(NewsNation) — An air traffic control specialist has explained how he is faring weeks after revealing he is working at DoorDash in addition to his full-time job as a means of paying his daughter’s tuition amid the government shutdown.
Jack Criss Jr., an audience member at the NewsNation Town Hall last month, said when he got off work, he drove for DoorDash just to pay for his daughter’s tuition. Criss is a single father of a 14-year-old girl.
Following his candidness, DoorDash pledged to donate $10,000 to assist him, and Chris Cuomo said he would pay the remainder of his daughter’s tuition.
He joined “NewsNation Now” to share how his life has changed and how he and colleagues are doing as the shutdown continues.
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“I’ve been doing decently, better since, with the help of Chris and DoorDash. So I was able to scale back a bit from DoorDash,” Criss said.
“I had a mortgage that went from $2000 to $2800 in one year, and then another one that went up 300. They turned my finances upside down, and then also put my child in private school, because the schools where I live aren’t necessarily the best, so I did that for her, and I knew immediately, once the shutdown occurred, that I had to make immediate extra income.”
Criss said he believes Transport Secretary Sean Duffy “did a good thing” by cutting back on air traffic. He added that young air traffic controllers are struggling as the shutdown continues.
Air traffic controller Jack Criss and daughter Jaci Criss.
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“You can see the despair in their face, the confusion, the distrust,” Criss said.
“People are beginning to feel the pressure, even myself. A couple of weeks after, I took some leave because I was getting anxious with everything going on, trying to figure out the best and next move,” he added.
Criss told Connell McShane that he just wants to see his friends paid and is incredibly grateful for the generosity bestowed upon him since speaking about his situation at NewsNation’s Town Hall.
“Those politicians need to sit down and get a resolution passed, because we need our money. We don’t like working for free. It is not a game. It’s very serious,” he said.
