Firstly, thank you to all who have shared this petition, and who have signed it. The support is truly appreciated. Secondly, a reminder: I see that $30 dollars was donated to promote the petition, and while that is extremely generous, I want to remind folks that money goes to Change.org and does not go to me whatsoever. If you want to pay to help promote this campaign, I won't say no, but I want you to know where your money is going.

I work in an emergency communication center on a military installation. Our agency has been short staffed for over three years now, and currently our shortfalls have placed us in a critical situation. We have a normal compliment of twelve staff. Currently we are short five personnel. For the past few months all of us have been working overtime to make sure our minimum shift coverage is maintained so we can support our mission.

When the government shut down on October 1, 2025 we were deemed essential personnel and were required to report for duty, along with our military first responders. For the entirety of the shutdown, we worked around the clock, and many an overtime shift, to make sure the civilians and military personnel who work on our installation received the same level of service as we always do. I myself have worked long hours, include several seven days weeks of overtime, to support this mission. To add to that, due to the employment shortfalls, I have been working an alternate shift for over a year other than my regular one in order to support these operations. Due to my wife's schedule, I do not see my wife but for a few hours once a week. That's been going on for the past year.

When I heard about the bonuses that TSA workers are getting, it stirred a lot of resentment in me. And to be fair, I have nothing against the TSA. I know those folks put in a lot of long hours, and really, have a very thankless job and have to deal with a lot of negative things from the public, which is not too dissimilar from what I do. (Ever had anyone call 911 because they are having a good day?)  But honestly, this feels like a slap in the face to all the other essential federal employees who showed up to work on time, and never called out or missed shifts. Combine that with the fact our agency hasn't been able to hire anyone due to a governmental hiring freeze (that we were told we were exempt from by the way), that just compounds the frustration factor.

47000 TSA employees are supposed to be getting a $10,000 bonus. That's 470 million dollars. Where is that money coming from? Well, from the tax payers obviously. And while I am loathe to put anymore burden on the American tax payer (since I am one) I can't help but look at this and feel like I, and others like me, are getting kind of a raw deal. And it's not really about the money, it's about the principle. Shouldn't all federal workers who showed up during this shutdown, worked extra shifts, and made sure we sustained our mission, be entitled to a similar reward?

So that's why this petition was started. Will it change anything? I have no idea. But I encourage everyone that sees this to continue to spread the word, to continue sharing this petition and encouraging your friends to sign it. It really does help. And once again, a huge thank you to those who have shared and signed already.