At DFW Airport, TSA and Federal Workers Say They're Hurting as Government Shutdown Drags on

As the record partial government shutdown drags on, Johnny Jones, a federal security screener at DFW International Airport, has to decide if he can afford to keep his 5-year-old daughter in daycare.“I can’t make the payment anymore,” Jones said. “Since we’re not getting paid, I’m going to have to take extreme measures.”The federal shutdown reached its 25th day on Wednesday, and airport screeners say they’re hurting. Employed by the federal Transportation Security Administration — and forced to work without paychecks — airport screeners typically make about $40,000 a year, according to federal statistics, and lack a big cushion of savings.TSA screeners, including Jones, were among several dozen federal workers and union members who gathered Wednesday outside DFW Airport’s Terminal D to call attention the shutdown’s hardships.Across the country, many screeners have called in sick — and not because they’re ill."These are folks that cannot come to work because they don’t have the money for groceries, mortgages, for their cars, for gas and daycare," said Rudy Garcia, head of the local union that represents about 800 local federal airport screeners who work for the Transportation Security Administration.“If you don’t have money or resources to pay for child care or to fill your car up with gas to get to work, then what do you do? You call out.”  Continue reading...