Busy air traffic control facilities lack enough controllers
WASHINGTON — Thirteen of America's busiest air
traffic control facilities are suffering from a shortage of air
traffic controllers, a problem that demands “urgent attention,"
a government watchdog told lawmakers on Tuesday. The
facilities also are under stress because a large share of their
controllers are still being trained and are not yet competent
to work on their own, he said. Many of their experienced
controllers also are eligible to retire, Hampton said.
Officials with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association,
the union representing controllers, also complained about the
difficulty in moving an experienced controller from a less-busy
workplace to a busy one. Managers are reluctant to let workers
go for fear they won't be readily replaceable, he said. And
employees may oppose moving to an area where the cost of
living is higher — New York, for example.
Washington Post 6/12/15 [adapted]
The expression “a government watchdog" in Paragraph 1
line 3 and 4 refers to