TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) \u2013 Just more than a month into the partial government shutdown, TSA officers missed their first full paycheck, but are still required to come to work. <\/p>\n
Chris Finlay is the local union president for the American Federation of Government Employees and his chapter represents TSA workers in Central and North Florida. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes me angry that we\u2019re in this position again,\u201d Finlay said.<\/p>\n
Tuesday, Finlay and another union member came to the Tallahassee International Airport to give out food, diapers, formula, and other essentials to employees who needed them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s only going to help for so long,\u201d Finlay said. \u201cEventually, people are just going to run out of money. They\u2019re not going to have money for gas and then they\u2019re not going to be able to get to work.\u201d <\/p>\n
Finlay said he spoke with several TSA officers who received $50 from a partial paycheck at the end of February. \u201cFull-time employee working for the federal government, 50 bucks on that paycheck,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd, we just missed an entire paycheck this last weekend.\u201d <\/p>\n
Many TSA officers are struggling to pay bills, while some are facing eviction, according to Finlay. \u201cI have three officers that I know who were told \u2018If you don\u2019t pay us by the middle of the month, which is the 15th, we\u2019re going to start the eviction process,\u2019\u201d Finlay said. \u201cThese are full-time, federal employees who are facing evictions and can\u2019t put food on their table because they can\u2019t fund our agency.\u201d <\/p>\n
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With the rise in gas prices, Finlay said that it is also making it harder for struggling workers to show up. \u201cOn top of not getting paid, gas has gone up,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Finlay said TSA gave officers a letter for creditors, lenders, and landlords to verify they are not being paid right now. However, Finlay said companies and property managers are not obligated to consider that letter. <\/p>\n
He also pointed out that many TSA officers are trying to work while facing real-world challenges that can make it more difficult to do their job. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a harder task to accomplish, staying totally focused, when in the back of your head, like I said, you\u2019re worried about, \u2018I have an eviction notice. My water got shut off. I don\u2019t have food to feed my kids.\u2019 These are bare essentials,\u201d Finlay said. <\/p>\n
For now, Finlay said they will continue supporting TSA officers as much as possible, with hopes the partial shutdown will soon end. \u201cI don\u2019t know how this is acceptable to anyone,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
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