Port Considers Loans For Sea-Tac Workers During Federal Shutdown

SEATAC, WA - The Port of Seattle is exploring whether it can offer loans to federal employees — like Transportation Security Administration agents — who are at risk of going without pay due to the ongoing partial government shutdown.

According to a Port press release, the agency is exploring a partnership with "nonprofit financial institutions" to offer zero-interest loans to federal employees. The Port commissioners are still figuring out whether they have the legal authority to offer such loans.

About 50,000 TSA workers nationwide will go without a paycheck on Friday unless the shutdown ends. There are about 2,000 federal employees across various Port facilities, including TSA agents, at risk of going without pay on Friday.

There have been reports of TSA agents calling in sick or quitting due to lack of pay. A TSA union spokesperson did not return a request for comment about whether this was happening at Sea-Tac.

Port spokesman Perry Cooper said wait times at Sea-Tac security checkpoints have been normal since the shutdown began Dec. 21.

"We are not seeing any consistent impact to our wait times. It’s been pretty normal. [Tuesday] for example, our longest wait time was 24 minutes this morning. Otherwise, most of the day has been under 15 minutes. Over the weekend has been pretty normal as well. Some peak time waits of 30 -35 minutes, but most under 20. Again, that’s normal for Sea-Tac," Cooper wrote in an email.

On Aug. 11, 2015, a TSA agent encourages a traveler to move more quickly through a security check-line at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson