El Paso TSA agents keep working without pay as delays hit other airports

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)-- While travelers at major airports like New York’s LaGuardia face long security lines, TSA agents in El Paso are continuing to report to work without pay, helping avoid similar disruptions.

“I mean, even during the holidays, it’s not like that,” said Karen Gershowitz, describing the unusually long lines she encountered at LaGuardia Airport earlier in the day.

“The lines for TSA were wrapped all around the terminal,” she said. “I managed to get through fairly quickly because I had pre-check and I was in a wheelchair. And even with that, it took a while.”

The delays come as Transportation Security Administration agents nationwide work through staffing shortages during a prolonged funding stalemate in Congress over the Department of Homeland Security. As the impasse stretches on, many TSA employees have gone without pay.

Gabriel Ochoa, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1050, which represents TSA workers in New Mexico and El Paso, said the situation has taken a toll.

“Their morale is low and they feel like political pawns,” Ochoa said. “They’re being held hostage and not receiving paychecks because of something that has nothing to do with them.”

Despite the challenges, Ochoa said agents in El Paso continue to show up — a key reason travelers there are not seeing the same long lines reported elsewhere.

“Here in El Paso, we’re not seeing those long lines because workers are showing up despite not getting paid,” he said.

Some workers are making significant personal sacrifices to do so.

“We have members that are sleeping in their cars because they can’t afford the gas to get back and forth to work,” Ochoa said. “And they’re afraid not to come to work because they don’t want to be fired.”

Ochoa said many agents remain committed to their mission despite the hardship.

“My members took an oath to the Constitution, as did every other TSA employee around the country,” he said. “They are committed to that, and to keeping the American public safe.”

For travelers, the uncertainty means planning ahead is more important than ever — though even that may not guarantee a smooth experience.

“I don’t even know what to tell people,” Gershowitz said. “In New York, they’ve been saying allow for at least three hours, and I don’t think three hours would be enough.”