Pay TSA before taking Easter recess, union president tells lawmakers

The president of a labor union representing Transportation Security Administration employees is lashing out at lawmakers, telling them not to leave Washington, DC, for Easter recess before passing a deal to pay its agents amid the ongoing partial government shutdown.

"Don't even think about going home for Easter recess while tens of thousands of American families are going without paychecks,” Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said at a virtual news conference on March 24.

He added, “Do not get on a plane that a TSA officer screened for free and fly home for Easter dinner and tell these people that you’re working on it."

Kelley's remarks come as Congressional members continue to face scrutiny over hours-long security wait times at airports, and as they prepare to return to their districts for Easter and Passover recess, typically a two-week break.

What caused the partial shutdown?

On Feb. 12, Congress failed to advance a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, starting the ongoing shutdown. Democratic lawmakers are seeking reforms to the agency after the fatal shootings of nurse Alex Pretti, 37, and writer Renee Good, 37, by ICE officers in Minneapolis in January.

Since the shutdown began Feb. 14, TSA employees have missed one paycheck and are set to miss another on March 27, resulting in more than 400 TSA officers resigning and thousands calling out from work because they can't afford basic expenses like gas, childcare, food or rent, DHS said in an emailed statement.

To mitigate the situation, President Donald Trump ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents into airports on March 23 to assist with security as the TSA staffing shortage continues.

Kelley had previously criticized that approach as ineffective. 

“This is what happens when the system is strained, and staffing is stretched too thin,” Kelley said. “But instead of solving the problem of paying TSOs (Transportation Security Officers), the administration sent ICE agents to airports as replacement workers.”

He continued, “That’s like giving a person dying of pneumonia a teaspoon of cough syrup. It doesn’t address the problem, and it’s not going to work.”

When will the partial shutdown end?

On March 24, lawmakers said there was a renewed push to end the shutdown, which has gone on for nearly six weeks, before their recess starts March 30.

Kelley said he'd welcome a deal if one is actually in the works.

"We're hearing that there may be a deal to fund most of DHS and get their workers paid," he said. "Let me be clear about where AFGE stands: If there's a real deal on the table with real, legitimate text, legislative text, then let's get paychecks into the members' hands."

Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter at USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected]