Federal Workers In Minnesota Feeling Weight Of Government Shutdown

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The TSA says yesterday's sick calls were up more than 137 percent across the country, compared to a year ago.

And busy airports have seen wait times up to three hours because of the lack of workers.

On Tuesday, WCCO's Kate Raddatz spoke with some government employees at the airport and the Department of Human Services about the pressures mounting from the prolonged shutdown.

Thayer Davis just got done working a full shift in the control tower at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Now he's handing out flyers at the departure level educating travelers about the impact of the shut down on workers.

"It was a reality waking up seeing nothing in pay stub when you have a mortgage, student loans," said Air Traffic Control Specialist, Thayer Davis.

There are more than 1,100 air traffic controllers and TSA workers in the Twin Cities working without pay right now. But despite the shutdown, TSA said the longest wait in security lines at MSP on Monday was about 20 minutes for regular security and four minutes for pre-check.

Sill Davis said if the shutdown continues, he doesn't know how long some employees could last without income.

The shutdown also creates a headache for county employees who handle applications for the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program or SNAP. They're processing tens of thousands of eligibility cases early with a January 15th deadline to guarantee February benefits.

"It has been a tremendous challenge for both counties and tribes to meet this incredibly advanced deadline," explained Department of Human Services Commissioner, Tony Lourey.

Lourey says there is also the concern of issuing February SNAP benefits early --with the risk a recipient could use them up before the end of February.

"We all feel a real commitment to make sure we don't let this slide," said Lourey.

The Department of Human Services told me there are around 400 thousand Minnesotans that require SNAP assistance -- the majority being the elderly, children, and disabled.

There is no cutoff date to turn in a SNAP application, county representatives said SNAP eligibility approved after today may not be available to clients until the end of the shutdown.