Dozens of government workers and union supporters gathered Thursday morning at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport for a silent march to protest the partial government shutdown.

They held signs that read, “Pay our federal workers now!” and “End the shutdown” and “Stop the madness.”

“They are held hostage,” said Lisa Marie Akau, national organizer for the American Federation of Government Employees. “They are hostages to this fight. Our federal employees are doing their jobs here, but they’re not getting paid. We need Congress to take this, pass it and get these people paid because it’s only going to get worse.”

The union represents about 900 Transportation Security Administration officers statewide who are required to work without pay, according to Akau, and morale is at an all-time low.

The shutdown entered its 27th day Thursday, with no signs of progress, but news that President Donald Trump was denying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi access to an aircraft for a planned trip abroad. In Hawaii some 2,700 federal workers have not been paid since the federal government shut down Dec. 22.

Protesters gathered at the Hawaiian Airlines departure area at Terminal 1, then walked in a procession past security checkpoints and Terminal 2, ending at the United Airlines baggage claim.

Some TSA workers yelled out “thanks” from checkpoints as the procession passed and passengers saw the signs as they hustled by or while they waited in security lines.

Chris Reimers, a TSA worker from Ewa Beach, said the situation has been stressful for his family. He had to borrow money to pay his last mortgage installment and has a daughter who is about to start college.

“I have to pay for her tuition,” said Reimers, who has worked for TSA for 16 years. “I can’t tell her we can’t afford it. I just want to support her no matter what.”

Other TSA workers are also struggling, he said, uncertain of how they are going to pay for daily expenses, including phone and electricity bills and car insurance. Because they are not furloughed, they cannot collect unemployment, he said. Those families with both parents working for the TSA are getting a double whammy.

The greatest stress is not knowing how long the shutdown is going to last, Reimers said.

Organized support

The union organized the first visible protest on Oahu as a show of support for federal workers, said Akau, who is also organizing a food dropoff of hot dogs and chips at the airport today. Representatives of Unite Here Local 5, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Seafarers International Union were also on hand to show their support.

Akau said Federal Aviation Administration workers and air marshals are also working without pay.

TSA said that nationally it experienced a 6.1 percent rate of unscheduled absences Wednesday compared with a 5 percent rate the same day a year ago. Many employees were reporting that they were unable to report to work due to financial limitations, TSA said.

That has not appeared to be the case, so far, at Hawaii airports.

Maximum wait times at the Honolulu airport Wednesday were at 15 minutes for standard passengers, according to the TSA, well within the national average of 30 minutes.

State Department of Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara said an average of 100,000 passengers travel in and out of state airports daily, with more than half through the Honolulu airport. So far, there have been no significant impacts, he said, and the department is appreciative of TSA agents working without pay.

“Our federal workers are still on the job,” he said, “and doing a great job.”

In Twitter and Facebook posts Wednesday, the department said, “Our essential federal employees continue working to protect the traveling public despite not knowing when their next paycheck will arrive. Please show them aloha and pack extra patience during these uncertain times.”