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Questions & Help Mar 15, 2026 at 1:10 PM

TSA workers miss a full paycheck, while travelers keep paying airport security fees

Posted by Silver__70

https://www.npr.org/2026/03/13/nx-s1-5745956/tsa-workers-paycheck-airport-dhs-shutdown
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Historical_Success95 Mar 15, 2026 +1689
Who’s stealing the money?
1689
Amateurlapse Mar 16, 2026 +507
Starts with a T ends with a “rump is a pedophile”
507
Lettuce_bee_free_end Mar 16, 2026 +73
Just say "epstein administration".
73
gonewild9676 Mar 15, 2026 +430
They'll get their back pay once the nincompoops in DC start acting like adults.
430
sweet_tea_pdx Mar 15, 2026 +415
Without interest. The federal workers giving the USA an interest free loan.
415
x925 Mar 16, 2026 +99
Congress should have to skip their paychecks as well, no back pay.
99
TheOneWhoBoops Mar 16, 2026 +60
Would just give affluent congressmen even more power. They would force shutdowns on congressmen who rely on their paycheck.
60
IcyBookkeeper5315 Mar 16, 2026 +9
Lmao show me a congress member who lives paycheck to paycheck
9
Graffers Mar 16, 2026 +25
What about a new member that was just elected that comes from a humble background? That certainly does happen, and they wouldn't have money saved up. It doesn't matter if you make 6 figures if the first check never shows up.
25
Relevant-Doctor187 Mar 17, 2026 +2
Many in the house aren’t millionaires.
2
whatever_word Mar 16, 2026 +3
I bet all the politicians and oligarchy is still getting paid
3
Vistaer Mar 16, 2026 +25
Hopefully they can take advantage of the 0% loans many federal-employer / government service oriented credit unions offer members during shutdowns: https://mobile.usaa.com/support/government-shutdown-program/?akredirect=true
25
arthurno1 Mar 16, 2026 +3
The goverment should also stop paying out money to the various government contractors, and than give them money one its opens, without interests. Wonder how long time it would take before Musk & Co start screaming about shutdown.
3
Silver__70 Mar 15, 2026 +303
Sadly bills, meals, gas and daycare bills are due now! It’s been 1 month no full paycheck, how would you survive?
303
AdmirableWrangler199 Mar 15, 2026 +57
I would not remain at any job where this would or could happen 
57
Fomdoo Mar 16, 2026 +9
If only the job market were strong enough to support that many people leaving.
9
AdmirableWrangler199 Mar 16, 2026 +3
Seems like these TSA jobs are the ones not able to support workers 
3
Maple-fence39 Mar 15, 2026 +88
Yes, it is hard to survive without a steady paycheck. Previous poster was simply stating that no one is “stealing” the fees, they are just being kept in the US Treasury, to be paid at a time yet undetermined, when the US govt gets its act together.
88
McCool303 Mar 16, 2026 +13
Oh, well now that you mention it, it doesn’t sound like a big deal. I’m sure the employee’s can just tell their children that when they’re sleeping in their cars this evening. Oh, wait! can’t do that, Republicans made “car camping” illegal in my city. I guess they’ll just have to starve like the GOP intends.
13
TitoepfX Mar 16, 2026 -1
idk why you got downvoted im sorry 🫂 aruf i yea sorry losing consciousness a lil um im just gonns stop typing
-1
PaarthurnaxUchiha Mar 16, 2026 +4
What? You ok?
4
TitoepfX Mar 16, 2026
doing better now ty for concern, was sleep deprived and barely ate and my body was running on adrenaline or something.
0
PaarthurnaxUchiha Mar 16, 2026 +1
Take care of yourself first; ok? You can’t solve the world’s problems without a good breakfast and nights rest. That’s where dreams are born in the first place
1
dglgr2013 Mar 15, 2026 +36
They can’t. Thus why work for no pay when you have to now uber to make up for the loss of income. Even if there is back pay when a deal is made. Most people don’t have enough money in their bank accounts to last a full month without pay. Most don’t even have enough to miss a paycheck. TSA is not very highly paid either. Sure they are integral to the safety of our country. But average is still below average for all employees and starting salary is barely living wage.
