'This Is The Manifestation Of The Shutdown': Furloughed Workers Hold Rally At Philadelphia International Airport To Protest Shutdown
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Furloughed workers at Philadelphia International Airport fed up with the government shutdown raised their voices as the closure stretched into its 35th day, and airport travel was affected. At one point Friday, there were delays of more than an hour for people traveling in and out of the airport.
Following the rally, President Donald Trump announced Friday afternoon that a short-term deal has been reached to reopen the government for three weeks.
However, Friday is another round of paychecks that will not be paid to government employees. A rally at the airport featured members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, including Reps. Dwight Evans and Brian Fitzpatrick, and Sen. Bob Casey.
Local Businesses Giving Back To Federal Workers Affected By Government Shutdown
The rallying cry was to end this government shutdown as people continue to struggle without collecting paychecks.
The airport has experienced minimal delays this morning after an increase in call outs, but around the country, airports are beginning to see delays of over an hour.
TSA workers are not allowed to strike. Fitzpatrick says we could finally be approaching a tipping point.
"This is the manifestation of the shutdown, this is why shutdowns are so terrible, and there's too many people that live inside the bubble in Washington, D.C., that don't know what it's like to work inside these agencies during a shutdown," said Fitzpatrick. "Unfortunately, something like that could be a tipping point to finally get people to act responsibly and open this government."
Phil Glover, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said striking is not an option. The only option is to end this shutdown and begin paying the workers once again.
