{"id":205946,"date":"2026-03-25T20:35:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T20:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/205946\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T20:35:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T20:35:12","slug":"jacksonville-tsa-workers-struggle-without-pay-for-over-a-month-relying-on-donations-to-get-by","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/205946\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville TSA workers struggle without pay for over a month, relying on donations to get by"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Transportation security officers at Jacksonville International Airport<\/a> have gone more than a month without pay, relying on donations and community support as a prolonged federal funding lapse stretches into its sixth week.<\/p>\n

RELATED: DeSantis suggests eliminating TSA. Critics warn of potential safety risks while supporters say it could boost efficiency<\/a><\/p>\n

Fadwer Carmichael with the American Federation of Government Employees said TSA agents in Jacksonville have not been paid since Feb. 14, a span now approaching 40 days, leaving many struggling to cover basic needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been very strong. They\u2019ve been very courageous, but they are tired,\u201d Carmichael said.<\/p>\n

According to Carmichael, local businesses, airport vendors, airlines and residents have stepped in to help keep officers afloat, providing meals, gift cards and other essentials. Without that support, she said, many workers would not have been able to get by.<\/p>\n

The financial strain is intensifying as the end of the month approaches, when rent and mortgage payments come due. Carmichael said some officers have young children and are struggling to afford diapers, formula and gas.<\/p>\n

Union members have tried to fill the gap by purchasing supplies and distributing assistance, but she said the need is growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s truly impacting people,\u201d Carmichael said. \u201cThey\u2019re fearful about what\u2019s going to happen to their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the hardship, Carmichael said no TSA officers in Jacksonville have quit, and most continue to report to work.<\/p>\n

She added that there has been no need to bring in additional federal personnel, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, to fill staffing gaps a sign, she said, of the workforce\u2019s commitment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey love what they do,\u201d she said. \u201cThey took an oath, and they\u2019re standing by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carmichael warned, however, that the situation is becoming unsustainable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cry is urgent,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very urgent.\u201d<\/p>\n

She called on lawmakers to reach a long-term funding agreement to prevent repeated pay disruptions, noting this is the third shutdown impacting workers in recent months.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was nowhere in that contract that we signed up saying we would do it and not get paid,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Carmichael said community donations have been critical and encouraged those who are able to continue supporting TSA officers through the union, which distributes aid to workers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t thank the people enough,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s how we\u2019ve made it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Transportation security officers at Jacksonville International Airport have gone more than a month without pay,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":205947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,1645,117,3213],"class_list":["post-205946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-international-airport","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-tsa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}