Air traffic controllers just received their first paycheck with no pay, their union said Tuesday. That comes as the federal government shutdown is now in its 28th day.   

As essential government workers, air traffic controllers are required to stay on the job even though they are receiving no pay until the end of the shutdown, at which point they will receive back pay.    

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy spoke at LaGuardia Airport Tuesday about the ongoing shutdown's impact on air traffic controllers, flight safety and delays. 

Duffy was joined by National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) president Nick Daniels.  

"I've made clear to our air traffic controllers: they need to show up for work. They do really important work for our country, and they need to show up. But I'm not going to lie to anybody to not say that they're not feeling the stress," Duffy said. "The fact that they are working, and oftentimes, they are head of households, they're the only income earners in their homes, and they have families, and they're having a hard time paying their bills." 

"They can't make it without two paychecks" 

NATCA members handed out leaflets at LaGuardia, telling travelers the shutdown puts unnecessary risk on the national airspace system. They say the shutdown will also worsen the pre-existing staffing crisis which has plagued the industry for years.

The association says controllers are working mandatory overtime six days a week, 10 hours a day, even though they're not getting paid as of Tuesday.

Joseph Segretto said colleagues are already making tough calls in the air -- and this could make it worse.

"The pressure is real, speaking on behalf of the air traffic controllers in the New York area, the most congested, complex air space," Segretto said.

It comes as Democrats and Republicans trade blame over the shutdown. Duffy called it a "Democrat-led government shutdown," adding, "It does beg the question to me, again, what are the Democrats fighting for?"

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries fired back.

"We've made clear from the very beginning that we want to enact a bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people, that improves their quality of life, that drives down the high cost of living here in this country," Jeffries said.

Duffy said the government shutdown will impact developing air traffic controllers.

"Many of our controllers can make it without this first paycheck. They've been on the job for, you know, 10, 15, 20 years. They've planned for days like this. But we have a lot of new controllers who are still in training that aren't at a high level in income, and they can't handle what's happening to them today. Those are the very people who have now looked for side jobs," Duffy said. "You've heard the stories of controllers working at an Uber or DoorDash, a controller who might go to a food bank to help make ends meet from this point to the point where they're going to get that paycheck. But I'll tell you this: almost every controller can't make it [on] two paychecks. They can't make it without two paychecks."

The NATCA also said controllers may be working second jobs to cover their bills, contributing to exhaustion.

"Day in and day out, air traffic controllers have to have 100% of focus," Daniels said. "I got a message from a controller that said I'm running out of money, and if she doesn't get the medicine she needs, she dies."

Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey is helping lead the Aviation Funding Stability Act, to ensure Federal Aviation Administration workers are paid during the shutdown.

"I'm in Washington right now meeting with Republicans and Democrats," Gottheimer said. "What's been incredibly frustrating is not the meetings I've been having, which have been great, but the administration has refused to sit down. The White House has refused to sit down with any of us."

It's safe to fly, Duffy says

"Oftentimes I'm asked is the airspace safe? Is it safe to fly? And I will tell you that, yes, it is as safe today as it was two months ago. It's safe. Because we have great men and women who run our facilities that, if they don't have the right staffing levels, or if there's distractions in towers, they will slow down the landings and departures in different airports across the country," Duffy said. "And what that means for the American people is that means more delays, or that means more cancellations." 

"If we have issues, we will slow it down. We will stop it. And so I don't want anyone to think that it's not safe; it's just that you may not be traveling on the schedule that you anticipated because of this government shutdown," Duffy added. 

NATCA members have been handing out flyers nationwide, including at LaGuardia, warning the traveling public about staffing and safety concerns due to the shutdown. Two weeks ago, roughly 20,000 NATCA members started receiving partial paychecks. Now they're receiving paychecks with no pay. 

"This job is stressful enough. We go to work day in and day out and make thousands of decisions. We do it five days a week. Most of us actually do it six," Daniels said. "And now you add in the fact that we had a partial paycheck already and we missed a full paycheck today. America's air traffic controllers are now having to focus on how do they put gas in the car, how do they take care of their children, of how do they pay for child care. And, as the secretary said, that makes the system less safe. And then the only way to make it safe is to reduce the number of aircraft in it."