LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Whenever parts of the government shut down, thousands of employees can go without pay.
With parts of the Department of Homeland Security unfunded for more than six weeks, TSA agents are struggling to keep up.
Here in Lubbock, some business owners are offering a helping hand to those employees and their families.
Trey Strange owns the Silver Bullet. During a recent trip to Las Vegas, he something caught his attention.
“When I got there, I noticed that TSA was fully staffed, but what really struck me was their demeanor,” Strange said. “They were polite, courteous, friendly, helpful. Just everything about them was professional.”
Once he made his way through the TSA line, Strange made the decision to provide a helping hand to those valuable employees.
“I don’t know when this is going to come to an end, so I decided everyone working there will never have to pay for food at the Silver Bullet until they get paid,” Strange said. “In fact, we’re going to extend it to two weeks after their paychecks actually come in.”
Meanwhile, Jim Larner, owner of the Little Blue Trailer food truck has always had a pay what you can slogan and has offered agents stop by and take in all his business has to offer.
“It’s nice to see them smile,” Larner said. “They come up and they’re not smiling, but when they leave, they’re smiling. We try not to just provide them with some food, but joke with them and visit for awhile.”
Larner says some people might have a preconceived notion of who TSA agents are, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to live normal lives.
“Most people don’t like TSA because you know we have to go through all the stuff at the airport, but they’re people just like us,” Larner said.
Strange and Larner both say they’ve felt a lot of love from those agents who have stopped by for meals and it’s their honor to continue serving them after all they’ve done for us.
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