TSA Workers Receive Critical Update About Paychecks Amid Shutdown

The stalemate to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues, but Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents are expected to begin receiving paychecks again as soon as Monday after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday afternoon.

“Today, at the direction of President Trump and the Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, TSA has immediately begun the process of paying its workforce,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “TSA officers should begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday, March 30.“

Why this is important?

Since the partial government shutdown began on Feb. 14, TSA workers have not been paid, leading to widespread staffing issues and mounting delays at airports around the country.

Last week, a top TSA executive warned that if the issue was not resolved soon, some airports would be in jeopardy of being temporarily shut down. Delays have continued in many airhubs as of today, a major concern with spring break season around the corner.

More on the executive order

In his announcement Thursday, President Trump called the matter "an emergency situation compromising the Nation’s security."

"Since the shutdown began, nearly 500 transportation security officers have left their positions, and thousands more have begun to call out sick at record rates due to lack of pay," Trump said. "As a result, security wait times at some airports have reached untenable lengths of three or more hours.  These increased wait times, combined with declining morale among TSA staff, unacceptably heighten the risk of security vulnerabilities within our domestic travel system and has negatively impacted countless Americans."

The order does not set a time limit for payments. A more thorough breakdown on all the nuts and bolts can be found here.

Meanwhile, funding for the DHS remains at an impasse, with the House rejecting the most recent bill passed by the Senate.

TSA union official weighs in

Today's executive measure is a start, but a more permanent solution is necessary, said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees’ TSA Council 100.

“I guess the action is good for the president, but on the flip side, we have a lot of people that don’t have anything, and I don’t know if this is gonna fix it,” Jones said, via the Associated Press. “It’s definitely not going to fix it unless they do a long-term funding bill.”

“There’s such a tremendous amount of damage that’s been done to the morale of the workforce, and that’s probably permanent," he added.