36
Oregon-Pilot Mar 16, 2026 +40
> Sure they are integral to the perception of safety of our country. Fixed! Source: airline pilot
40
slowro Mar 15, 2026 +7
Well last time this happened some people made it seem like if you worked for the government it's on you for not budgeting for shutdowns.
7
Thats_my_cornbread Mar 15, 2026 -14
I’d have to dip into my emergency fund. If that ran out I’d have to dip into my savings.
-14
BreesusTakeTheWheel Mar 15, 2026 +46
My emergency fund is my savings account lol.
46
DaveTron4040 Mar 15, 2026 +27
You are better off than a very large percent of Americans sadly. Not everyone has those fallbacks unfortunately
27
Crumb-Free Mar 15, 2026 +27
You have all that savings only making 35-45k a year?  Thats what TSA agents make.  Yeah, I bet you make way more.  
27
blackascot Mar 15, 2026 -14
I’m no expert, but I know a couple of TSA agents through my job. They all make $45-50k at their hourly rate, but it’s the easily accessible overtime they took the job for. They are clearing $85-110k by the end of the year… on a high school diploma. Not too shabby!
-14
cadmiumredlight Mar 15, 2026 +48
60 hours a week is pretty shabby in my opinion.
48
blackascot Mar 15, 2026 -14
It depends on your lifestyle and goals. At its base, you can make great money without advanced education. That’s something that should be offered to everyone who wants to work hard. Further, the benefits are fantastic. A coworker of mine spent his overtime hours studying while in law school. The tuition reimbursement made it possible for him to live while achieving his goal of becoming an attorney. I want the person who went the extra mile in my corner.
-14
cadmiumredlight Mar 15, 2026 +16
I've worked 60+ hour weeks. It sucks. But it's doable in your twenties when you don't have kids or anything else to take care of and your body isn't broken. I did it for a lot more money than that, though. Also, most TSA agents that I see are more like 30+. This is not to mention the arguable meaninglessness of security theater.
16
blackascot Mar 16, 2026 +1
I’m nearly 40 working about 55 hours a week at a higher pay, and it still sucks. I couldn’t agree with you more about the wear and tear the schedule affords. I work in law, and the number of people defeated by the system is higher than I can count. For the mindless tediousness of the job, I just think TSA employees are fairly compensated. I absolutely could not do it, so kudos to them. Their mission and effectiveness is an entire thread we could devolve into, but at least it’s a job that has some real benefits. It’s sad that we have to depend on employers for so many of the things we should inherently be granted, but the TSA does at least provide what you need.
1
Captlard Mar 16, 2026
By having savings? Emergency funds are a thing.
0
Turkino Mar 16, 2026 +14
All they have to do is say "sure we'll put body c*** on ice agents", just like most places do with police now.
14
ricosmith1986 Mar 15, 2026 +32
I heard that’s it’s the fault of the minority party with zero political power.
32
Silver__70 Mar 16, 2026 +7
The wonderful GOP would not pass a separate budget for TSA without adding some additional monies for their projects ( as usual they fatten up bills by adding pork) so when the Dems do no “it’s all their fault”
7
dizzymorningdragon Mar 16, 2026 +3
They skipped adulthood and went straight for geriatric
3
gospdrcr000 Mar 15, 2026 +2
All the adults have left the building
2
huebomont Mar 15, 2026 -56
Those clowns in Washington! Impossible to say who's right and who's wrong, what the issues are, or what should be done, they're all just a bunch of the same clowns! Edit: Good lord you guys are very bad at detecting sarcasm
-56
Low-Astronomer-7009 Mar 15, 2026 +34
Not that impossible. The GOP is wrong. They are destroying the country and stealing as much money as possible to line their own pockets with no concern for the future of the country.
34
1lookwhiplash Mar 15, 2026 +4
Exactly. u/huebomont doesn’t seem to understand that the federal government shouldn’t execute its citizens on the sidewalk.
4
Iustis Mar 15, 2026 +2
You don’t think his comment was sarcastic?
