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Mike Gayzagian is the president of the TSA Officers Union AFGE Local 2617 representing all TSA officers in New England. He is an 18-year veteran officer of TSA.
Every time the federal government shuts down, the same dangerous experiment begins again: the United States asks thousands of Transportation Security Officers to protect the nation’s airports without knowing when they will be paid.
At major airports across the country the public still sees security lines moving and flights departing. From the outside, the system appears to function normally.
But behind the scenes, the people responsible for protecting the aviation system are placed in an impossible position.
Transportation Security Officers are considered essential personnel. That means they must report to work even when the government stops paying them. Mortgage payments don’t stop. Rent doesn’t stop. Childcare doesn’t stop. Yet during a shutdown, the paycheck that supports those obligations disappears.
And still, these officers show up.
This fact alone should say something important about the men and women who staff airport checkpoints across the country. They are not political actors. They are public servants who understand that aviation security is not optional.
But dedication should not be mistaken for infinite resilience.
Airport security depends on a stable and professional workforce. When officers are forced to work without pay, the system begins to strain in ways that may not be immediately visible to travelers but are very real for the people doing the job.
Financial stress grows quickly. Families begin making difficult decisions about groceries, transportation, and childcare. Some officers begin searching for other jobs. Others simply question how long they can continue under those conditions.
History has shown us that shutdowns create staffing challenges across the federal workforce. In aviation security, even small staffing disruptions can ripple through the system. Longer wait times, checkpoint slowdowns, and operational strain become more likely.
None of this makes the country safer.
Some policymakers have argued that the public is being presented with only “false choices” during shutdown debates. But when it comes to aviation security, there are no false choices.
The country cannot both require security officers to protect the aviation system and simultaneously decide that paying them on time is optional.
That is not a political position. It is a basic operational reality.
The United States built its aviation security system after the attacks of Sep. 11, 2001 with the understanding that protecting air travel is a national priority. That responsibility falls directly on the shoulders of the officers standing at the checkpoint.
They screen millions of airline passengers every day. They identify prohibited items. They respond to security incidents. They make judgment calls that require focus, training, and professionalism.
Those responsibilities do not pause during a shutdown.
Expecting the workforce responsible for this mission to operate indefinitely without pay sends the wrong message about how seriously we take aviation security.
This should not be a partisan issue. Regardless of which party controls Congress or the White House, the principle should be simple: if the government requires employees to work, it should pay them.
Congress has options to prevent this recurring problem. Lawmakers could establish automatic continuing funding for critical national security functions during budget impasses. They could ensure that essential federal employees continue to receive pay during shutdowns.
Such measures would not resolve every political dispute in Washington. But they would ensure that frontline security personnel are not used as leverage in those disputes.
The American public expects the nation’s airports to remain secure. They expect that when they arrive at a checkpoint, trained professionals will be there to protect them and the aviation system.
Transportation Security Officers fulfill that responsibility every day, even under the most difficult circumstances.
At some point, the country must decide whether aviation security is truly a priority.
If it is, then the people responsible for carrying out that mission should never again be asked to secure America’s airports without a paycheck.