TSA workers feeling effects from partial government shutdown

As the partial government shutdown reaches the two-week mark, Transportation Security Administration employees are feeling the effects, with workers not getting paid throughout the country.

In some airports, call-outs from TSA agents have increased up to 300 percent, and workers at Logan International Airport are also feeling the stress during the shutdown.

The president of the union that represents TSA agents said "there's a heightened level of anxiety amongst TSA workers at Logan," and they're upset they're being used as pawns in the shutdown.

Security was moving quickly at the airport Saturday, but there was no guarantee that it would stay that way.

"I just wasn't fully sure what to expect," Cait Heine, who flew into Logan from Louisville Saturday afternoon, said. "My experience was actually super normal. Not much was different from when I came in a few weeks ago."

Some say the easy experience won't last long, with around 55,000 TSA employees not knowing when they'll see another paycheck.

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This week, 170 TSA workers at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport called out sick each day, and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has seen a 200-300 percent increase in sick calls.

A spokesperson for TSA workers at Logan wouldn't confirm how many call-outs they've gotten, but did express frustration among TSA agents.

"Pay these people," traveler Arturo Mendiola said. "These people have families, they need to get food and rent. It's just horrible."

Travelers at Logan said they trust TSA workers are doing their best, but worry security isn't as safe.

"I trust that they’re doing their job but, you know, they might be slacking because the morale is too low and they're not getting paid," one traveler said. "And they have all these other worries like their rent, their families to worry about."

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told the media Friday that President Trump threatened the government shutdown could last months, even years.

A TSA spokesperson said the call-outs are causing minimal impact, but the agency hasn't said if it will make any changes to the security process as the shutdown continues.

Cox Media Group