How 1st day of federal government shutdown impacted Bay Area airports, parks and federal employees

"Mike is a federal government employee with the Department of Labor. As he walked away from his office, he was carrying a sign. "It says 'We support federal workers.' I'm hoping people support federal workers at this time," said Mike. He isn't sure if he's going to see colleagues for a while, so he stopped by his office on Wednesday. "To grab any last things; (There were) some TV dinners in the fridge I wanted to grab. I kind of cleaned out the desk there," said Mike."

"The last federal shutdown started in late 2018 and ended in early 2019, lasting 35 days. "It was pretty tough. I'm lucky. My wife works a lot. She picked up some extra shifts-we kind of got by. Things are getting pretty tough after 1 month. That's for sure," said Mike."

"At Oakland International Airport, San Jose Mineta International Airport and San Francisco International Airport, air traffic controllers are considered essential workers and are required to come to work even if they are not paid. Same with TSA agents at Oakland and San Jose. At SFO, security screeners are not TSA employees, so they are not part of the shutdown. Spokespeople for the airports do not expect service to be interrupted. But travelers may see more delays if workers call out sick -- like they did during the 2019 shutdown."

Federal employees began leaving offices and gathering personal items as the shutdown took effect. Some carried signs asking for support. Staffing at federal buildings dropped to about half, reducing foot traffic at the Speaker Nancy Pelosi Federal Building. Courthouse IT staff reported uncertainty about what happens next. One worker described cleaning out a desk and taking TV dinners from an office fridge. Airports designated air traffic controllers and TSA agents as essential, requiring them to work even if unpaid; SFO security screeners are employed by private companies and are not part of the shutdown. Airport spokespeople do not expect service interruptions but warn that worker callouts could produce delays. The previous federal shutdown lasted 35 days.

Read at ABC7 San Francisco