2
Communism Mar 15, 2026 +3
Seen way to.many serious comments like his. Sometimes you need the /s
3
Iustis Mar 15, 2026 -1
I really don't think you have seen too many serious comments like that. Especially considering what it was responding to and how over the top it is, it was obviously sarcastic. /u/1lookwhiplash should have been calling out gonewild's comment.
-1
1lookwhiplash Mar 15, 2026 +1
He edited 100% of his comment after I made my post. He backpedaled after being downvoted. Get over yourself.
1
huebomont Mar 15, 2026
I changed nothing about the content of the post. I just added the part clearly marked as "Edit"
0
[deleted] Mar 15, 2026 +2
[deleted]
2
huebomont Mar 15, 2026 -1
Jesus Christ do I really need to write "/s"?
-1
Bending-32-34-33 Mar 15, 2026 +5
Unfortunately yes
5
Previous-Height4237 Mar 16, 2026 +5
https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/security-fees Unfortunately, the fees do not cover the true cost of TSA. $4.6 billion in fees last year vs $10.3 billion in operational cost.
5
Dismal_Information83 Mar 15, 2026 +23
Trump and his grifting psychopaths. Get ICE out of our neighborhoods!
23
Relevant-Doctor187 Mar 17, 2026
They’re probably using it to pay ICE agents.
0
Epistatious Mar 15, 2026 +845
why do the title of these TSA articles never mention how its ice funding related?
845
SilverAgedSentiel Mar 15, 2026 +499
because the point of the article is guilt trip democrats into giving in
499
no_okaymaybe Mar 15, 2026 +70
…by NPR?
70
SilverAgedSentiel Mar 15, 2026 +78
Is this article laying this at feet of the admin and their absolute insanity of ICE that sparked this? what's it saying is they Dems need to reach a deal. It's the centrist anthem "reach across the aisle" , where each and every problem is solved by giving in to republicans.
78
smexypelican Mar 16, 2026 +26
They've always been this way, "centric" or corporate friendly, whatever you call it. First noticed during 2016 primaries, their reporting and tone was clearly anti-Sanders. I stopped my donations to them after. I don't think they changed since then, even as progressive politics are now becoming more mainstream.
26
SilverAgedSentiel Mar 16, 2026 +10
Mainstream with the voters maybe but not with the elected. during this presidential term we have watched as time and time again the media of all forms describe MAGA as the normal. The graft, the incompetency, the animosity described as "departures of previous precedent" and not outright illegal acts. The tariffs, ICE's abductions and warrantless searches, the Trump cabinet commercializing their positions like Howard Lutnick 'Tariff insurance' company, or Musk DOGE taking possession of medical and social security information and having no record if and where that information was sold to, Or Trump taking a 500 million of Venezuelan oil proceeds and sticking it in an account in another country. All of its just posted with the same energy and language as if it was budget debate.
10
LanguageImpossible32 Mar 17, 2026 +2
They’ve literally captured everything. There aren’t any real mechanisms of accountability left….
2
shadowndacorner Mar 15, 2026 +120
Much as legacy media has all been gobbled up by alt right billionaires, NPR and PBS have both caved to the admin. They're not the orgs they once were.
120
GravityzCatz Mar 15, 2026 +29
uh, in what way has NPR an PBS "caved" to the admin? Trump has been actively stripping funding away from them specifically because they aren't caving (See One Big Beautiful Bill Act).
29
Frederf220 Mar 15, 2026 +7
Nice Polite Republicans
7
Room_Temp_Coffee Mar 15, 2026 +15
You want the article to reflect your opinion which is not what is intended to do. It explains the facts and the impact, if that is not enough for you (the public) to reach the obvious conclusion I don't know what to tell you. People are criticizing NPR for not being *progressive* enough and that's not their role
15
Milli_Rabbit Mar 16, 2026 +7
Nah, NPR generally and even in this article keep things relatively balanced. They adequately explain the stalemate by saying Democrats want adjustments to ICE and Republicans blocked their proposal.
7
SilverAgedSentiel Mar 16, 2026 +6
But never is it even suggested that Republicans can be moved, or that the administration could just pay the TSA from the same funds they've been using to pay ICE.
