Airports are dealing with massive lines during the government shutdown as TSA employees are working without pay
- The US partial government shutdown began on Saturday, December 22 and is now the longest in the country's history.
- The shutdown has affected the lives of Americans in many ways, including unusually long lines at airports across the country.
- Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents are essential employees so they must continue working without pay, but many have been calling out sick.
Airports are dealing with massive lines due to the government shutdown. The shutdown began on Saturday, December 22. TSA employees are part of the government, so they're affected and working without pay.
But TSA staffers are calling out of work. At Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), the call-out rate has increased by as much as 300%. A rep for the TSA workers union says they aren't calling out intentionally. The TSA staffers simply can't afford to get to work.
TSA employees live paycheck to paycheck, according to their union rep. The mean annual wage for TSA employees was about $40,960 as of May 2017.
The TSA says they are "closely monitoring the situation" and that "security effectiveness will not be compromised."
Read more about how the government shutdown is affecting TSA workers.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This video was originally published on January 9, 2019.