By Doyinsola Oladipo and David Shepardson
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Airport security screeners working without pay during the U.S. government shutdown are in a stronger financial position than they were during the last prolonged closure in 2019, thanks to improvements in pay and benefits.
Airport delays have begun to worsen as they did during Donald Trump's first presidential term, but higher pay and better working conditions could keep Transportation Security Administration workers in their jobs
longer during the current shutdown. Even though TSA workers have not been paid for a month, there is less of a threat that lengthy travel delays will pressure lawmakers to end the shutdown this time around.
In 2021, former President Joe Biden's administration expanded workplace rights, pay, and other benefits for TSA workers to mirror those of other federal employees. In 2023, their pay was boosted as much as 31%.
Pay for the average TSA screener shot up to $61,840 in 2024 from $42,310 in 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During that shutdown, some screeners opted for comparable wages in the fast-food, construction and other industries.
"A lot of people just said the hell with it and quit and went and got other jobs. People are more invested in the job now because of the pay,” said Neal Gosman, treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 899 in Minnesota.
DELAYS START TO INCREASE
On Day 31 of the 2019 shutdown, 10% of TSA workers called in sick - triple the normal absence rate. While there is no similar data this time around, security wait times are rising, causing issues at various airports.
On Sunday, travelers waited in line close to an hour on average at New York's LaGuardia and JFK airports as well as in San Diego. Houston's airport has reported more than three-hour lines at times with people stretching outside onto the sidewalk.
Previously, TSA officers were excluded from civil service protections, with lower wages and limited workplace rights.
“We were sort of second-class employees,” Gosman said, adding poor compensation increased turnover rates in the past.
"While I'm casually looking at going back to the private sector, my salary and a tough job market makes it hard to leave," Tyler Ditmar, an officer based in Ohio, told Reuters.
In 2023, then-TSA administrator David Pekoske said the pay raise played a major role in retention and recruitment at the agency, with a 30% increase in the applications for all positions at TSA.
The agency has seen notable improvements in workforce stability. TSA's overall attrition rate fell from 15.7% in 2022 to 11.5% in 2023, and currently stands at 7.8% for 2024.
A 30-year-old officer based at New York's LaGuardia Airport told Reuters in October that she saw her annual salary jump in 2023 from $50,000 to about $60,000 before locality-based pay. She said she hasn't noticed an uptick in officers quitting their jobs since the shutdown began.
"Not from my airport, there are not a lot. From what I know," she said.
The TSA did not respond to a request for comment.
"I am reporting to work every day knowing I’ll eventually get paid. Where I work, everyone to this point is also reporting to work for now and I don’t hear any talk of that changing," said a Florida-based officer named Frank, who declined to provide his last name.
Recruitment has surged. As of July 1, TSA received 328,590 applications for fiscal year 2024 ending that September, surpassing its typical average of under 300,000. Hiring events have drawn record interest for officer roles, federal air marshals, and other positions.
“We have a long history at TSA of not trusting the administration to look out for our best interests. The last couple of years is an exception,” Gosman said, noting that the raises and other improvements under Biden "boosted our morale."
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York and David Shepardson in Washington; editing by Chris Sanders and David Gregorio)