6
justanothersurly Mar 16, 2026 +21
The article literally says: Democrats have refused to approve DHS's budget unless GOP lawmakers and the White House agree on changes to how immigration officers operate after the fatal shooting of two American citizens in Minneapolis. Senate Democrats introduced bills to fund TSA and other components of DHS instead, but Republicans blocked them.
21
Silver__70 Mar 16, 2026 +13
Because ICE is funded by a “special budget” -they are getting paid now, but TSA is not!!!
13
Zammyyy Mar 16, 2026 +5
It's still in the DHS bill, which is being held up because of concerns over ICE
5
Fit-Let8175 Mar 15, 2026 +244
I've worked for employers who'd rather they didn't get paid than withhold pay from employees. I guess that's because they actually valued them.
244
Thomasasia Mar 15, 2026 +90
Well when it’s not the government it’s a serious liability. In any other industry if you don’t pay your employees, you will get sued to hell and lose every single time.
90
Fit-Let8175 Mar 15, 2026 +30
It does seem that the government does not consider itself to have the same responsibilities and accountability that it expects of its citizens.
30
Frederf220 Mar 15, 2026 +11
Turns out "you and whose army" has different rules with the US Government.
11
Dolsen0 Mar 15, 2026 +133
Mike Johnson is the real welfare queen
133
AdventurousLet548 Mar 16, 2026 +83
The only part of DHS that would not be funded is ICE, everything else the democrats are willing to fund, but the Republicans refuse that vote with an "all or nothing." [https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5779152-democrats-bill-dhs-tsa-fema/](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5779152-democrats-bill-dhs-tsa-fema/)
83
Vegetable_Quote_4807 Mar 17, 2026 +4
All or nothing is what trump is demanding, and his cronies are kissing his ass.
4
doppido Mar 15, 2026 +49
I don't understand why the government can't pay it's employees while it's "shut down". They have the money, these are employees that have been hired by and are working for the government. If any company was run this way it would go out of business.
49
Ice_Solid Mar 16, 2026 +22
Because they don't want to. If a company was to do this they would be fined.
22
Zammyyy Mar 16, 2026 +10
It can. It passed a bill a few decades ago saying it wouldn't though
10
KaiserSoze-is-KPax Mar 15, 2026 +200
And the registered republican TSA agents will see no problem with who they voted for still.
200
Starbreaker99 Mar 15, 2026 +63
I know some….they are blaming democrats and especially Gavin Newsome LMAO!!!!
63
Super_Mario_Luigi Mar 15, 2026 -46
The mental gymnastics never miss a beat, do they?
-46
Kazman07 Mar 16, 2026 +12
For Republicans is a daily thing. Can't take 'em seriously about being a decent person but you can most certainly believe they will make life miserable for everyone else.
12
Positive-Room7421 Mar 15, 2026 +62
I feel for the agents that are struggling to pay bills despite not having an income. And no doubt high turnover and low morale make flying a lot less safe. But, we cannot allow the DHS to run amuck killing citizens and, potentially, disrupting or preventing elections in November. Democrats have to stand firm and reasonable Republicans needs to find a solution.
62
Hot_Top_124 Mar 16, 2026 +60
The dems have put up clean bills to pay the tsa. It’s the republicans who keep refusing it.
60
Riptide360 Mar 15, 2026 +62
Airlines should step up and pool money to pay TSA until Congress can get their act together.
62
Kahzgul Mar 15, 2026 +32
And risk the wrath of Orange Hitler? They would never.
32
Riptide360 Mar 15, 2026 +9
Orange Hitler hasn't flown commercial since he crashed Trump Air. Has no clue what regular folks go thru. https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/26016-trump-shuttle-failure-history
9
Kahzgul Mar 15, 2026 +10
Doesn’t matter. He’d gleefully crush an airline that crossed him. Get the FAA to ground their planes while he shit talks them on Nazi Bluesky.
