Trump Administration Forces Department of Homeland Security Airport Workers to Miss Paychecks

A partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security that began on February 14 has forced thousands of Transportation Security Administration officers to work without pay and caused widespread missed paychecks across the department.

“TSA workers miss a full paycheck, while travelers keep paying airport security fees TSA workers miss a full paycheck, while travelers keep paying airport security fees Millions of spring break travelers are heading to the airport this month, and Johnny Jones was hoping to be one of them”

NPR

An agency spokesperson said about 100,000 employees across DHS will miss their first full paycheck, and the shutdown stems from a congressional deadlock over how to fund the department — with Democrats refusing to approve funding without changes to aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics.

NPR

Essential employees, including TSA officers, are required to report to work even without pay while some components of DHS, notably ICE, have been cushioned by prior appropriations and thus experienced little direct effect.

TSA officers report acute financial strain and fear after missing pay, with union leaders and workers describing panic, unpaid bills and the need to take extra work or miss shifts.

Union representative Johnny Jones said many officers work paycheck to paycheck and do not have savings to cover expenses; a long-serving officer identified only as Suzette said officers "can't afford to come to work" because of costs like gas.

The New York Times

The union represents tens of thousands of TSA employees who are continuing to show up as essential staff despite lacking pay.

The staffing crunch has produced operational consequences at major airports, with unusually high absence rates, long security lines and some officers leaving the force.

“TSA workers miss a full paycheck, while travelers keep paying airport security fees TSA workers miss a full paycheck, while travelers keep paying airport security fees Millions of spring break travelers are heading to the airport this month, and Johnny Jones was hoping to be one of them”

NPR

The New York Times reported unusually high absence rates at Kennedy International in New York and William P. Hobby in Houston, and said more than 300 TSA officers have left the workforce since the shutdown began.

NPR corroborated passenger impacts, noting hours-long security lines at airports including Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans and Austin as many officers called out sick.

Union leaders and individual officers have put faces to the disruption: Johnny Jones, the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 100, said he cancelled travel plans and described staffing and financial strains; other officers, including a longtime worker who asked to be called Suzette, said they have taken second jobs or are skipping shifts because they cannot afford commuting costs.

The union represents about 45,000 TSA officers nationwide and is highlighting the human toll as the partial shutdown approaches the one-month mark with many employees receiving no money in recent paychecks.

The New York Times