TSA workers calling in sick,
Working without pay, TSA screeners are calling off sick
Transportation Security Administration workers who screen passengers and baggage at U.S. airports have been calling off sick in increased numbers around the country during the partial government shutdown, raising the possibility that passengers could soon face unusually long security lines.
So far the absences have had “minimal impact” on TSA operations nationwide, according to TSA spokesman Michael Bilello.
At Pittsburgh International Airport, security is operating normally, Allegheny County Airport Authority spokesman Bob Kerlik said.
“We aren’t noticing any impact in our security wait times or lines,” Mr. Kerlik said Saturday morning. “Right now, it’s business as usual.”
He said he did not have any information on the number of TSA employees in Pittsburgh who may have called in sick.
A spokeswoman for the TSA in the Pittsburgh region couldn’t be reached.
Across the country, “Screening wait times remain well within TSA standards,” Mr. Bilello said in a tweet Friday evening, noting that wait times could be affected if call outs increase. TSA agents are required to work even though they aren’t getting paid.
TSA workers reportedly have been calling off in unusually high numbers at Kennedy International Airport in New York and a few other major airports.
More than 150 TSA employees, many of them responsible for screening passengers, called in on Friday morning at Kennedy International Airport in New York to say they were ill or otherwise unable to work their shifts, according to a union official with knowledge of the situation, The New York Times reported.
The staffing gap was covered by other officers, who also are working without pay, the person said.
The so-called call-outs have spiked to three times their normal level at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where an average of 25 employees usually call in sick per shift, a local official of the agency told CNN, which first reported on the story.
A federal official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not allowed
to comment publicly on the matter, said the call-outs seemed to be a coordinated protest. But union officials said that many of the workers who called in sick were most likely seeking alternative temporary employment to make up for the lost wages, according to the Times.
Those numbers could spike as workers are set to start missing their first paychecks this week.
CNN quoted an unidentified TSA union official as saying sick calls are expected to “explode” over the next week or two as workers call off to work other jobs.
About a quarter of the government, including the TSA, has been without funding since the shutdown began Dec. 22.
“TSA is grateful to the agents who show up to work, remain focused on the mission and respectful to the traveling public as they continue the important work necessary to secure the nation’s transportation systems,” Mr. Bilello tweeted.
Mr. Kerlik said Pittsburgh passengers can check the airport authority’s website for an estimate of security wait times at www.flypittsburgh.com.
As always, he said, travelers should check with their airline concerning flight delays before going to the airport.