As the partial government shutdown over funding for President Trump’s border ball continued into the new year, some federal employees continued working without pay.
Those included Transportation Security Administration airport screeners across the country.
“I don’t think that’s right; they should get paid, they work hard,” said Heather Piccariello, a traveler at Tampa International Airport on Tuesday.
“It’s not fair. If anybody’s working, they should be paid for it,” added Angie Abdelbaky.
10News talked with a handful of TSA employees, all of whom declined to go on camera because they feared they’d be punished for speaking about the shutdown.
Some of them said they were worried about how they might make their bills this month, others said they felt politicians were playing politics with their lives, and almost all of them said the shutdown was having a negative impact on morale within the agency.
“I really never liked TSA. They always seem like they’re more a bother, but they serve a purpose,” said Dale Smith as he headed to catch his flight home to Washington, D.C. “They’re being forced to work without pay, that’s crazy. And you can only do that for so long: your mortgage is due, your rent’s due, your car payment, so I don’t know what’s going to happen to folks.”
“I feel sorry for them but we’ve got those morons on both sides of the aisle and they’re just going to make life miserable for all of us,” added John Lauriello, another traveler. “I mean, these guys and gals work their fannies off to protect us and for these idiots up there to be playing games with them, it’s just insane.”
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