10
Time-Industry-1364 Mar 15, 2026 +40
I have to fly next week.. haven’t been to an airport in a hot minute, well before the government shutdown c***. I’m curious how this all is going to play out. I was told to get there several hours early.. the airport I’m going to is not a major hub.. but still.. ugh. I feel for these people. Basically being forced to work without a paycheck is horrendous. This is the cruelest administration in American history. I’m
40
xiaz_ragirei Mar 15, 2026 +33
Your airports website may or may not have the current TSA times. LaGuardia seems to be backed up in the morning but flow quickly in the afternoons
33
CallerNumber4 Mar 16, 2026 +5
The process of updating those wait time metrics often fails on agents. I've heard reports of those being inaccurate right now out of some airports. Makes sense. Under a personnel crunch those sort of auxiliary tasks are first to fall by the wayside.
5
Time-Industry-1364 Mar 16, 2026 +1
Oh nice. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll keep an eye on it - hopefully they list it!
1
Lady_Litreeo Mar 15, 2026 +6
I flew to visit my partner in Canada during the last shutdown. It was scary, and airlines initially said they wouldn’t issue refunds if the flights were cancelled. Luckily it all worked out without too many delays, but it’s such a hard call buying tickets a month or two in advance. You never know what kind of nonsense is going to kick off anymore. Going again in April and things look dodgy again. It’s gotten so stressful between the political instability affecting airports and the feeling of embarrassment just being an American in another country.
6
DeathSpiral321 Mar 15, 2026 +2
You could try signing up for TSA pre-check, which typically goes much faster than the regular TSA lines. I recently had my in-person appointment for pre-check registration and got approved within hours.
2
xiaz_ragirei Mar 15, 2026 +2
SkyPriority for Delta was shorter wait than TSA precheck today when I got to LGA. It’s just a surprise bag atm
2
ye_olde_green_eyes Mar 17, 2026 +1
It's airport to airport. PDX was for my girlfriend the other day, ORD was a f****** nightmare.
1
Wildcatb Mar 15, 2026 -22
Nobody is forcing them. They grope you for the love of the game.
-22
Time-Industry-1364 Mar 15, 2026 +6
Come on man, what type of shit is that? Put yourself in their shoes for a second….
6
Jman460 Mar 16, 2026 +7
Seriously what is it going to take for people to flip on him and that party. He’s literally stealing money out of people’s hands, and people are broke working for free.
7
schaudhery Mar 16, 2026 +4
I get the area specific scientists who didn’t leave the government when DOGE stepped in because there wasn’t a private sector job that matched to their skill set but why the f*** are these TSA security guards still sticking around?
4
Silver__70 Mar 16, 2026 +10
Afraid to lose retirement benefits that they worked hard for, don’t want to be blackballed from future federal jobs. Some still have Faith America will do the right thing. Currently they are pawns in this political game.
10
Top_Oil_9473 Mar 17, 2026 +5
Why do the elected members of the House and Senate get paid but the folks at TSA don’t get paid? They are not even doing their assigned job of passing a budget, yet they don’t miss a paycheck. TSA employees who are performing their duties don’t get paid. Perhaps it is time to vote out all incumbents, impose strict term limits, and set the pay rate for all Senators and House Members AT THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE.
5
Silver__70 Mar 17, 2026 +2
Totally 💯 AGREE ‼️‼️‼️
2
Kahzgul Mar 15, 2026 +32
Stop supporting republicans.
32
longhairPapaBear Mar 15, 2026 +14
Dear leader will start a war, but no presidential order to pay tsa. Hmmm...
14
TidePodKaleb Mar 16, 2026 +6
The Executive Branch isn’t in charge of appropriations, but arguably, isn’t in charge of declaring war either, sooo 🤷‍♂️
6
pdx808 Mar 16, 2026 +7
So, we are in a war, and homeland security is defunded. I cannot stand, the dysfunction and chaos.
7
Far-Ad1450 Mar 17, 2026 +4
DHS has the money to pay TSA. They are choosing not to. Republicans had the opportunity to vote for a bill that would fund TSA and FEMA, while excluding ICE, and chose not to. It's hard to feel bad for people who chose to continue to work for a corrupt organization within an even more corrupt administration, but I do understand that the abysmal job market may not leave them much choice.
