Union officials who represent the 45,000 or so screeners nationwide, and who come into contact with the public more than any other federal agency say they haven't been told much about how to protect themselves.
"Our officers are really concerned about it and we really don't know of a plan," said Joe Shuker, president of the TSA union local in Philadelphia. "All we've been told is 'Wash your hands. Don't touch your face.' "
The TSA is already in the middle of a hiring and overtime freeze because of a funding gap. Shuker says screeners are facing a shortage of protective gloves, hand sanitizers and even cleaning supplies.
"It's discouraging to know that an agency that is developed to protect the American people isn't funded to protect them, right?" he said.
On top of that, the TSA recently stopped reimbursing more than 100 airports for security checkpoint cleaning. TSA requested that $21 million earmarked for that be cut from its budget, which Congress approved last year.
Shuker says his airport in Philadelphia is one that saw its cleaning reimbursements cut, but there wasn't much communication about that except, "We didn't have the money to pay cleaners to come up and clean."
According to an industry executive speaking on background, some of the nation's largest airports' cleaning reimbursements were reduced due to the budget cut. Whether that means checkpoints aren't getting cleaned is unclear. Miami International Airport spokesman Greg Chin said in a statement that there's been no interruption in cleaning there, but TSA is no longer providing funding to cover its costs.
TSA declined an interview request, and did not respond to written questions.
TSA Screeners' Union Wants More Guidance On Avoiding Coronavirus
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