Graham Kilmer
Transportation

Airport Collecting Donations for Federal Workers Amid Shutdown

Airport collecting non-perishable food and personal care items for TSA and FAA employees.

By - Oct 19th, 2025 10:15 am
Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport has set up collection bins for federal workers going unpaid during the government shutdown.

The bins are for non-perishable food items and personal care products, which will be donated to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees who have worked without pay since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, according to a social media post by Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. The bins are not for donations of cash.

Federal workers critical to commercial air travel, like air traffic controllers, have not been furloughed during the shutdown. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently announced that federal law enforcement, including agencies carrying out the administration’s crackdown on immigrants, will be given a “super check” next week paying them for previous and upcoming weeks of work. Her published list did not include FAA or TSA employees

The shutdown is caused by a congressional stalemate. Republicans, who control both the House and Senate, have been unable to propose a package suitable to attract enough Democrats to sign on. Democrats in the Senate are refusing to vote for the appropriations bill, as it currently stands, because it does not provide funding to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plan subsidies. Health insurance enrollment begins in November and the funding for the subsidies will expire at the end of December.

“As we do what we can to support those impacted by the shutdown, I call on federal officials to work together to reopen the government before residents and families continue to pay the price,” Crowley said.

Sample Map

Existing members must be signed in to see the interactive map. Sign in.

If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.

Categories: MKE County, Transportation

Comments

  1. Duane says:
    October 19, 2025 at 12:06 pm

    “The shutdown is caused by a congressional stalemate. Republicans, who control both the House and Senate, have been unable to propose a package suitable to attract enough Democrats to sign on. Democrats in the Senate are refusing to vote for the appropriations bill, as it currently stands, because it does not provide funding to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plan subsidies”.

    Enough of the freaking “stalemate” nonsense! Why do the Democrats need to “sign on”? Republicans control the House, Senate, and Presidency. Is it because of the filibuster? That’s really not a thing as the Republicans have revised the filibuster rules for other things like confirming Trump’s appointments. Matter of fact they did that just last month. How quickly we forget!
    (from the American Bar Assosciation)…
    “On Sept. 19, the Senate confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump’s nominees in a single vote, using a new rule that changes the confirmation process. The legislative procedure, adopted Sept. 11 on a party-line vote, lowers the threshold for Senate approval of groups of sub-Cabinet nominees from 60 votes to a simple majority”.

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us