Hundreds Of TSA Agents Required To Work Without Pay, Call Out Sick At Major Airports

Playing with their money is like playing with their emotions. That’s pretty much what hundreds of TSA agents are saying after they were assigned to work shifts despite not being paid during the partial government shut down.

This week hundreds of Transportation Security Administration officers from four major airports called in sick regardless of being required to work amid the government shut down, according to two senior agency officials and three TSA employee union officials. While there has yet to be an announcement as to when the shutdown will end, reports show this could lead to high safety risks for flyers.

“This will definitely affect the flying public who we (are) sworn to protect,” Hydrick Thomas, president of the national TSA employee union, told CNN. About 170 TSA agents have called out each day of this week at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The lack of workers led to officers from earlier shifts having to cover the evenings. Callouts have increased by 200%-300% at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where typically 25 to 30 TSA employees call out from an average shift according to a local TSA official familiar with the situation, KTLA reports.

“This problem of call-outs is really going to explode over the next week or two when employees miss their first paycheck,” a union official at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport told CNN. “TSA officers are telling the union they will find another way to make money. That means calling out to work other jobs.” Union officials don’t believe workers are making it a class action issue but rather just want to be paid for their work. Sources have also confirmed that several employees have called off for legitimate reasons such as illness or family issues.

For now, Donald Trump and congressional leaders have met but have yet to find a resolution that will end the shutdown. Reports say the impasse could possibly last weeks to years.