4
DigitalArbitrage Mar 15, 2026 +9
Congress should split up Dept. of Homeland Security so ICE is funded separately from other agencies.
9
wyvernx02 Mar 15, 2026 +31
Congress should just get rid of ICE.
31
Gantzen Mar 16, 2026 +7
Never liked DHS to begin with, but the way it is entangled with other agencies it would need to be restructured top to bottom.
7
DigitalArbitrage Mar 16, 2026 +4
DHS was formed after the 9/11 attacks with the intent that the FBI, CIA, NSA etc. would share info to prevent terror attacks. None of those actually in DHS now though. Also there is a case to be made that Donald Trump used DHS to commit "terrorism". (The original meaning of "terrorism" was violence against political opponents.)
4
Gantzen Mar 17, 2026 +1
I remain more concerned with the original issue of Gorge W Bush eroding personal privacy in the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
1
the_eluder Mar 16, 2026 +4
It should just be abolished.
4
ParchaLama Mar 15, 2026 +8
I'm outside the US and was somehow oblivious to the fact that the government was shut down until reading this.
8
Positive-Room7421 Mar 15, 2026 +18
It's a partial and limited shut down. 
18
Silver__70 Mar 15, 2026 +37
Meanwhile the culprit 😖that caused all of this hatred toward DHS , which was ICE; those guys are getting paid through a special budget‼️
37
Kahzgul Mar 15, 2026 +38
DHS could easily pay the TSA agents. Instead they’re choosing not to, specifically to inflict pain on the population so they can blame democrats for republicans’ insistence that ice be fully funded, and inability to actually govern.
38
[deleted] Mar 15, 2026 +51
[deleted]
51
kananishino Mar 15, 2026 +16
Wait how is this an example of us fascism?
16
TheDrMonocle Mar 15, 2026 +11
It's literally not seeing as not approving the bill is a built in feature of our democracy and has been used by both parties. Fascism would be if the Republicans somehow passed a budget without democrat agreement.
11
paladindan Mar 15, 2026 -14
It’s just how people say they don’t like something. If you’re a republican, it’s woke. If you’re a democrat, it’s fascism.
-14
Super_Mario_Luigi Mar 15, 2026 -29
When Democrats hold everyone hostage to maintain their illegal support
-29
runningraider13 Mar 15, 2026 +16
The minority party not in the white house voting against a bill is fascism? You know what fascism means?
16
BloatedBanana9 Mar 15, 2026 +12
Democrats offered to fund TSA. The only people holding this funding back are Republicans
12
lmaoilovepie Mar 15, 2026 +2
Please let me know how they’re able to do this without control over any of the 3 branches. Might help them if they grow a spine in the future.
2
karmagirl314 Mar 15, 2026 -18
What real-world actions do you recommend to fight fascism? And have you done those actions yourself?
-18
BroForceOne Mar 15, 2026 +18
Voting better would certainly be a start and stop being like the guy in a previous thread on this post saying how both sides are bad and it’s impossible to vote for any better candidate.
18
[deleted] Mar 15, 2026
[deleted]
0
non_hero Mar 15, 2026 +8
You not read so good..
8
no_one_likes_u Mar 15, 2026 +3
lol you’re right, idk how I read that the exact opposite of what they were saying
3
smitty046 Mar 15, 2026 +4
42% of eligible Americans did NOT vote in the past election. So probably vote is a start.
4
waylandsmith Mar 15, 2026 -4
The left, sadly, is too busy entrenching themselves into their special interest enclaves and have set themselves impossible ideological purity tests to vote for a candidate that can also attract the essential centrist voters. So they don't get their favored candidate past the primaries and spend the election cycle yelling at the establishment on "both sides" and either stay home or spoil their ballot on an independent while psychos like Trump laugh their way into leadership.
-4
ca_nucklehead Mar 15, 2026 -2
Average voter participation has averaged 64% since 2020. Are you naive enough to think those 42% would have voted Democrat and saved you. You do understand the largest block of non voters are undecuted rural citizens from undisputed red states. If they had voted the only thing that would have changed is your Fuhrer would have received a larger percentage of the popular vote. I guess it has nothing to do with the corrupt political system bought by oligarchs.
