Nonprofit holds food drive to help Minnesota TSA agents amid 3rd shutdown in 6 months
Tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration workers across the U.S. are once again feeling the brunt of a federal government shutdown.
They could miss their first full paycheck on Friday, which will be day 28 of the shutdown, since funding for the Department of Homeland Security stopped last month.
A CBS News review of internal TSA statistics show more than 300 TSA workers across the country have quit since the shutdown began. And in cities around the country, TSA worker callout rates have climbed into the double digits, leading to slowdowns and long lines as the nation's airports heading into the spring break travel season.
There are more than 500 TSA agents who work at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where volunteers are handing out boxes of food to help TSA workers on Wednesday.
One agent WCCO spoke with off camera Wednesday morning put it simply: they're tired. This is the third time in six months they've had their pay impacted, or paused entirely, due to a government funding issue.
VEAP, a nonprofit based in Bloomington, Minnesota, dropped off 350 food boxes Wednesday, with each box containing 11 pounds of non-perishables in the effort to try and help workers make ends meet.
On Wednesday, AFGE Local 899 treasurer Neal Gosman said he feels TSA has become a pawn in a political fight.
"There could have been a budget passed this year. The fiscal year started Oct. 1 of 2025. We're six months in and there's no budget for this year," Gosman said. "This is dereliction of duty of people who are elected, both in the [Trump] administration and in Congress. We're doing our job. We're coming in and we're putting ourselves at risk, we're screening passengers, we're looking for bombs in bags and we're not getting paid. This is not right."
Another TSA agent WCCO spoke with off camera says she'll keep coming to work at MSP Airport whether she gets paid or not out of personal "integrity."
"This has happened over and over again," Gosman said. "This is no way to run a government for the people."
