Funding for all parts of the US government has been reinstated – for three weeks – and TSA, FAA, CBP and other federal employees who have been required to work – without pay – are now expecting paychecks and back pay.
But life for many of these people has been disrupted. And paychecks may not arrive until February 1, or later. That means many airports will continue collecting and distributing community donations of foods and gift cards to these workers.
Seattle-Tacoma Internatoinal Airport will continue collecting donations through Friday, February 1. Here’s the list of what has been donated over the past two weeks:
7,000 diapers
650 donuts
10 crates of fresh fruit
Thousands of dollars-worth of gift cards
Three weeks-worth of hot meals
At Los Angles International Airport, workers will continue to receive free rides on the FlyAway bus and waived or deferred parking fees until paychecks start flowing.
Last Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he directed the L.A. Department of Water and Power as well as the city’s Bureau of Sanitation to offer assistance and payment plans for water, power, sewer and trash services. That includes plans that spread payments out over an additional three to four months.
Other airports will continue their support efforts as well.
And on Friday, United Airlines announced a donation of $1 million to Feeding America’s Shutdown Response Fund to support the food banks providing food for families of federal workers who need assistance following their loss of income.
“Even with [Friday’s] announcement, there is continued need among federal employees, in addition to the important programs that Feeding America administers,” said United CEO Oscar Munoz, “We continue to urge our leaders to work in a bipartisan way over the coming weeks to ensure long-term certainty on which our industry and the overall economy depends.”
