NEWARK — The air traffic controllers overseeing northern New Jersey's airspace are already overworked and understaffed — and now they're not even being paid, thanks to the government shutdown that went into effect Oct. 1 .

Sean Duffy, the U.S. secretary for transportation, recognized that this added stress for those mandatory employees is exacerbating an already-bad situation.

“When they come to work, I want them to think about the departures and arrivals of airplanes, I want to make sure they keep Americans safe and airplanes safe,” Duffy said during a press conference Newark Liberty International Airport on Oct. 6. “This shutdown has put way more stress on our controllers at a time where they’re already working on equipment from the 1960s, 1980s, 1990s.”

Despite Republicans controll

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