Posted on Jan 7, 2019
'You Feel Like You're Being Held Hostage': Air Traffic Controller On Working Through Shutdown
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The federal government shutdown is in its 17th day with no deal in the works. The White House has requested $5.7 billion to fund President Trump's border wall and hundreds of millions of additional dollars, but talks between Vice President Pence and Congress over the weekend produced no breakthrough.
Meanwhile, thousands of federal employees continue to work full time with no pay, including Michael Metz, an air traffic controller for the Federal Aviation Administration.
“I am not a very happy camper when it comes to having to work and not know when I'm going to get paid for it,” says Metz, who works at the Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center in New Mexico. “I've proceeded to talk to my family, and we've talked about what is essential, what is not essential, and we're trying to cut out anything that's nonessential.”
Metz has already called his bank to get his car payments deferred, but he says if the shutdown continues until the end of the month, he will have to try and get his mortgage payment deferred.
“You feel like you're being held hostage for someone else's political agendas,” Metz tells Here & Now’s Robin Young. “You want to just be able to go into work and do your job.”
Meanwhile, thousands of federal employees continue to work full time with no pay, including Michael Metz, an air traffic controller for the Federal Aviation Administration.
“I am not a very happy camper when it comes to having to work and not know when I'm going to get paid for it,” says Metz, who works at the Albuquerque Air Route Traffic Control Center in New Mexico. “I've proceeded to talk to my family, and we've talked about what is essential, what is not essential, and we're trying to cut out anything that's nonessential.”
Metz has already called his bank to get his car payments deferred, but he says if the shutdown continues until the end of the month, he will have to try and get his mortgage payment deferred.
“You feel like you're being held hostage for someone else's political agendas,” Metz tells Here & Now’s Robin Young. “You want to just be able to go into work and do your job.”
'You Feel Like You're Being Held Hostage': Air Traffic Controller On Working Through Shutdown
Posted from wbur.org
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Posted 6 y ago
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None of these Federal Employees will be denied their money when the funding is restored. Government needs to work this out. I happen to be in favor of the wall and feel if the Democrats want to come to the table and honestly negotiate this agreement I can wait till the cows come home.
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MSgt Michael Bischoff
So you can live for weeks without pay. Good for you. Whether they get their money in the long run doesn’t pay the bills now or put food on the table.
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A great many folks are living from payday to payday, when no pay comes they are having financial problems. The assurances that they will eventually get their pay does not help when there is no money, the groceries have run out and it is time to feed the family. While it is easy to say folks should have enough savings to carry them over a few weeks or months, many folks do not. Both sides of the issue need to remember that everyone is not a rich congressman or woman and get this thing resolved. Whatever happened to compromise in our government?
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