The US government shutdown has now entered its fourth week with no clear end in sight. Air traffic controllers have now become the latest casualties of the ongoing chaos — set to miss their first biweekly paycheck for work performed during the first half of this month. Many federal workers have now turned to gig employment as a way to manage the financial crunch.
Air traffic controller Jack Criss is now clearing takeoffs and takeout orders after taking on a side gig as a DoorDash delivery driver. The single parent told CBS News that he had also tapped into retirement funds and taken out a high-interest, short-term loan to ensure there was enough cash to weather a lengthy shutdown.
“It’s been incredibly difficult. You can feel the tension, and it’s heavy…and it hurts. It is hard enough just going to work. Now, when you add…not getting paid, that’s when you just like multiply the level of pressure. And you know, air traffic is a safety sensitive position. The margin of error is zero. So if you think about it as pressure on top of pressure, when you don’t know exactly when you’ll get paid based on politics,” he told the publication.