The Allegheny County Airport Authority Charitable Foundation launched a GoFundMe campaign Thursday, aiming to lift up government workers hit hard by the partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown caused by the ongoing federal budget deadlock.
By 4:30 p.m., the GoFundMe had raised more than $4,000 for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents at the Pittsburgh International Airport.
“As the shutdown continues, many dedicated public servants are facing unexpected financial hardship,” said Chris Heck, president of the Allegheny County Airport Authority Charitable Foundation.
More than 200 local officers at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) have been affected since the shutdown began Feb. 14, according to the Allegheny County Airport Authority Charitable Foundation. The foundation aims to improve the traveler experience, with a particular focus on military members, airport aesthetics and local social programs.
Pittsburgh International Airport spokesman Bob Kerlik said the money will go to all TSA and CBP personnel.
A group of U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement agents began working at the airport this week to help lessen security checkpoint wait times.
Heck said the lines at Pittsburgh’s airport remained short on Thursday.
On Monday Kimberly Kraynak-Lambert, District 3 office manager for the American Federation of Government Employees, told TribLive that morale within the union has hit a low point.
The GoFundMe’s fundraising goal is set at $250,000.
Heck said once the money is collected it will be given to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to purchase gift cards for the security workers.
Earlier in the month, airport officials launched another initiative in partnership with Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, designed to relieve financial pressure during the shutdown. On March 19, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank began operating a biweekly food pantry for TSA workers from 7 to 10 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays at the at the airport’s field maintenance office.
Heck said airport officials are compiling a list of workers who have been reporting to the airport without pay and will contact them once it is finalized.
“The donations will help families buy diapers, formula and food for their families. It will help fill up their gas tanks to be able to get to work,” Kraynak-Lambert said about the GoFundMe.