At world’s busiest airport, unpaid TSA workers weigh showing up or staying afloat
Their pay might’ve stopped. But the bills haven’t.
Transportation Security Administration officers have been working for weeks without pay at airports amid a partial government shutdown, and the hardship is forcing some of them to turn to other work to pay their bills.
Now, more than a third of TSA workers are calling out of work in Atlanta on some days, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Callouts have triggered hourslong lines not only in Atlanta but airports across the country, causing travelers to miss flights and heaping more stress on TSA workers.
On Friday, the Atlanta airport posted security waits of two hours through the main checkpoint before 6 a.m.
Aaron Barker, a longtime TSA worker and president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 554 in Atlanta, said going without pay means some TSA officers can’t afford child care, to pay their electricity bills or to get to work. More than 1,000 TSA employees work at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport.
In an interview, Barker said he’s personally “nearly depleted,” but he has a support system of family and friends he can lean on. He worries about colleagues who have families to support.
Some can no longer afford child care and have to stay home with their children, while others are turning to Uber or other gig work to cover their bills.
“Whether it’s ‘I can’t put gas in my car,’ ‘I have to take care of my children,’ ‘I have to pay my light bill so that my lights won’t get cut off,’ … those are the reasons that officers are not showing up,” Barker said during a news conference at Hartsfield-Jackson this week.
He said many TSA workers “are coping with eviction notices, vehicle repossessions, empty refrigerators and overdrawn bank accounts.”
The origin of the partial shutdown is a congressional stalemate over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, of which TSA is a part. In exchange for funding DHS, Democrats want changes in federal immigration enforcement tactics after the shooting deaths by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of two U.S. citizens. So far, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans haven’t come to an agreement.
High callout rates
The highest rate of TSA officers calling out of work on a single day at an airport so far has been 55% at Houston’s Hobby Airport on Saturday, according to DHS on Thursday.
But Hartsfield-Jackson has had the highest average callout rate for the shutdown so far at 21.5%, the agency said. On Monday, the TSA callout rate at the Atlanta airport reached 37%.
Barker said some of the reasons for that may be that many TSA workers live south of the airport without MARTA train service, and it’s more costly for them to get to work than in cities with more extensive subway systems. He also said many workers rely entirely on their TSA jobs for their livelihoods and do not have second jobs, as people in cities with a higher cost of living might.
Other airports with high average TSA callout rates during the shutdown include New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport at 21.4%, Houston Hobby at 21%, New Orleans at 16.5% and Pittsburgh at 13.8%, DHS numbers show.
And as TSA callouts rise, airport security checkpoints might need to be consolidated or reduced, according to DHS.
At Hartsfield-Jackson, one of the four security checkpoints in the domestic terminal has been closed for much of this week. The closure of the Lower North security checkpoint has driven longer lines at the remaining checkpoints. On Thursday evening in the domestic terminal, three of the four checkpoints were closed, leaving just the main checkpoint open.
Damaged morale, emotional pressures
The partial government shutdown has hurt morale and caused financial and emotional pressure on TSA employees, according to DHS, which called on Democrats to end the shutdown. The agency said fewer available TSA officers have to screen a larger number of passengers.
The majority of TSA officers who have continued to come to work are facing the long queues of frustrated passengers worried about missing their flights.
Barker said he’s concerned about the mental health of his colleagues.
“The job is to look for bombs, incendiaries and keep bad stuff” from getting onto planes, he said, and the thoughts going through some officers’ minds are: “‘I’ve got to make sure that there’s nothing in this bag. But, man, what if I get home, my lights are off? Or if I get home and my stuff is sitting outside?’”
“The mental stress, you know, it’s just unbearable,” Barker said.
“Every available financial option has been exhausted. Yet these officers are still coming to work to protect the traveling public, facing disciplinary action if they do not show up to work,” said Barker, the Atlanta union leader. “I’ve heard from officers who cannot afford co-payments for cancer treatments or office visits for their sick children.”
‘Unsustainable’
George Borek, a shop steward for AFGE, the union that represents TSA officers, said big events are coming soon.
The Masters golf tournament in Augusta starts in early April. Many Georgia schools will be on spring break early next month. Summer brings the FIFA World Cup tournament. If the shutdown continues, things could get even worse.
“People have to make a determination, whether it’s stay home with their children, take care of their children or they have no gas,” Borek said.
“Officers are scared,” he said. “They don’t know what to do.”
Barker said TSA officers are committed to airports running safely, “but the situation is becoming unsustainable.”
“Requiring employees to work without pay is unconstitutional,” he said, noting that it is still illegal for federal employees to strike. “TSA employees did not cause this shutdown, yet they are bearing the burden of congressional inaction.”
As a lead TSA officer, Borek said he works with 18 other officers, “but on certain days I only have maybe two or three officers coming in.”
“So I know it’s hurting people,” he said. “People are emotional.”
He said the agency is still reeling from losing officers during last fall’s shutdown. After losing hundreds more this time, it will take weeks to train new hires.
“Eventually we will get through this, but what’s the collateral damage?” he said.
Once the shutdown ends, “Yes, we will have officers back, but we’re going to be nowhere near able to handle like we normally would, the capacity and volume,” Borek said. “We need people in Atlanta. By the time they get through the hiring process, get certified, it may not be until September.”
Travelers see the strain
Traveler Al Boykin went through a flight delay and cancellation while flying to and from Atlanta this week, and he saw security wait times climb at Hartsfield-Jackson.
But, he said, “When I look at the TSA agents, and the fact that they’re here when they’re not getting paid … we have to applaud them, just really for being here and continuing to do what they do even though they’re not getting paid.”
“We really need to figure that out,” Boykin said. “They’re not the problem. … They’re picking up so much extra.”
Barker, the TSA worker and union leader, called on Congress to end the shutdown by advancing legislation to separate ICE and U.S Customs and Border Protection from DHS funding and passing legislation to ensure federal workers get paid during government shutdowns.
“Essential public service should not be used as leverage in political disputes, especially while members of Congress continue to receive their own paychecks,” he said.
“To be quite frank, officers are pissed off,” Barker said. “And we’re not just talking about here in Atlanta. We’re talking about nationwide. … They want this to end.”
No relief in sight
Some TSA officers who borrowed money during the government shutdown last fall are still trying to pay back those loans and can’t access other financial relief, Barker said.
In some parts of the country, starting pay for TSA officers can be in the $40,000 range.
Nationally, more than 360 agents have quit their jobs altogether. According to DHS, some TSA workers are staying in airports overnight because they can’t afford the commute.
The Iran war has sent gas prices surging.
“Most TSA workers, as most Americans, are living paycheck to paycheck,” Barker said in remarks on CNN.
“Gas prices are going up. Who has the money? Where’s the money coming from to put the gas in the car or to put food in a refrigerator or to pay that day care bill?” Barker said.
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