“Forgotten and unpaid”: TSA officers struggle through shutdown as community steps up
By Brian Unger
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ATLANTA (WUPA) — A simple car wash might not sound like much — but for Transportation Security Administration officers who haven’t seen a paycheck in two weeks, it’s one small act of care in a time of crisis.
TSA officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport lined up this week for free car washes and gas cards, thanks to a partnership between Caliber Car Wash and Caleb Harmon-Marshall, founder of the travel newsletter Gate Access and a former TSA officer himself.
“They’re feeling unseen. They’re feeling unheard. They’re feeling forgotten because they’re going through this,” Harmon-Marshall said.
For officers like James Drake, the gesture was more than a clean car — it was a reminder that their work still matters.
“Makes me feel better that my car looks good,” Drake said with a smile. “We’re all trying to stick together. We’re a family. We help each other out.”
With the government shutdown dragging on, many TSA officers say they’re relying on donated meals at work, food banks, and dwindling savings to stay afloat.
Philip Simmons, who’s been with TSA for 23 years, says this is his second government shutdown — but his first without pay.
“It’s not a good feeling,” Simmons said. “Sometimes you wonder, okay, if you’re going to impact somebody, why are they impacting us?”
For others, like Allan Lewis, the uncertainty is becoming unbearable.
“Not having a paycheck might put me in a position where I’m really searching now to see what we’re going to do,” Lewis said.
Beyond the financial strain, officers describe deep emotional exhaustion — tears shed in break rooms, private moments of hopelessness between security lines and baggage checks.
“I’ve broken down at work before,” Simmons admitted. “I step to the side. I cry. And then I remember — what is that going to solve? Push right back and get back to work.”
Harmon-Marshall warns that the stakes reach far beyond employee morale. As more officers call out sick and morale sinks, he says air travel itself could be in jeopardy.
“When we are having these individuals work these high-stress jobs now under financial stress, we are putting aviation as a whole in danger,” he said.
For TSA officers, the shutdown feels deeply personal, a political fight with real human costs.
“At the end of the day, it’s like you’re working and I’m working,” Simmons said. “But you’re getting paid, and I’m not. What did I do to be on the other side of not getting paid?”
As the shutdown drags on, one thing is clear: the people protecting America’s skies are struggling to stay grounded themselves.
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