TSA agents at Logan Airport no longer receiving paychecks during partial government shutdown
TSA agents won't get another paycheck until the partial government shutdown ends. Now the question is if it will impact travel at Logan Airport and other destinations around the country.
"TSA workers especially, I think, do so much for us, especially because travel doesn't slow down," Logan Airport traveler Mandy Lisco said on Sunday.
But in the midst of a partial government shutdown, tens of thousands of TSA screening agents are again working without pay for the second time in recent months.
"I think anybody who's showing up to work every day should be getting the pay that they're you know that they deserve," Lisco said.
TSA agents not getting paid
TSA agents received a partial paycheck on Friday, but that's the last money they're getting until funding gets passed. And this comes just a few months after the 43-day government shutdown last year.
"We don't Want to be used as political leverage. That's been said multiple times, that that's what's happening," said Mike Gayzagian, president of the union representing TSA workers across New England.
He added that politics are again impacting agents' morale.
"They have to report to work regardless of the shutdown situation," he said. "And so those who can will, but obviously there's going to be some kind of a limit as to how much people can take in terms of, you know, their finances and they'll have to start making hard choices as to what they're going to do next."
Potential safety concerns
He said those tough choices could impact staffing levels, leading to longer lines for travelers and even upping safety concerns, heightened following this weekend's U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran.
"We are a public safety agency and they need to be focused on the mission," Gayzagian said. "And if they're distracted by the fact that their financial security is in jeopardy, then they're not going to focus on aviation security, which is what they're supposed to be doing. And so it creates obviously a public safety situation."
Meantime the Department of Homeland Security is adjusting to the funding lapse by suspending the Global Entry program
TSA workers will receive backpay if and when lawmakers reach an agreement on DHS funding.