SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - The Department of homeland Security is warning its employees that Friday's paycheck could be their last until congress acts to fund the department, but TSA workers are now concerned about another matter on the table.
“The fact that they've been holding our pay in abeyance for the past 6 months shows how much they appreciate our hard work," TSA officer Robert Mack says. “People that signed up this, they've sworn an oath to protect the traveling public, who's protecting us?."
During the most recent government shutdown, Mack went 44 days without a paycheck. He’s now received back pay, but for many workers, the damage is already done.
"The reality of it is I'm in San Diego, one of the most expensive cities in the country, I'm gonna have to get a second job or find some other way to supplement my income because this is no longer trustworthy and that's crazy," Mack says. "23 years in a government job and I'm worried about my next paycheck.”
On top of this the White House is proposing a major change to TSA: A new budget request includes $52 million to begin privatizing airport security screening.
It means instead of federal TSA agents, private companies could take over security at some airports.The program already exists, but this plan would expand it, starting with smaller airports.
So what would this mean for TSA workers? Mack says the proposal would be "one of the worst things that we could do.”
If it happens, workers could lose federal job protections, long-term stability and become easier to fire as private employees.
What about airport safety? Robert says it could have an impact on it too; "It takes a lot of training to get this job and to maintain this there's there's constant training involved to keep up with today's demands, there are security threats that are ever present here.”
At the same time, the White House proposal would cut thousands of TSA positions—more than 9,000 nationwide.
“I think they're doing a pretty good job right now by forcing people out of work," Mack says San Diego has already lost 600 workers in the last 6 months because they simply can't afford to do miss any more paychecks.
All of this comes as travelers are already dealing with long TSA lines and staffing shortages at airports across the country. And now the debate continues in Washington over how to fund agencies like TSA moving forward.
Lawmakers are expected to take this up when they return from recess next week.
