ATC and the government shutdown

For my former co-workers and all of the other 800,000 federal employees that aren't being paid right now the government shutdown isn't about politics. It's about personal finance and family issues. It's about an agreement between employer and employee that is being violated. It's about paying bills, buying groceries, and the everyday things a person does with the pay they receive for a job well done.

Because air traffic control is considered an essential service, my friends are working without pay. In truth, I only know a few of the controllers that are working, but I know the character of a typical controller. I have often described controllers as the most arrogant, egotistical assholes you'd ever know -- ideal for a job that demands perfection! I know that every day they will be doing their jobs to the best of their ability. But ...

Let me ask you something ... What keeps you awake at night?
Unexpected bills?
Financial hardships?
Uncertainty about the immediate future?

Now imagine going to work after another poor night's sleep. It's your sixth day in a row of work because your facility is already short staffed. Some of those days have been 10 hour days.
Air traffic controllers don't get to use sleep meds. Those usually come with a minimum 24 hour medical disqualification. If you need them to sleep, you lose your job.

Figuratively speaking, you can do the routine things in your sleep.
But ATC isn't usually routine. It is problem solving and vectoring aircraft that are moving several hundred miles per hour while climbing and descending through altitudes of other aircraft. Even a moment's inattention can be disastrous. 

The United States' air traffic controllers are the best. They move more metal, more safely, than any other system in the world. But adding stress to an already stressed system is dangerous. If you haven't contacted your senators and congressional representative about bringing an end to this shutdown, do it now!

You can find them and their email addresses here.

John <><