TSA officers at Harry Reid International Airport kept security checkpoints moving on Sunday, even as many screeners missed a full paycheck during the partial federal government shutdown. Union leaders and airport officials acknowledge that absences are rising, but over the busy travel weekend many passengers still reported relatively short waits.
Community and airport step up
Local businesses and airport leaders have started filling the gaps that paychecks are supposed to cover. MGM Resorts delivered hundreds of meals to TSA staff, according to Fox5 Vegas, and the airport has reopened a Food & Essentials Pantry to support unpaid federal partners, per a news release from Harry Reid International Airport. The donations echo a similar community response during earlier shutdowns, which Hoodline previously reported in its coverage of a similar community response during earlier shutdowns.
Union: callouts and strain
Representatives with AFGE Local 1260 told 8 News Now (KLAS) that at least 90 TSA employees called out this Sunday and roughly 100 had called out the previous week. “Bills haven't stopped. Your rent is still due. Car notes are still due. Insurance is still due,” union representative Keith White told the station, adding that he is working with legislators to ask landlords for grace if the shutdown drags on.
Union leaders say the missed paychecks officers are expected to have lost a full paycheck this month are already squeezing screening shifts and could make staffing harder to maintain. Morale, they suggest, is under obvious strain even as officers keep showing up.
National pressure builds
Airline executives and industry groups have been leaning on Congress to restore funding for the Department of Homeland Security so airport workers can get paid again, according to the AP. Lawmakers moved a short-term funding measure through the Senate earlier this month, leaving senators to negotiate what comes next, per PBS NewsHour.
What travelers should know
For now, Clark County officials say LAS checkpoints are operating and the airport has posted resources to help its federal partners. Airport leaders caution that the situation could change if absences keep climbing.
Elsewhere, long lines have already shown up at other major hubs, with waits reportedly stretching to three hours in some places as screening staff took unscheduled time off during the shutdown, according to Reuters. Travelers passing through Las Vegas are being urged to check real-time wait information and build extra time into their itineraries, especially over spring break.
Union leaders in Las Vegas say officers remain committed to public safety but warn that staffing could become harder to sustain “if the shutdown continues for another two weeks,” a local representative told 8 News Now (KLAS). What Congress does next will determine when those back pay checks arrive and whether the short lines at Harry Reid hold through the rest of the season.
