As the government shutdown continues to drag on, it’s starting to affect more than just national parks and tax returns.
According to CNN, hundreds of TSA workers, who are required to work without paychecks, have been calling out “sick” in increasing numbers.
The report notes that Charlotte Douglas has already seen a 10% higher TSA call out rate over the past week. “That number will get worse as this drags on,” Mac Johnson, Charlotte’s local TSA union president told CNN. The call outs are “creating a vulnerability” and screeners are “doing more with less,” Johnson said.
The TSA just released the following statement about the recent call-outs, saying;
“TSA is closely monitoring the situation. Call outs began over the Holiday period and have increased, but are causing minimal impact given there are 51,739 employees supporting the screening process. Security effectiveness will not be compromised and performance standards will not change. Wait times may be affected depending on the number of call outs…”
Statement on nationwide “sick out” as reported by CNN’s Rene Marsh and Gregory Wallace. #News pic.twitter.com/RK0wiFLRJt
— TSA (@TSA) January 4, 2019
Last night a Charlotte Douglas passenger tweeted that he arrived at the airport early in case of long lines from a lack of TSA agents, but to his surprise, it sped through the line;
Got to the airport early today because I worried about delays due to the shutdown. That might have been the fastest I ever got a bag checked and through security. 👏🏻👏🏻 @TSA
— Matthew Martin (@MattMartinGFT) January 6, 2019
What are your thoughs about the recent government shutdown?