TSA airport screeners are among the hundreds of thousands of federal employees forced to work without pay during Donald Trump’s government shutdown. That’s led to a massive jump in TSA workers calling out sick over the past week:
At New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, as many as 170 TSA employees have called out each day this week, Thomas tells CNN. Officers from a morning shift were required to work extra hours to cover the gaps.
Call outs 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.
Some may be calling out in protest, but for others it may be practical: If you’re not getting a paycheck, paying for child care while you’re on the job may not be possible. Others may have found side jobs to get by and be choosing the job they’re getting paid for over the one they aren’t. It’s an added strain on the people who are showing up to work, and it might lead to longer lines, but it’s dead obvious who’s at fault here, and that’s the Republicans who shut down the government, not the TSA workers affected by it.