RDU TSA workers receive partial backpay as spring travel ramps up
MORRISVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- TSA workers across the country began receiving long-delayed backpay Monday, just as the spring travel rush gets underway. Local RDU TSA union leaders say many officers did not receive the full amounts they're owed, and the national TSA workers union said more than 500 workers have quit nationwide since the paychecks stopped.
"It's a big sacrifice. Especially when you have a family to support," said Raleigh-Durham International Airport traveler Amos Kai, who just returned from Africa.
Meanwhile, other airport travelers said they sympathize with officers who continued working without pay.
"I tell the TSA guys, 'Thank you for being here,'" said one man traveling to San Francisco with his wife. "If I was one of them, I probably would have walked off like a lot of them do. The whole thing is rotten. It shouldn't be like that, and I think our Congress people on both sides have to get together and fix it."
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One TSA worker told ABC's Elizabeth Schulze that their paychecks were incomplete. Officer Angela Grana said the partial payments won't repair the financial strain of the past several weeks.
"It doesn't help us recover from the late fees and the emotional toll," said Grana. "There's no way to know when the next paycheck is going to come. It's a wait-and-see game."
TSA workers at RDU could be seen carrying donation boxes filled with food and supplies as workers tried to bridge the gap.
"It's good to get paid. But to get that retro (active) pay to them real quick so they can get their lives together. Because I can only imagine not working for a paycheck. It's not good for them," said another traveler.
A local union representative said employees received full pay for two recent pay periods, partial pay for another, and nothing yet for a fourth.
The union is urging Congress, which is on spring recess until mid-April, to return to Washington and approve full funding for TSA.
"Why is this happening on our backs?" Grana asked. "Take your paycheck away from your own self and see how you do without it for three weeks or four weeks or five weeks like we have. I can't believe they're choosing sides when this is a red, white and blue thing, not a red or blue thing."
The lines at RDU have been moving smoothly, but people flying in from other larger hubs have seen lines stretching several hours.
Andres Wasson said he was lucky. Everything was smooth coming from Miami for a work conference in Raleigh.
"I actually was not aware. I didn't know. Now that I know, um, why do they still keep showing up?" Wasson said.
That's been the question on everyone's minds. And also, the reason many have been sympathizing with TSA agents for going weeks without pay.
"There's a lot of pressure. The economy is not in. It's at its best," Wasson said. "And I, I'm sure that, you know, people depend on this job, and there's nothing else out there, and they have to continue to show up. Hopefully, this gets solved. It's no fun for people to work and have, you know, a family to feed at home with no money, no food."
Lisa Thomas, of Sanford, got back to RDU from vacation. She said she was glad to see TSA workers getting some of their paychecks.
"Now, those workers should have been paid all along," Thomas said. "They never should have worked without any pay. And I'm glad they're getting paid now."
But until Congress ends the partial government shutdown, it's only a temporary fix.
