Transportation security officers at BWI airport and facilities across the country are still experiencing uncertainty around their paychecks as the Department of Homeland Security shutdown reaches a record-breaking 60 days.
The previous record was set last year when the government was shut down for a total of 43 days from Sept. 30 to Nov. 12.
During these past two months, the DHS has been operating under lapse procedures. According to the DHS website, the department “may only continue ‘exempt’ activities such as law enforcement and maritime protection.”
The Transportation Security Administration is one of these “exempt” activities
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 27 to pay TSA workers, but details were unclear on how much officers would get paid.
“Accordingly, I hereby direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to use funds that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations to provide TSA employees with the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shutdown, consistent with applicable law, including 31 U.S.C. 1301(a),” Trump’s executive order reads.
TSA workers began receiving retroactive pay at the end of March for the periods they hadn’t been paid since the shutdown began Feb. 14. But as the shutdown continues, workers are frustrated about missed paychecks going forward.
“The emergency order only was for the three [periods of] back-pay, nothing future-wise. Nothing future-wise was discussed,” said LaShanda Palmer, president of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 333.
Many of the roughly 600 TSA officers that work at BWI airport were asked to work without guaranteed pay for a majority of the last two months.
Various organizations have stepped up to help with the rise of food insecurity that came along with the missing paychecks.
“There was a need, and we jumped in,” said Chris Lander, communications manager for the Anne Arundel County Food Bank.
The organization has provided 600 boxed meals for TSA officers each week while they were unpaid.
“I know that all 600 boxes have been taken home by TSA employees, so they are using them and I know that we got one very nice phone call thanking us from a TSA employee,” Lander said.
Naomi Germain, distribution manager for the World Central Kitchen, said her organization will be here for the officers however long the shutdown lasts.
“Our mission is we’re gonna be here until the shutdown ends; we don’t like to just leave and upend folks,” Germain said. “We made a commitment to feed folks, and we’re gonna do so.”
TSA workers are also encountering difficulty with paying for rent and mortgages, childcare costs, and other household expenses.
Despite support from passengers, politicians, and local organizations, Palmer said it hasn’t been enough.
“All the support that we’re getting, it still doesn’t equal up to missed pay,” she said. “So, it’s still not going to equal up to overdraft fees. It’s not equal enough to us still being in a negative in our accounts.”
Palmer said that while TSA has no control over the shutdown, officers do control something each day they come in.
“What we do have control of is how long we can continue to come to work and work without being paid,” she said. “So, we ask for everyone to have the same type of patience that they are expecting us to have, especially because when you come to the airport, we are still kind, we are still respectful, and we’re still doing our job.”
Palmer added, “Put pressure on the people that you elected. Tell them to do their jobs. Because we have shown you that we have not stopped doing ours.”
