By Alfred Acenas
EBC Hawaii Bureau
HONOLULU, HAWAII (Eagle News) – Now in its second month, the partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government has triggered consequences for the 800,000 plus federal workers affected, including several thousand in the Aloha State, ranging from not receiving paychecks for the last two pay periods while still having to pay bills to a decline in quality of customer service in their respective workplaces.
Such is the predicament for air traffic controllers from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and agents from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) who work at Honolulu’s Daniel K. International Airport. As a result, several hundred government employees, union representatives and members of the public participated in a silent march on the morning of January 17, in protest of the shutdown.
Organized by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which is the nation’s largest union of federal workers, the participants began their march on the eastern end of the airport terminal.
Julie, a postal union representative who participated in the march, believes that “an injury to one is an injury to all” and that the shutdown has affected the economy, along with people’s personal lives.
Kalani Molino, who represents the Seafarers International Union, assured that they and other groups have been offering assistance to the furloughed workers and their families. Molino further specified that food banks have been established and even invited the public to volunteer in serving hot meals at designated locations.
As the marchers reached the halfway point, they encountered a longer-than-usual line of departing travelers at one of the three security checkpoints managed by the TSA.
The TSA and FAA are just some of the federal entities that require their employees to continue working without pay. According to the marchers, some TSA agents have elected to take an extended leave of absence instead so as not to incur additional personal expenses, such as fuel for their commute.
The Silent March concluded at the arrival/baggage claim area on the opposite end of the terminal.
Before the participants adjourned, AFGE National Organizer Lisa Marie Akau provided details on upcoming related events and expressed her appreciation for everyone “coming together and standing in solidarity.”
According to online references provided by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), there are roughly 22,000 federal civilian employees stationed in Hawaii. About 80% of them belong to the Department of Defense (DOD), which is not affected by the shutdown. However, Jaime, another silent march participant who represents the defense workers union, cautioned that the DOD might not be as fortunate in the coming year should there be another government shutdown.
(Eagle News Service)
