Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers are among the many employees of the US federal government who are not being paid during the partial government shutdown, which is now in its 31st day and has long since become the longest government shutdown in US history. On Jan. 12, the day after TSA workers’ first missed paycheck, Bloomberg reported that 5.6% of TSA workers called in sick to work. Yesterday (Jan. 20), on day 30 of the shutdown, that number hit 10%, according to TSA data. For comparison’s sake, the unscheduled absence rate on the same day of 2018 was just 3.1%. TSA reports that wait times haven’t been severely impacted over the holiday weekend; the vast majority of travelers are waiting less than 30 minutes in security lines. (Travelers in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, New Orleans, and New York’s LaGuardia experienced the longest maximum standard wait-times at 35, 45, and 29 minutes, respectively.) The TSA has been tackling staff shortages by fast-tracking candidates at hiring events—but those workers still won’t be paid until the shutdown ends. In the meantime, nonprofit organizations, politicians, Canadian air-traffic controllers, airports, and the general public have been rewarding TSA employees who do come to work with pizza, boxed lunches, and other donated sundries. “What gets you up every day and puts a smile on your face is all the help and outreach we’ve had from the community,” Kristena McCaig, a TSA employee at Arkansas’ Clinton National Airport, told KATV. But of course, pizza doesn’t pay the bills, and McCaig was disappointed that she couldn’t spend time with her visiting daughter because her paid leave had been cancelled due to the shutdown. She blames politicians on both sides of the aisle. “I hate to put it so plainly but I’d like them to all just do their jobs, the jobs we elected them for,” she said.<doc-sep>As the partial government shutdown slogs on, the Transportation Security Administration says an increasing number of its officers—who aren't being paid during the furlough – are facing financial difficulties, with some not showing up for work. TSA officers, air traffic controllers and other federal workers who have been showing up for work at airports aren't getting paychecks. Yet across the country, they are getting lots of love, food and offers of assistance from a range of service providers and the general public. At least so far, passengers aren't feeling the strain. The agency says security checkpoint wait times at most of the nation's largest airports remain within TSA's normal wait times of 30 minutes for standard lanes and 10 minutes for TSA Precheck lanes. The time passengers had to wait to pass through the checkpoints at Atlanta, Denver, Newark, Seattle and other airports exceeded those times on Friday. Meanwhile, TSA staffers working without pay are struggling, which is prompting people around the country to rally behind them. At Bellingham International Airport in Washington, about 20 miles from the Canadian border, budget airline Allegiant Air provided pizza for TSA workers on Thursday. tweet In Las Vegas, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak visited with TSA workers at McCarran International Airport to express his appreciation for their service and commitment to the airport and to the community. He, too, came with hot pizzas in tow. tweet2 The offers of free food are coming on the heels of last week's gesture of goodwill from Canadian air traffic controllers, who sent more than 300 pizzas to their counterparts in more than 40 airports in the United States. Air traffic controllers in the Canadian city of Edmonton got the (dough) ball rolling. tweet3 Of course, TSA and FAA employees working without paychecks can't live by pizza alone. Enter Seattle Tacoma International Airport, where donations of non-perishable food and gifts cards are being collected and distributed daily. tweet4 Separately, Seattle-based Washington Federal is offering interest-free, 90-day loans, with no loan fees or application fees, to some federal workers waiting for paychecks in eight western states. "We are proud to step in and help our hard-working neighbors get through this uncertain time and support their financial needs," said Washington Federal president and CEO Brent J. Beardall in a statement, "We hope other financial institutions will do the same." And in San Jose, California, the City Council this week endorsed Mayor Sam Liccardo's proposal to set up a no-interest short-term loan program for many of the 500 federal employees who have been working at Mineta San Jose International Airport without pay. The program, which may be funded through airport revenues and administered in partnership with one or more financial institutions, proposes loans equal to monthly take-home pay for FAA air traffic controllers, TSA workers and officers working for Customs and Border Protection (CBP). "We are going to do everything in our power to keep political dysfunction in Washington from creating service disruptions or safety issues here in San Jose," said Liccardo. Citing the local airport's integral role in the local economy, Liccardo added that the incentives were needed to "help keep these essential workers