More than 50 flights were canceled at Los Angeles International Airport, while San Diego International Airport suffered a dozen such terminations.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, many air travelers experienced significant lags, ranging from 90 minutes to 2 1\/2 hours at Virginia\u2019s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Friday morning.<\/p>\n
The cancellations have been deemed necessary by the Federal Aviation Administration to alleviate pressure on air traffic controllers, who have worked without a full paycheck for weeks.<\/p>\n
While the conditions leading to flight delays has been well documented, the plight of air traffic controllers has gone largely unnoticed, according to Western Pacific Regional Vice President Joel Ortiz of the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. His union represents roughly 20,000 air traffic controllers, engineers and other aviation safety-related workers.<\/p>\n
Ortiz has spent the last 10 days in Southern California, visiting airports throughout the region and speaking with union members about their troubles and needs.<\/p>\n
He also chatted with The Times, hoping to illuminate the challenges faced by his union members.<\/p>\n
You’re reading the Essential California newsletter <\/p>\n
Our reporters guide you through the most important news, features and recommendations of the day.<\/p>\n
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service<\/a> and our Privacy Policy<\/a>. <\/p>\n Weeks of missing pay<\/p>\n About 2,000 union air traffic controllers live and work in the Western Pacific region, which includes California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam, according to Ortiz.<\/p>\n They received one partial paycheck at the beginning of the shutdown last month and have gone unpaid through two pay periods, with a third looming a week before Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n \u201cThe air traffic controllers live in areas with little inexpensive housing and high costs, just like everyone else,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cSo, they\u2019re struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n Coping methods<\/p>\n Many controllers have been forced to turn to the generosity of food banks and community organizations, while the airlines and airports have also offered aid.<\/p>\n The Alaska Airlines Pilot Assn. contributed pizza and sandwiches<\/a> to air traffic controllers in Washington and San Francisco<\/a> last month. Salt Lake City International Airport converted an open space into a pantry<\/a> Oct. 16, providing groceries, baby products, toiletries and pet supplies for workers in need.<\/p>\n The help has been appreciated, Ortiz said, but concerns are mounting.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are struggling to pay for child care, rent and to put gas in their car,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ortiz said he knows of many air traffic controllers who have taken side jobs during the shutdown, including working for ride-sharing services like Uber or as food delivery drivers and grocery store stockers.<\/p>\n He said they must complete between 40 to 60 hours per week per contract rules before taking on second jobs.<\/p>\n Many members are struggling, despite perceptions of six-figure salaries<\/p>\n The Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a> estimated that the median pay for an air traffic controller in 2024 was $144,580 annually, or about $70 per hour. But the Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a> also ranks traffic controllers as having one of the nation\u2019s most stressful occupations.<\/p>\n While the above-average salary may give the impression that union members have enough savings to weather financial storms, Ortiz said many don\u2019t.<\/p>\n Ortiz said entry-level controllers, \u201cstraight out of the academy,\u201d earn about $47,000 annually.<\/p>\n \u201cMany are struggling,\u201d he said. \u201cMany live paycheck to paycheck.\u201d<\/p>\n The path forward<\/p>\n Pre-shutdown, air traffic controllers were understaffed with figures between 70% to 75% of what they should be in the Los Angeles area, Ortiz said.<\/p>\n Before remedying those issues, though, he implored Congress to compromise and find a solution to the shutdown.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not political pawns for posturing,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re members who are showing up every day to work and doing our part. Now, do yours and find a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n The week\u2019s biggest stories (Susan Walsh \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n Air travel cancellations, delaysCalifornia politicsSouthern California firesMedia and entertainment newsMore big storiesThis week\u2019s must-readMore great readsFor your weekend (Dean Conger\/Corbis via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Going outStaying in<\/p>\n Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team<\/p>\n Jim Rainey, staff writer How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The signs of a government shutdown were evident at airports nationwide. At least 1,200 flights were canceled Friday,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1091,1088,7,9,8,1094,890,1085,891,287,642,1087,63,180,1086,1089,1090,1093,1092,646,688],"class_list":["post-44286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-autopilot","tag-black-bears","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-convictions","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-driver","tag-drought","tag-essential-california-week","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-newsletter","tag-pandemic","tag-search","tag-tesla","tag-thousands","tag-ucla","tag-water","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} <\/a> <\/p>\n
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Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Hugo Mart\u00edn, assistant editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters<\/p>\n