The letter has surfaced just as passengers are reporting growing lines at airports and as Transportation Security Administration officers are reportedly calling in sick to work at paying jobs. The shutdown is also affecting staffing levels in air traffic control towers, according to Forbes. “When any of their responsibilities are placed on pause due to a shutdown there are safety, security and efficiency gaps that immediately emerge,” DePete wrote. That has driven some TSA workers to use sick time to work elsewhere to pay the bills, according to the union. TSA officials have conceded that the number of TSA workers on the job was down, but said Friday that the reduction hadn’t yet affected passenger checkpoint wait times.

Source: Huffington Post January 08, 2019 02:37 UTC