday outside the headquarters of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) in Washington, D.C.
Nelson joined representatives from AFGE, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and other public and private unions to urge Congress to reopen the federal government, warning that a prolonged shutdown could endanger aviation safety.
Nelson said air traffic controllers (ATCs)—nearly 11,000 of whom are directing traffic without pay, per the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)—are working under “increasingly unsafe” conditions.
“In safety, we know that the first role is to remove all distractions in order to keep things safe,” Nelson said. “What could be more of a distraction than not getting a paycheck? Not knowing if you’re going to be able to keep your child alive? Not knowing that you’re going to be able to make good on what the people who count on you and love you need you to do?”
The more than 50,000 flight attendants represented by AFA-CWA will continue to receive paychecks during the shutdown because they are not federal workers. But the government employees who support them—from ATCs to safety inspectors—are now working to address major staffing shortfalls without pay.
Controllers were widely credited with helping to end the previous government shutdown in 2018-19, which lasted 35 days. Widespread flight delays created by personnel calling out sick prompted Congress to return to the negotiating table.
A similar scenario could play out this time around, with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Monday acknowledging a “slight pickup” in sick calls. However, according to a message on NATCA’s website, controllers cannot conduct “sickouts” or other organized work actions.
“Participating in a job action could result in removal from federal service,” the message reads. “It is not only illegal, but it also undermines NATCA’s credibility and severely weakens our ability to effectively advocate for you and your families.”
The Shutdown Situation
The nation’s ATC system has been under intense scrutiny since January, when a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with a Bombardier CRJ700 passenger jet and killed 67 people over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Communications and radar blackouts at Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) in New Jersey—which the FAA blamed on outdated technology—exacerbated safety concerns further.
Unions believe a shutdown will have the same effect.
Safety-critical personnel—including controllers, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, and safety inspectors—are still on the job. But more than 11,000 FAA employees are furloughed. According to NATCA, aircraft certification and aerospace engineers are among them, prohibiting “critical safety and technology work, as well as operational support.”
Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS)—which represents thousands of FAA engineers, inspectors, and maintenance, support, and certification personnel—said about 40 percent of its members are furloughed, with about three-quarters of them subject to recall. PASS president David Spero warned that a skeleton workforce may not be equipped to implement Duffy’s ATC modernization plan.
Per the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the shutdown plan exempts the $12.5 billion Congress has allocated toward Duffy’s plan. But in a letter to congressional leaders, the Modern Skies Coalition—created earlier this year to endorse that effort—said the shutdown would “jeopardize” progress. The coalition comprises a who’s who of major U.S. aviation groups, including NATCA, AOPA, Airlines for America, and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).
Widespread furloughs, union leaders said Wednesday, also place greater strain on employees who must continue to do their jobs. NATCA, for example, said some controllers are working 10 hours a day, six days a week, to combat a shortage of about 3,800 certified professional controllers (CPCs). PASS said the FAA does not have enough technicians or inspectors.
“TSA officers are coming to work, making good on their oath to the constitution, to all of us, to keep us safe,” Nelson said. “Air traffic controllers are coming to work, making good on their oath to the country just like they do every single day, understaffed and under-resourced by this government.”
The FAA Academy in Oklahoma City will remain open using funds from the previous fiscal year. But NATCA president Nick Daniels told PBS News Hour that only “some training will get done. All the training won’t.”
The impacts of the shutdown are already being felt. The FAA on Monday reported disruptions at major airports in Denver, Phoenix, Newark, Las Vegas, and Chicago. Staffing shortages at Hollywood Burbank Airport (KBUR) on Monday and Nashville International Airport (KBNA) on Tuesday, for example, prompted hours of delays.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (KATL), the world’s busiest airport, saw delays this week due to a shortage of TSA agents. Georgia state officials have approved a relief package for TSA personnel that includes free parking and meal vouchers.
Unions Fight Back
Furloughs are expected during a government shutdown. President Donald Trump and other White House officials, though, have threatened permanent reductions in force (RIFs) and funding cuts for certain agencies and programs.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed federal agencies to draw up RIF plans in February. The Federal Unionists Network (FUN), which represents federal workers and local union leaders, described OMB’s renewed push for layoffs as “political theater” and a “pressure tactic.”
“We’ve known for some time that OMB wants massive RIFs. This is not new,” said Monica Gorman, an organizer with FUN. “What is new is using a shutdown as a threat to pressure Congress to pass a poison-pill budget.”
Union leaders on Wednesday took a stand against the move, which they variously described as “unprecedented,” “cruel,” “vindictive”—and illegal. The AFGE has submitted a lawsuit challenging the White House’s RIF plans and on Saturday filed for a temporary restraining order to block mass firings.
“The law is very clear,” said Randy Erwin, national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees. “This administration has no new authority to engage in mass layoffs because of a government shutdown.”
Erwin also took aim at Trump’s threat to pick and choose which federal employees receive back pay, calling it “despicable” and “unconstitutional.” Matt Biggs, president of IFPTE, described it as “deplorable and shameful.” Lee Blackmon, federal director of the National Association of Government Employees, argued the move violates the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, signed during Trump’s first term.
“[Trump] is indicating that he’s going to violate the law,” said Erwin.
With the White House and Congressional Democrats refusing to compromise on a resolution that would reopen the government, there is no end in sight for the shutdown. It could take something drastic—like a mass absence of air traffic controllers—to bring them back to the negotiating table.
In the meantime, Erwin delivered a fiery message to lawmakers.
“Congress, do your damn job!” he said. “Do your damn job and pass the budget. That’s going to require a little compromise.”
