|
(Second column, 16th story, link)
Related stories:
TSA to begin closing airports...
CHAOS: 460 unpaid agents quit and call out sick...
White House turns down Musk's offer to pay workers during DHS shutdown...
The Lines, the Prices, the Anxiety: Can Air Travel Get Any Worse?
|
|
(Second column, 13th story, link)
Related stories:
TSA to begin closing airports...
The Lines, the Prices, the Anxiety: Can Air Travel Get Any Worse?
|
|
(Second column, 14th story, link)
Related stories:
TSA to begin closing airports...
CHAOS: 460 unpaid agents quit and call out sick...
The Lines, the Prices, the Anxiety: Can Air Travel Get Any Worse?
'Homeland' watchdog warned of risks in airport shoes-off policy. Report got buried...
Drudge Report Feed needs your support! Become a Patron
|
|
The partial government shutdown over funding for the Department of Homeland Security has caused major staffing shortages within the Transportation Security Administration, an agency under DHS that handles airport security procedures created in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. TSA officers have not been paid for over a month, leading to hundreds of resignations and leaves of absence. As airports are hit with significant delays, Cameron Cochems, the vice president of a union representing thousands of fellow TSA workers, urges travelers to use their time waiting to call their elected representatives "to fund the TSA so we can get our paychecks and we can get back to work."
To fill staffing shortages, DHS has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. airports. This comes as ICE is under fire for a hiring surge with minimal vetting and training for new officers. "It really feels like they're a Band-Aid over a gaping wound. Our officers, they're not getting paid, and having people that come in that are getting paid just feels like an insult," says Cochems, who adds that the ultimate goal of the Republican Party is to eliminate union protections and privatize the TSA.
|
|
