As the Senate this week is expected to vote on dueling proposals to end the government shutdown, federal workers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport face the prospect of a second missed paycheck.
On Tuesday, day 32 of the longest shutdown in U.S. history, about 65 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, air traffic controllers and their supporters rallied outside the airport to call for an end. The protesters stood outside the International Boulevard entrance holding signs, some of which disintegrated in the rain, and chanted as passing drivers honked in support.
While spirits were high, employees said they lacked faith in politicians’ ability to end the shutdown. Eddie DeLisle, regional vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said for many of the union’s estimated 400 workers in the Seattle region it appears that there is no end in sight.
