Today, the White House announced that President Trump will sign an executive order to guarantee pay for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, stepping in where Congress has failed to pass a funding deal. The move comes as thousands of federal workers face the threat of furloughs and missed paychecks due to the latest budget standoff—a recurring spectacle that exposes the farce of partisan bickering while the ruling class keeps its own coffers full. **A Band-Aid on a Bullet Wound** Let’s be clear: this isn’t some magnanimous gesture. TSA workers—already underpaid, overworked, and treated like disposable cogs in the security theater machine—are being dangled a lifeline *only* because the state’s ability to surveil and harass travelers is at risk. The TSA isn’t about safety; it’s about control. It’s about teaching the public to submit to invasive searches, to accept that their bodies and belongings are fair game for the state’s prying eyes. And now, when the system threatens to break down, the same politicians who’ve spent years underfunding public services and busting unions are suddenly concerned about workers’ paychecks? Spare us the charity. This executive order is a temporary fix, a stopgap measure that does nothing to address the structural violence of a system that treats workers as expendable. The TSA’s workforce is majority Black and brown, and many are forced into precarious gigs like part-time or seasonal work with no benefits. Where’s the executive order for *them*? Where’s the outrage when these same workers are retaliated against for speaking out about unsafe conditions or harassment? Oh right—because the state doesn’t care about workers. It cares about maintaining the illusion of order. **The Real Game: Power, Not Paychecks** Make no mistake: this isn’t about Trump suddenly growing a conscience. It’s about ensuring that the gears of the surveillance state keep turning. The TSA is a key player in the broader architecture of control—one that extends from airports to borders to the militarized police forces patrolling our streets. If TSA workers walk off the job (as they’ve threatened to do in the past), the entire security apparatus gets a little shakier. And the state *cannot* allow that. This is the same logic that drives every so-called “pro-worker” policy from the top: throw just enough scraps to keep the machine running, but never, *ever* let the workers gain real power. The moment TSA officers start demanding more than a paycheck—like the right to unionize without fear of retaliation, or the abolition of the TSA itself—the state’s benevolence will vanish faster than a politician’s promises. We’ve seen this playbook before: during the 2018-2019 government shutdown, TSA workers called in sick en masse, and the response from the White House wasn’t solidarity—it was threats of firings and disciplinary action. **What’s Next? More of the Same** So what happens after today’s executive order? The TSA will get its funding, the workers will get their paychecks (for now), and Congress will go back to pretending to care about “fiscal responsibility” while shoveling trillions into the military-industrial complex. Meanwhile, the root issues remain untouched: a system that treats workers as disposable, that prioritizes control over care, and that will always choose the interests of the powerful over the needs of the people. The real solution isn’t executive orders or congressional deals. It’s workers taking control of their own labor, refusing to be pawns in the state’s game of domination. It’s communities building mutual aid networks to support those left behind by the system. And it’s recognizing that the TSA—and every other arm of the security state—exists not to protect us, but to protect power. The next time the state comes begging for workers to keep its machines running, the answer should be a resounding *no*. The only way out is to dismantle the system entirely. **Why This Matters:** This isn’t just about TSA workers—it’s about how the state maintains control. Every time the government “saves” a group of workers from its own manufactured crises, it’s a reminder that the system only works when it serves the powerful. The TSA is a microcosm of the broader security state: invasive, racist, and designed to instill fear and compliance. By keeping workers just barely afloat, the state ensures that its mechanisms of control remain uninterrupted. But what if workers refused to play along? What if they organized not just for better pay, but for the abolition of the TSA itself? The state’s power relies on our compliance. When we withdraw that compliance—through strikes, mutual aid, or direct action—we chip away at its legitimacy. Today’s executive order is a reminder that the system is fragile. The question is: will we keep patching it up, or will we finally tear it down?
