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TSA Officer: 'Anger and frustration is building' as employees brace for no payday

It is day 20 of the government shutdown and still no end in sight.

Hundreds of federal employees in Maine were expecting a paycheck this Friday.

But as the government shutdown rages on, they are unlikely to get paid despite having to continue to work.

"It's been extremely hard not getting paid,” Bill Reiley said. "The anger and frustration keeps building every day.”

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Reilley is a TSA Officer at the Portland Jetport and Vice President of the local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees.

He said many of the dozens of officers who work at the Jetport are required to work through the shutdown.

As the shutdown enters its 20th day, Reiley said morale is at an all-time low.

"Now it's going to get worse because of not being paid,” he said.

RELATED: Shutdown day 20: Trump's border visit comes as talks fall apart

Sherry and David Dostie from Blue Hill who were going to Disney World on their honeymoon said they respect the work-ethic of TSA employees. 

"I am frustrated,” Dostie said.

There are a more than 15,000 federal employees overall across the state, according to the Maine Department of Labor.

TSA officers are among the estimated 1,153 federal employees in Maine feeling the effects of the shutdown, according to U.S. House Appropriations Committee.

Reilly said the Jetport has not been affected by what is being referred to as the “sickout” in airports nationwide. A significant number of TSA officers calling out of work has reportedly prompted delays in some places.

The TSA denies any impact. 

“There has been no degradation in security effectiveness and average wait times are well within TSA standards,” a TSA spokesperson said in a statement.

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Meanwhile, members of the Maine delegation are outraged by the failure to reach a compromise.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins broke party ranks in her position against the building of a border wall. 

“The fact is you can be for strengthening border security and still compromise on this issue,” Collins told NBC’s Lester Hold on Nightly News Wednesday. 

“We don't have to everything all at once," she said. "You can't build a wall or a fence overnight and it seems to me that we need to reach a compromise in the middle."

RELATED: For Maine's furloughed workers, there are places to turn to for help

Independent Sen. Angus King released the following statement:

“Congress has bipartisan agreement on six bills which would reopen nearly all of the affected portions of the government; let’s pass them, along with a short-term continuing resolution to allow DHS workers to be paid during negotiations, so federal workers can continue to earn the salaries they rely on to provide for their families and the government can get back to work for the American people.”

Reilly and other federal employees are left scrambling. 

"People have bills to pay, they have childcare,” Reiley said.

Some people are seeking out loans, looking for part-time work and even finding other places to live in case they cannot make rent or mortgage payments.

"We come to work every day and do our job. I would expect our politicians to go to work and do their job,” he said.

If the government shutdown extends beyond Friday, it will be the longest in the nation’s history.

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