Philadelphia-area TSA employees are coming up on their third missed paycheck since a partial government shutdown began, and are growing frustrated as that turns into missed car and housing payments, a union representative said in an interview with CBS News Philadelphia.
LaShanda Palmer, a TSA officer at Philadelphia International Airport and a union representative for officers at PHL and Wilmington Airport, said workers are frustrated with the lack of pay and the recent arrival of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in airports.
“I have a lot of mixed emotions about how ICE’s presence has been there. However, so do many officers,” said Palmer, who’s president of the AFGE Local 333 labor union. “I feel angry, I feel used, I feel abused. I feel just like every other officer.”
The airport has closed multiple security checkpoints in recent weeks due to staffing shortages, and has at times seen security wait times jump. PHL has fared far better than airports like Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where some travelers reported spending as long as six hours in the security lines.
Statistics obtained by CBS News showed nearly 12% of the TSA workforce nationwide called out on Sunday, March 22 — at PHL, that number was closer to 25%.
LaShanda Palmer, president of AFGE Local 333, says many union members are hurting after missing multiple paychecks during the partial government shutdown.
Getty Images (Left) / CBS News Philadelphia
“We have a lot of pride in saying that this is not a job, this is a career,” Palmer said. “We took an oath. So to know that we’re coming on our third missed paycheck in less than five months … is very disheartening.”
Palmer said workers are feeling the effects of the missed paychecks and falling behind.
“Some of us are losing our cars or our homes, some are losing their accounts, their accounts are being closed off. … People are struggling and can’t take care of their own family or daily necessities,” Palmer added.
On Tuesday, Senate Republicans introduced a proposal which would fund every part of DHS except for ICE’s enforcement and removal operations.
Democrats rejected the deal, saying it does not go far enough to “rein in” ICE — and party leaders said they would draw up their own legislation that included more reforms.
Friday will mark the third partial paycheck workers have missed since the shutdown began.
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