Choosing between groceries and gas: Government shutdown hits Modesto woman hard
Amira Muhammad is a security screener at Stockton Metropolitan Airport, and because of the historic federal government shutdown, she’s working without pay.
“I work to protect Americans, to keep people secure. Now my own security is at risk,” the Modesto woman said.
That means making tough decisions, such as whether to buy groceries, or gas so she can drive to work. For no money.
“To be honest, it’s going to be hard,” said the mother of three and grandmother of two, who also worries about making rent.
Muhammad, 50, came east from the Bay Area in 2001 and began working for the Transportation Security Administration at the Modesto Airport 10 years ago (Modesto lost its only passenger airline in 2014). In 2013, she began commuting to San Francisco International Airport — where she and coworkers missed a paycheck during a shorter government shutdown.
She transferred in 2016 to Stockton, whose only carrier, Allegiant, flies to Las Vegas, San Diego and Mesa. United Airlines intends to offer flights from Stockton to Los Angeles in August.
The 2013 shutdown was painful, but resolved rather quickly (16 days), Muhammad recalls. The current partial shutdown, over a border security squabble, is in its fourth week and already is the longest in history. Neither side is showing signs of backing down, and she hasn’t received a paycheck since Dec. 28.
It’s scary, she said.
“Some creditors are telling me they can waive late fees,” if they are repaid when the government eventually pays Muhammad. “But they’ll accrue interest, and they still will report to credit agencies that you’re late, so it’s going to damage my credit.”
Meanwhile, places she typically spends money — the grocery store, gas station, utilities, her landlord — aren’t getting paid either. So the shutdown isn’t only affecting federal employees, Muhammad said.
“I have responsibilities and obligations,” she said, “and they want their money. There are not a lot of options here. I don’t want to max out credit cards; that’s just another bill to be paid. What do you do?”
Daily Show makes light of government shutdown
Options? She recently signed up to drive for Lyft, an on-demand service giving people rides in private vehicles. Some of her co-workers also are driving for Lyft, Uber and similar companies. That TSA screeners are relying on such moonlighting to make ends meet is part of a recent skit by The Daily Show lampooning the shutdown crisis.
“Friends and family say, `If you need anything ...’ but they’re going through their own difficult times,” Muhammad said. She thinks about moving somewhere with a cheaper lease, but, “Who is going to rent to someone with no income?”
The tightest knot in Muhammad’s stomach is reserved for a daughter who is in her last semester of college in Southern California. Muhammad had been helping with her room, board and tuition, until now.
“I don’t want her away at school, stressing out, not being able to eat or pay for things she needs to finish her classes,” she said. “This is tough. It’s really crazy right now.”
At least she and Stockton passengers have avoided the extra stress at larger, busier airports. Atlanta passengers, for example, endured average security screening waits of 88 minutes on Monday. It wasn’t nearly as bad closer to home, with waits of 12 minutes at the Oakland airport, 15 in San Jose and 18 in San Francisco, and 99 percent of all passengers nationwide got through security in less than 30 minutes, TSA said.
Things had calmed down by Tuesday, a less-busy travel day, when 97 percent waited less than 15 minutes for security screening, TSA reported.
TSA also said that screeners across the country called in sick Monday at twice the rate of this time last year. Some news organizations have reported screeners quitting. That hasn’t happened so far in Stockton, which employs about 20 screeners and three supervisors, Muhammad said.
Her agency recommended that employees refrain from taking sides in the political dispute. But Muhammad is well aware of her constitutionally protected right to free speech, and blames Republicans, particularly President Donald Trump, for “holding us hostage while they talk about border security.”
Josh Harder highlights Modesto woman’s plight on House floor
She also believes it’s helpful to put a human face on struggles caused by the shutdown. So she agreed to let Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, post her plight on his congressional social media sites. He also mentioned her situation, without using names, in his first-ever speech Friday on the House floor.
“This is an unnecessary crisis,” Harder said in the short speech. “The Central Valley (and) America needs this to stop. I urge everyone on this floor to put politics aside and work together to reopen our government.”
A rally of federal employees at Sacramento International Airport, scheduled for noon Wednesday, should help highlight TSA workers’ struggles as well, Muhammad said.
But she won’t be there. She’s scheduled to work. For no pay.
“I love what I do,” she said. “I love the people I work for, and the general public has been very appreciative. We get a lot of `Thank you for being here,’ and I really appreciate that they’re aware. But it’s amazing to me how many are not aware. I want people to know what’s going on.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2019 at 1:09 PM.
