ATLANTA — TSA workers continue to show up to work despite missing their first full paycheck this week. Their union warns the workers are struggling.
“Right now, officers are being faced with life-or-death situations or am I going to survive or not,” said Aaron Barker, who is the president of the American Federation of Government Employees Union that represents TSA workers in Atlanta.
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Four weeks into the partial government shutdown, TSA employees missed their first full paycheck this week. It’s the second time they’re facing a government shutdown, after surviving the longest government shutdown in American history at the end of 2025.
“Most TSA workers as most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. So, to be going through this again, so close to the last shutdown is detrimental to a lot of officers,” added Barker in an interview with CNN.
There are nearly 61,000 TSA employees around the country working without pay.
“They will at some point have to go make a decision whether to stay on or go on and find another way to make ends meet,” said Barker.
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Some airports have seen long waits in the midst of this latest shutdown. And spring break travel is expected to start in the coming weeks.
Barker said workers are required to turn in doctor’s notes when taking sick days.
“To put that amount of stress on someone who is working without any pay to have unable to pay the $50 to go to a doctor. I don’t know what you expect an office to provide if I can’t even afford to pay a childcare bill,” said Barker.
They’ll get back pay once the shutdown is over. But for now, they’re feeling the pressure.
“If gas prices are going up, who has the money? Where is the money coming from to put the gas in the car? To put food in the refrigerator or to pay that daycare? The money is not there.”
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