-2
Arkady1013 Mar 15, 2026 +2
That’s not true a lot of progressive young people don’t vote
2
ca_nucklehead Mar 16, 2026 +1
Not true? Keep spewing bullshit to explain why you voted a pedophile in twice. (Almost three times) The pew research centre says otherwise. "Moreover, eligible voters in 2024 who did not cast a ballot were fairly closely divided in their preferences: 44% said if they had voted, it would have been for Trump, while 40% said they would have voted for Harris. This stands in contrast to 2020, when eligible voters who didn’t vote expressed a clear preference for Biden (46% said they would have voted for Biden, 35% said they would have voted for Trump)." Just like the clown above stating if more people had showed up to vote the other team would have won. The 2020 and 2024 presidential contests were among the highest-turnout elections in the past century. The 66% turnout rate in 2020 was the highest since 1908, and 2024’s rate of 64% was the second highest, tied with 1960. The last two midterm elections also featured unusually high turnout levels, with rates not seen since the 1960s.
1
Milli_Rabbit Mar 16, 2026 +6
Its easy. They want to dismantle the TSA and this is the way they decided to do it instead of being direct.
6
Silver__70 Mar 16, 2026 +5
Yes, and give the contract to one of their cronies - who will give them information on when they are going to take the new security company public(ipo) and they will all make a ton of money 💰
5
firefighter26s Mar 16, 2026 +3
Essential service designation or legislation can be damned. No Pay = No work. Shut it all down IMO.
3
cpav8r Mar 16, 2026 +5
All the money in the world for bombs, but f*** the working class.
5
mythandros0 Mar 16, 2026 +7
I feel for the workers being robbed of pay but I really don’t like the tsa or ice.
7
BiscottiEastern220 Mar 16, 2026 +2
Why don't they all go on strike? Would that even legal for them to do?
2
raerlynn Mar 16, 2026 +8
Federal employees are legally barred from formally going on strike. Hence what you'll see is slowdowns and an elevated rate of calling out sick.
8
BiscottiEastern220 Mar 16, 2026 +1
Ah, thanks, that's what I figured. That's really too bad. Situations like this are why we have striking.
1
KingMRano Mar 16, 2026 +2
why don't they strike? if you are not being paid then don't do the job.
2
Green-Bumblebee-5554 Mar 16, 2026 +2
But I was assured Trump would be great for business? Isn’t he a great deal maker and famous for always paying his employees/creditors/contractors on time?
2
beakly Mar 16, 2026 +1
So Trump is stealing airport security fees now?
1
malone66 Mar 15, 2026 +1
just more evidence of open corruption in 2026 america
1
Salamok Mar 16, 2026 +1
I don't think workers have ever not gotten back pay for a government shutdown even if they did not work during it. Certainly doesn't help them during the shutdown though.
1
GGTerraB Mar 15, 2026 -9
Should've defunded the TSA years ago. Waste of taxpayer dollars from the very start.
-9
SkyDaddyCowPatty Mar 15, 2026 +16
That opinion has nothing to do with the fact that people are working and not getting paid. You're missing the problem the point of this post.
16
OutlawJuicyWhales Mar 16, 2026 +2
It's actually very much to do with this post. The TSA, since its inception in the early 2000s, has effectively been a jobs program for unskilled workers, and the job they are paid to do is to interfere with travel via ineffective security theater and routinely violate people's civil rights in doing so. That they are not getting paid  frankly should be a non-issue, because these jobs should not exist to begin with, but it's become economic relief for an underclass that won't seek more valuable employment outside of the government. This is basically saying, "The Dems won't fund ICE to violate our citizens, and now the TSA agents who violate our citizens aren't getting paid! When will it end?" Bro, no one f****** cares. The TSA sucks too, but they just happen to suck more than a little less than ICE does.
2
Foe117 Mar 15, 2026 -10
maybe they should get smart and work elsewhere. it doesn't pay to work megar wages and not have enough backup money when shit hits the fan. and thanks to this administration, it's going to be very difficult to find a job.
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