The busiest holiday weekend of the year has begun, with travelers braving long lines at airports across the country as the Department of Homeland Security said Transportation Security Administration workers should begin receiving paychecks Monday after weeks of partial government shutdowns.
President Donald Trump issued a promised memo on Friday calling for immediate paybacks for TSA workers, but union officials say there is confusion over how the move will begin. “I think one of the questions from employees is, ‘Is this temporary, or is the TSA fully funded now?'” said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees’ TSA Council 100.
The DHS shutdown has led to nearly 500 TSA employees to retire and thousands more to be laid off as many struggle to get gas, childcare, food and shelter, the agency said. TSA agents have been working hard to eliminate the financial consequences of non-payment over the past few weeks.
A shortage of TSA personnel has resulted in hour-long waits and long lines to get in and out of the airport. People waited in line for hours Friday at major airports in cities across the country, including Baltimore, Houston, New York and Atlanta.
By early Saturday, problems were already evident at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where the security line was more than an hour long, according to CNN’s tracker. In New York, lines approached an hour at LaGuardia and flew less than 50 minutes at John F. Kennedy International.
Here are the latest updates:
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A shutdown is possible: House Republicans pushed back on their funding of the Department of Homeland Security on Friday night after rejecting a deal passed by the Senate with bipartisan support. The House version is a short-term measure that would increase funding for the entire department for eight weeks. Senate Democrats have already said the House GOP plan will be dead by the time it reaches their chamber.
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ICE dispatched to airport: Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stepped up this week at 14 airports across the country to help with TSA staffing shortages and long wait lines. But they are limited in what they can do, officials said. ICE agents are verifying travelers’ IDs at some airports, guarding entrances and exits, and assisting with baggage and crowd control., DHS said. However, it’s unclear whether ICE agents brought in at Trump’s request made a big mistake as the wait times piled up.
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Funding the TSA won’t fix long lines overnight: Even if the shutdown ends, it could take days or weeks for airport security checkpoints to return to full staffing and long lines to disappear, union leaders said.
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Busy weekend events approaching: As the airport prepares for the busy spring holiday season, passengers were met with long lines outside the terminal. “What we’re dealing with is 100% of spring break traffic trying to get through 50% or less of our TSA checkpoints, so the numbers don’t work,” Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the Houston Airport System, said in an online video.
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TSA agents are more optimistic: The head of the TSA union is cautiously optimistic that recent airport security problems will likely end once congressional leaders work to find a solution, he told CNN. TSA officers went to work Friday “in good spirits,” said Atlanta TSA union director George Borek. “I think we’re pointing in the right direction, and I hope we can get it to the finish line.”
TSA workers told CNN they are still desperate for financial aid as nearly 61,000 of them anxiously await their paychecks during the six-week congressional crisis.
Most TSA employees live paycheck to paycheck, averaging $35,000 a year, according to AFGE.
TSA employee Tatiana Finlay is one of those workers who make sacrifices to make ends meet. She is forced to borrow petrol money from her 15-year-old daughter’s birthday gift fund and buy her own food for her three children to eat.
“I was skipping meals hoping to stretch that dollar, because I want to make sure they have food,” said Finlay.
Rachel, a TSA agent and mother who asked that her last name not be made public, explained that she had to leave work to pick up her child and go to WIC to get help for her family. He said: “I have to go and get government assistance from the government that I work for, and I shouldn’t do that.
TSA officer Jackson Oliver has considered retiring, but stressed that he’s not just doing the job for the pay and won’t give up without a fight. He has taken on a second job to support his family, as well as managing a full-time education and pilot training without pay.
Public and union support during the shutdown has been critical to easing some of the financial and emotional burden on TSA workers, as airports coordinate gift cards for gas and grocery stores, grocery stores and other donations.
“Gas card donations and gift cards — these things help people get through the day-to-day operations,” Oliver said.
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