LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) — Local restaurateur Tim Metcalf, who owns multiple Deano’s and Prejean’s locations, is giving back to Lafayette Regional TSA agents who stayed on the job despite a shutdown withholding their pay.
“You hear all about the lines at New Orleans, but you’re not hearing that here,” Metcalf explained. “They’re showing up. They represent the spirit of Acadiana.”
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Metcalf also challenged other business owners to do the same.
The DHS Shutdown Continues
The gesture comes as the DHS partial shutdown, now in its 40th day, has pushed TSA workers across the country to a breaking point. More than 61,000 TSA employees, roughly 95 percent of the agency’s workforce, are classified as essential and legally required to keep showing up to work without a paycheck.
More than 481 officers have left the TSA workforce entirely since the funding lapse began, with thousands more calling out daily because they can’t cover basic expenses like gas, childcare, and rent…