Romulus — For 16 years, Matt Reavis has worked as an air traffic controller, helping to make sure airplanes arrive and depart safely from Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

On Tuesday, however, Reavis was out of the air traffic control tower and distributing leaflets outside the McNamara Terminal entrance, drawing attention to the impact of the ongoing federal government shutdown on the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic controllers.

He and other members of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said Tuesday marked the first day many of them would go without a paycheck for their work. The union said in a new release the air traffic controllers already work mandatory overtime six days a week.

"We already have a job that we need to maintain 100% focus on," Reavis said. "I

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