on the job." With no end in sight to the stalemate, airports around the country continue to gather and distribute donations for federal employees affected by the partial government shutdown. STLTweet At Orlando International Airport, there has been overwhelming response to a donation drive headed up by the Airline Management Council. On Thursday, the airline tweeted a short video of a room with tables piled high with everything from donated diapers to toilet paper and canned goods. tweet As the shutdown continues, airlines, airport concessionaires and other groups are stepping up with donations, discounts and support. This week, the main airports of both Albuquerque and St. Louis offered up free food and goodies to beleaguered TSA workers. ABQ<doc-sep>PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Although major delays are being reported at airports across the country with more than double the number of Transportation Security Administration screeners calling out sick, no problems are being reported yet at Philadelphia International Airport.However, Joe Shuker, the head of the TSA union in Philadelphia, predicts problems will spread quickly if the shutdown doesn't end soon. "I mean sooner or later these guys are going to break," said Shuker. "They're not going to have any means to come to work. "With more than 700 TSA workers missing their first paycheck on Saturday and many living paycheck to paycheck, TSA union officials said once the money runs out, many might not be able to make it to work.At the Atlanta airport Monday, the long lines that snaked all of the way back to baggage claim spelled grief from the government shutdown. "It's chaos out here," said one passenger at ATL . "This line, I've been here about 15 minutes and it's probably moved about two feet. "Several security lanes that are normally open to the public during rush remained closed and some people were missing their flights. They are struggling in cities like Washington and Houston, where a terminal was shut down over the weekend and expected to remain closed Tuesday. "The terminal I was supposed to fly out is closed; I had to round the entire airport just to get back to Terminal B," said a passenger in Washington.In Philadelphia, some air travelers sympathized with TSA screeners. "How do you put food on the table? How do you not feed families for a stupid wall?" asked Claudjone Jules of Mt. Airy.If there is a bright spot in this mess, Shuker said agencies like Philabundance and Catholic Social Services have stepped forward to help workers who are not getting paid. "For years, TSA participated in food drives right here. We've collected food, donated food, and now we have to be on the receiving end of that," said Brandon Lee of Northeast Philadelphia.A spokesman for TSA said the agency would shift screeners around the country to respond to shortages that crop up, with the first deployments to Atlanta and Houston.The agency said the screeners would not incur out-of-pocket expenses in the reassignments.-----------<doc-sep>
The TSA officers are among the 420,000 federal employees deemed essential and ordered to work during the shutdown, which began on Dec. 22. That group also includes air traffic controllers, federal aviation safety inspectors, FBI agents, federal food safety inspectors, and others. The pay, which will amount to a little less than half of a paycheck, according to a TSA spokesman, comes after a spike in absences of TSA officers, which has led to closed checkpoints and long lines at some of the country's busiest airports. Transportation Security Administration airport screeners and other agency employees will receive partial pay, the TSA said Friday, an attempt to tide over some of the lowest-paid federal workers who have been without regular paychecks since the partial government shutdown began more than a month ago. The TSA is using unlapsed funding and workers should receive the money on Friday or early next week, spokesman Jim Gregory told CNBC. The pay corresponds to the last pay period of 2018. There was not enough to offer air marshals partial pay, but they may receive bonuses. TSA gave $500 to its officers earlier this month. Screeners missed their second regular paycheck on Friday. The move underscores the growing concern about how the longest-ever government shutdown is set to disrupt air travel. Airline executives this week fretted that travelers could face long airport lines, delays and canceled flights as the impasse between President Donald Trump and legislators over funding for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico continues. "We are increasingly concerned about the shutdown's consequences for convenient and efficient air travel and for the economy overall," JetBlue Airways CEO Robin Hayes said on an earnings call Thursday. "We are close to a tipping point, as many of these (federal) employees are about to miss a second paycheck. Aviation workers — including flight attendants, pilots and federal air traffic controllers — said in a joint statement this week that they are worried about safety risks due to the shutdown. They said the impasse threatens to further thin the already stretched ranks of air traffic controllers and derail hiring for new employees.