ATLANTA — Members of a local church are stepping up to help TSA workers who aren’t being paid during a partial government shutdown.
“Hard-working people are not being paid. This is our security at the airport,” Tylisha Sampson said.
For more than a month, TSA agents have not collected a paycheck, meaning many of them are struggling to feed their families as the shutdown continues.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Sampson is the coordinator for Sunshine Brotherhood, a ministry and nonprofit at Salem Bible Church. Their volunteers are giving time and resources to make sure TSA workers and their families don’t go hungry.
“We just opened up our doors and let them know that if you need us, we’re here,” Sampson said.
TSA workers showed up on Tuesday to get food. They did not want to show their faces out of fear of retribution, but say they are grateful for the help.
“Sunshine done filled in the gaps when we had the furlough workers, the federal workers, the first time. We filled in a gap when the SNAP was missing and taken from families that are in need. Now, we got TSA workers again,” Sampson said.
RELATED STORIES:
- Atlanta airport GM says people missing flights making delays worse
- Waits up to 9 hours, lines out the door at Atlanta airport as ICE agents arrive to assist TSA
- TSA officers are quitting as a funding standoff forces them to staff airports without pay
Pastor Frankie Calloway knows that with grocery prices rising and workers not receiving paychecks, many are turning to food giveaways to bridge the gap at home.
“We have vegetables, we have fruits, we have non-perishable items, we have spaghetti, we have macaroni, we have meats; we actually have meats, so anything that you need, pretty much, and we have seasoning to prepare a meal. We’ve got it for you," Calloway said.
Sunshine Brotherhood says they will keep packing boxes for TSA workers as long as the need continues.
They are asking for donations of non-perishable food items and gift cards to donate to the workers.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]