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During their three years of marriage, the 31-year-old woman and her husband, Shalique, obtained employment after employment, in order to provide for their children. She drove for Uber, he embalmed bodies in a funeral home in Atlanta and worked all night in a Walmart store.
It was only last month that things finally seemed to get in place. Caraballo, responsible for the Transportation Safety Administration at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, was promoted to a full-time position and her husband got a new job.
The purchase of a house, the purchase of a second car and even the registration of their three children to extracurricular activities at school would now more than dreams, they said.
But their joy lasted only a few days.
"The rent is due, the bill is low, the bill for gasoline, my car bill is due on the 26th," said Caraballo. "I have already received my last paycheck and there is no paycheck coming."
"I do not know when we will be able to celebrate our birthdays, when we can go ahead," she added. "It's a repression."
The call for illness is his last option
Caraballo fights the cold for about a month. a week but she said that she could not afford to miss a day of work – even if she did not know when she would be paid.
On Friday afternoons, a few hours before going to work, the family is 45 minutes drive from their home. rental house in Forest Park, near the airport, at his parents' home in Griffin. Caraballo's parents would take care of her three children – Danyelle, 10, Daellah, 7, and DaMara, 5 – while she and her husband went to work.
"I know I have a partner, but he can not do everything alone, it takes two people in a household to keep it afloat," she said, sometimes coughing in front of the house. home of his parents
Caraballo has accumulated sick time for months but is not allowed to take it during the stoppage.Instead, employees are offered a leave without pay, she said. "One thing I know is that I can not afford not to go to work and then let them go."
Her sense of duty keeps her motivated
When Caraballo gets out of bed at 3 in the morning and puts on her shirt and royal blue pants, the first thing that goes through her head, did she? added, are others: her family and the thousands of travelers she frequents every day.
pay me or not, I do my job because it's not Trump, it's the people flying in this plane, "she said.
His job is to make sure that travelers travel safely from Atlanta to their destination.
"I would feel somehow if you got on a plane and because of (the) safety … your plane breaks down," says Caraballo. "It would be a lot of fun if something happened when my job was to secure your flight."
Caraballo began working for the TSA last May, following in the footsteps of his brother, who is also a TSA officer at the Atlanta Airport. At first she considered her work as a "stepping stone" before trying to join the Navy this year – but she said that she had quickly realized that it was something that pleased him.
"With this job, I do not have to fight myself up," she said. "I like going to work, no matter how fast." Of course, I'd like to be paid rather than be like that, but I love my job. "
Feeling neglected
[19659003] Some 55,000 TSA employees control about 800 million passengers a year. In a typical workstation – which lasts between five and ten hours – they rotate every 30 minutes, including checking boarding cards, ordering travelers to remove their shoes and checking them.
Since the closing of the store, Caraballo's brother, James Miller, has said that he has been asked to work with two additional crews because of the shortage of staff.
"The first thing I thought was," No, do not do it, "but I understand that although we are at a standstill, it is not the fault of the 39, agency, so I did not want them to be saddled, "he said.
Miller and Caraballo both said they felt "ignored" by Washington politicians and may feel "extremely low" morale among their colleagues.
Still, they try to leave this feeling out of the control screens, especially when travelers recognize their fight.
"Most of the people I have dealt with are very happy to me." Mr. Miller said, "It gives me hope that not everyone is just concerned about themselves, but gives me the impression that we are moving towards a better direction. "
His family lives a check in money
"I do not see how that will stay," said Caraballo. "A piece of paper is not going to cut it off – I know it would not do it for me (if I was a homeowner)."
When asked if they plan to use their savings, Caraballo and her husband Caraballo said, "We live paycheck to check now, we are just trying to get in advance "said Caraballo.
While Shalique Caraballo remains positive and relies on her faith, the couple said that he would really start to worry if next week's check did not come.
"Whether the government closes or not, we still have to live, we still have to move forward," said Shalique Caraballo. "I would work day and night if I had to."
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