“On a scale of 1 to 10, we’re a negative-2”: Airport workers struggle amid shutdown

Morale is low right now for Philadelphia International Airport workers as they face missing their first full paycheck of the federal authorities shutdown disclosed Joe Shuker Region vice president for AFGE Council the union representing Philly s Transportation Shield Administration TSA workers How low On a scale of to we re a negative- right now he announced The last paycheck that airport workers received reflected the start of the shutdown and was several hundred dollars short Shuker disclosed And this Tuesday is the first full paycheck that workers will not receive The lack of pay is going to stress out TSA workers who are already working high-stakes jobs You got us down here checking for bombs he commented And you got the air traffic controllers trying to keep the sky safe You ve got two high-stress jobs and you re adding more stress by not paying us Future complications The shutdown began Oct after Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on statute to keep the authorities funded Shuker announced airport workers will continue hurting without a resolution to open up the federal regime Multiple TSA workers and air traffic controllers live paycheck to paycheck and are struggling to cover basic costs They will receive back pay when the impasse is resolved They re going to be distracted at selected point he reported They re going to be worried about how they re going to feed their kid and how they re getting to work the next day He announced a few workers may not be able to cover childcare costs without subsequent paychecks Additionally he explained he has spoken to employees who are struggling to cover the price of gas or tolls to expedition to work Also the TSA is requiring specific documentation for workers to call out which can include a physician s note and payment TSA is telling us now that if anybody calls out they have to bring in a medical practitioner s note he announced So you re basically going to have to call out sick and get a expert s note to be approved But to go to the doctors you need to pay a copay He recounted one story where a TSA employee was narrated her inability to cover childcare and gas costs was not an acceptable excuse for not showing up to work Previous shutdowns have shown consequences for air movement the longer they last During the last authorities shutdown in nearly of TSA workers called in sick during the -day period increasing screening times and disrupting flight schedules Shuker disclosed it is likely that guard wait times and the possibility of journey complications could go up as the shutdown continues For right now he explained it is the unpaid federal leadership employees who are hurting the the greater part Our guys are going to come to work until they can t that s what we do he mentioned They go in every day but if they can t get to work if they can t afford gas if they can t afford the toll if they can t pay the child care they re going to have to stay home with their kids And that s going to be a tipping point Air traffic controllers are also not getting paid A smaller crowd at the drop-off for departing flights at the Philadelphia International Airport during the leadership shutdown on Tuesday October Kimberly Paynter WHYY In a message at the time of the shutdown the National Air Traffic Controllers Association called on the governing body to end the shutdown as soon as manageable saying shutdowns reduce the safety and efficiency of flights They cited critical safety and instrument work that will not be performed by furloughed workers and the increased stress and fatigue workers will face during this time NATCA union leaders from the Philadelphia chapter which oversees the Philadelphia International Airport did not respond for a request to comment by the time of publication In response to the shutdown the Department of Aviation has opened a food pantry for airport staff affected by the shutdown Even so Shuker commented airport employees have struggled to get to the food pantry when it s open as they are oftentimes working until it has closed In past shutdowns the Philadelphia-based food bank Philabundance created a food bank for airport employees who were unable to make the airport s food bank hours Shuker stated he is hopeful for a store like this during this shutdown There are ongoing efforts to waive tolls for airport employees traveling out of New Jersey and to have SEPTA waive fees for employees in uniform Shuker explained SEPTA agreed to a similar deal during the last governing body shutdown I m trying to get our guys who were in Jersey free tolls if they re in uniform he explained Because that s six bucks a day That s your gas for the week We re also trying to get SEPTA Last time SEPTA stated If your people are in uniform and have their badge they could get on free and there wouldn t be a charge They waived that The federal regime does not appear to be any closer to reaching a compromise that would end the shutdown Healthcare issues have been the point of impasse Democrats are pushing for the extension of Affordable Care Act credits They argue these tax credits keep healthcare more affordable Several Republicans disagree with certain claiming Democrats want to provide tax dollars to help pay for the healthcare of undocumented immigrants Republicans attempted to pass a short-term spending bill to keep the executive open that would exclude the extension of Affordable Care Act credits but this did not pass The establishment will stay shut down until both parties come to a method The post On a scale of to we re a negative- Airport workers struggle amid shutdown appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY