A woman in Indiana who put off dental surgery because she doesn’t know if she can afford the copay. A Florida couple with young children who are depleting their savings. A grandmother in Idaho who plans to sell her car to pay the rent.
They are among about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers expecting to receive another $0 paycheck this week. over funding the Department of Homeland Security has held up their salaries since mid-February. With monthly bills coming due, many of these federal employees, who screen passengers and luggage at airports across the U.S., are making difficult choices about how to make ends meet.
High absentee rates at have produced long lines and frustrated passengers at understaffed security checkpoints. Union leaders and federal officials say empty gas tanks, child care expenses and the threat of eviction keep more screeners from showing up the longer the shutdown continues. At last count, more than 480 instead of weathering the ongoing uncertainty, TSA’s acting administrator told lawmakers Wednesday.
鈥淪top asking me about the long lines. Ask me if somebody鈥檚 gonna eat today,鈥� Hydrick Thomas, president of the national American Federation of Government Employees union council that represents TSA employees, told reporters Tuesday.
Indiana TSA agent turns to food pantry for groceries
Before starting her shift at Indianapolis International Airport on Monday, Taylor Desert stopped at for meat, eggs, vegetables and dairy products.
鈥淚 never thought I would be in a position where, working for the federal government, I would need to go to a food bank to supplement my groceries,鈥� she said as she loaded bags into her car.
Desert, who has been a TSA officer for seven years, said her last full paycheck came on Feb. 14, the day the shutdown started.
She had some savings to draw on despite a record 43-day shutdown last fall but put some personal plans on pause.
For example, Desert needs to get her wisdom teeth removed but says the TSA isn鈥檛 approving time off during the shutdown. She also worries about costs from the surgery not covered by insurance.
Wednesday was the 40th day of the DHS funding lapse. If it goes another 21 days, Desert said she would seek another job.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to have to spend my entire savings just to afford to keep living,鈥� she said.
Florida TSA couple worry about their young children
Oksana Kelly, 38, and her husband, Deron, 37, both work as TSA agents at Orlando International Airport. They have two young children and don’t know how they will keep supporting their family without any income coming in.
Kelly said they鈥檙e dipping into savings for now, but it鈥檚 running dry. If persists, they will ask relatives for help or take out a loan, which she worries would put them deeper in debt.
Her husband has worked as a DoorDash delivery driver in his spare time since the shutdown in October and November. He’s considered resigning from the TSA to put the couple on more stable financial footing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very mentally exhausting,鈥� said Kelly, who is an organizer for the labor union representing TSA workers across central and northern Florida. 鈥淗ow do we even decide between being able to feed our kids or come to work?鈥�
Kelly said strangers might criticize the couple for 鈥減utting all eggs in one basket鈥� since both choose to work for the TSA for the past decade.
鈥淎ll we want is to pay our bills and get the pay we deserve,鈥� she said.
A veteran officer in Idaho fears homelessness
Rebecca Wolf cries every day. She tries to hide it from her grandchildren, ages 11 and 6.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 understand why grandma鈥檚 crying,鈥� Wolf said. 鈥淚 try not to cry in front of them, but sometimes it鈥檚 just too much.鈥�
The 53-year-old TSA officer and union leader in Boise, Idaho, joined the agency soon after its creation in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. She was homeless at the time but turned her situation around with steady work and the benefits of federal employment.
Now, Wolf can鈥檛 help but dwell on where she was 24 years ago. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be in that position again,鈥� she said.
Her Feb. 28 paycheck amounted to $13.53, sending her 鈥渋nto a spiral right away.鈥�
With no savings to fall back on, she is preparing to sell her car to cover her rent due in a week. She calls nonprofits daily seeking rental assistance, but hasn鈥檛 had any luck.
Supporting six family members 鈥� four children and two grandchildren 鈥� has always been challenging, but the repeated shutdowns have made it nearly unsustainable.
Wolf, who serves as president of AFGE TSA Local 1127, is hesitant to walk away from both the job that turned her life around and her role advocating for fellow officers.
鈥淚 worked hard to get to where I am now, and the thought I might lose it all scares me,鈥� she said, her voice breaking as she tried to stifle the sound of weeping.
Massachusetts agent digs into savings to get by
Mike Gayzagian, a TSA officer at Boston鈥檚 Logan International Airport, says long stretches without pay have become enough of a 鈥渘ew normal鈥� that he鈥檚 prepared for them.
The 56-year-old says he has a financial cushion of about six months to tap but that his situation is 鈥渁n exception to the rule.鈥�
鈥淭he majority live paycheck to paycheck and don鈥檛 have those kinds of reserves available,鈥� said Gayzagian, who is president of his local chapter.
It shouldn鈥檛 be this way for federal workers, he said.
鈥淭he financial situation adds an additional burden to what is already a stressful job,鈥� Gayzagian said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 go into public service to make a lot of money. I went into public service because it has a certain stability and reliability and predictability that other jobs don鈥檛 have.鈥�
A father in Utah leaves TSA
Robert Echeverria quit his job as a TSA agent at Utah鈥檚 Salt Lake City International Airport about two weeks into the current shutdown.
The 45-year-old, who has a wife and three children, counted five government shutdowns in the nine years he worked for the agency. The toughest was that ended in mid-November around the start of the holiday season.
Echeverria said his family skipped Christmas and took months to recover financially. He began looking for a new job in February when it became clear Congress was headed for another budget battle.
鈥淓motionally I was already distraught,鈥� Echeverria said last week. 鈥淲e were barely recovering from the last shutdown.鈥�
He now works for the department that manages the airports in Utah’s capital. Leaving federal service 鈥渨as a hard decision for me,鈥� Echeverria said.
鈥淚 really believed in the mission of the TSA,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e took an oath, and it was a way for me to give back to the country that gave me so much.鈥�
He鈥檚 still based at Salt Lake City International, where his 20-year-old daughter works as a TSA agent, and says that seeing his former colleagues struggling is difficult.
鈥淭hey all feel betrayed by their government because they鈥檙e showing up to work,” Echeverria said. “They鈥檙e there, but they feel that the government doesn鈥檛 care for them,鈥� he said.
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Marcelo reported from New York, Lamy reported from Indianapolis and Yamat reported from Las Vegas.
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