Media Contact
Adam Allington
The partial government shutdown, now in its 31st day, has forced 50,000 Transportation Security Administration airport security officers to work without pay for the last month, and 10% of them failed to show up for duty on Sunday.
Cathy Creighton
Director of Cornell University ILR Buffalo Co-Lab
Cathy Creighton, director of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations Buffalo Co-Lab and former field attorney for the NLRB, says TSA workers have been put through the wringer in 2025-2026.
Creighton says:
“After suffering under two government shutdowns, including a 43-day shutdown, the longest in US history, without a paycheck, TSA workers have now been without pay for more than a month. Most American workers live paycheck to paycheck or close to it.
“TSA workers earn an average of $51,000 in Buffalo, NY, but newer workers earn less. Thus, it is likely that TSA workers are not meeting their bills such as paying mortgages, rent, credit cards, utilities, food or transportation costs.
“This kind of uncertainty and chaos is bad for workers who often feel insecure about their employment rights. It takes about a year to be hired and trained as a TSA worker. We can expect TSA job shortages to continue and grow as a result of the shabby treatment these workers have endured.”
