ORLANDO, Fla. — Imagine this: It’s payday, you get your paystub after working 40 hours each week and the total is $0.

That is the reality for TSA employees and air traffic controllers as the government shutdown creeps toward historic territory. 

What You Need To Know

At the Orlando International Airport, you might not immediately notice there was a shutdown based on TSA lines or flight times, but that could change next week

Friday was payday for TSA employees, but they did not receive any money due to the shutdown

Many TSA employees live an hour or more from the airport and many have spouses that also work at TSA, leaving families stressed

Without money for gas to get to work or pay for child care while on the job, workers will need to make tough decisions

At the Orlando International Airport, you might not immediately notice there was a shutdown based on TSA lines or flight times.

But Friday was not a normal day at the airport. You could see TSA workers leaving after their shift carrying boxes of diapers and bags of canned goods from the donation drive to take home to support their families. 

The stress and the emotion have been building for the last 24 days.

“It is just hard. It is hard to explain to my 6-year-old why we can’t go to fall festivals, why we have to save money to pay mortgage because mortgage does not take IOU’s,” said Oksana Kelly, the women’s coordinator at the AFGE Local 556.

Kelly and her husband both work at TSA, which means neither of them are getting paid to support their two kids. “It is stressful for us, stressful for our bank accounts, and at this point, it is going to turn to zero very soon,” Kelly said.

As their bank accounts dissolve, so does their hope for a resolution. “It seems like we are some pawns in these games and they (are) just over there coming and going, voting on the same bill 12 times. It is like beating a dead horse at this point,” Kelly said.

There is frustration from federal workers across the airport.

“It is so unfortunate that we are where we are and there has just been no movement,” said Dan McCabe, the NATCA Southern Regional vice president.

McCabe is from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. He said his team is working on solutions to help with mortgages and car payments and making sure employees know there are services available for mental health. 

“Financial stress is some of the worse stress that any person can ever deal with,” McCabe said.

So far, MCO has not had major disruptions due to the shutdown from the tower to TSA lines. “People show up, but I am expecting that there is going to be a lot less people coming in, as people are going to be running out of money for child care, somebody have to stay home with those kids and if I have nowhere to leave my kids, how am I going to come to work?” Kelly said.

Those types of conversations are happening in households of federal workers this week as they try to figure out what to do next. In Orlando, many TSA employees live an hour or more from work, so paying to get to get there is a real challenge.