TSA Workers Forced to Use PTO During Shutdown

0:00It's March 31st. This is Durham News Today, local news powered by AI. TSA workers at Raleigh Durham International Airport are facing a tough situation after the government shutdown. Leadership there is forcing them to use their pay time off for days they missed, even though many couldn't afford to show up without paychecks. This blew up right after employees got their first check-in over a month. Union Reps say it's not how things usually go. Normally, those absences get marked as furloughs, no personal leave burned. Local Union President Mack Johnson is calling it stray madness. He says bosses are denying furlough requests and pushing folks to dip into annual or sick leave, even when workers explained they had no gas money to. Commute The problem stretches beyond just this airport, popping up across North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. Johnson knows this never happened in past shutdowns, where furloughs were the default for everyone. Union leaders want TSA brass to drop clear rules and a consistent message fast, before

1:02workers face discipline over those no-show days. With no response for management yet, tensions are only building.