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TSA workers to get paid soon, but worries remain
While paychecks are finally on the way to TSA officers amid the ongoing partial government shutdown, we are hearing from some workers who are still concerned about the current situation. FOX 10's Jacob Luthi reports.
PHOENIX - After weeks of uncertainty and missed paychecks, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says TSA officers will soon start getting paid again, some as early as Monday, March 30.
Big picture view:
At Sky Harbor, there are workers who say the relief is real, but the concerns are far from over.
"Although I'm grateful that we are going to receive, our pay what's the plan?" asked Pascual Contreras, a Transportation Security officer and AFGE union representative.
Contreras is a TSA officer at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and a local union representative. He says while the temporary pay relief is welcome, it does little to ease the ongoing stress many officers feel about their financial future.
"We need to know that this situation is stable," Contreras said.
Dig deeper:
He says the lack of funding is taking a heavy toll on TSA workers at Sky Harbor and beyond.
"We're gonna keep losing talent, and we already have lost so much," Contreras said. "There's a lot of people that are on the verge of being evicted. There's a lot of people on the verge of losing their vehicles."
Travelers at Sky Harbor say images of long lines across the country had them bracing for the worst.
"Yeah, I was kind of nervous that it'd be really long lines, but I got here is pretty fast even in Portland," said traveler Lauryn Bell. "It was almost no way time at all."
"I had some friends earlier this week. We had a little bit more difficulty getting out, so we left about an hour early than we normally would," said traveler Thomas Schneider.
Local perspective:
While airports nationwide have struggled with long lines, Contreras says TSA workers in Phoenix have kept travel running smoothly for thousands of passengers.
"They have shoulder diverted the officers here in Phoenix, Sky Harbor and all over the state of Arizona," Contreras said. "They have done such an amazing job with so little. The only reason that these lines are not crazy is because those officers are 100 percent committed to include the ones that haven't been able to go because they just ran out of gas literally and figuratively speaking."
Contreras says even as funding remains uncertain, their commitment to keeping travelers safe never changes.
"TSOs are doing their absolute best to get that job done—we just need to take care of them," Contreras said.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered by FOX 10's Jacob Luthi.