The TSA is working hard and hot getting paid at airports across the country due to the government shutdown. About 800,000 federal employees don't have to show up to work, but as essential employees, thousands of TSA agents are on the job working without pay.
The TSA may be the first line of defense when it comes to air travel safety but while the federal government shutdown continues, none of them are getting paid. However they're still required to come to work.
Among the unpaid TSA workers are security officers, screeners and even the air marshals who protect passengers on planes. The TSA union, the American Federation of Government Employees, says it is not acceptable that this is going on.
"A lot of them are disgusted with what's going on with Congress right now and they're worried about how they're going to pay their mortgage, how they're going to feed their children," Valyria Lewis, an AFGE national representative and a former TSA worker told FOX.
Air passengers have acknowledged the work that the TSA is doing even though they're not getting paid. They feel that they should be paid, just as Congress members continue to get paid during the shutdown.
"You see I think there's something fundamentally wrong that the people doing their jobs here keeping all Americans safe aren't going to get paid. Meanwhile, the people who've put us in this position are still going to get paid," Bruce Barringer told FOX.
Despite not getting paid during the shutdown, the TSA workers will receive pay once Congress passes a budget since the TSA are essential workers. They just won't get any paychecks until then, which could be rough for struggling families.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
