No good deed goes unpunished.
That was the sentiment of many after learning that 250 gift cards, each with a value of $1,000, which Tyler Perry generously gave Transportation Service Agency (TSA) employees in Atlanta, had to be returned. The entire ordeal that seemingly has more twists and turns than your granny’s favorite soap opera, all began on March 27. The billionaire actor, filmmaker and television producer wanted to help those TSA workers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport who had not been receiving their normal paychecks. According to CNN, roughly 61,000 TSA employees had been working without pay since funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lapsed on February 14. This prompted a partial government shutdown. The employees collectively missed more than $1 billion in pay. The shutdown made it extremely challenging for a significant number of TSA staff to afford essentials like childcare, food, gas and housing for themselves and their families in an already grim economy.
Perry, who owns the colossal Tyler Perry Studios in the heart of Atlanta, initially attempted to help those in his area impacted by this unfortunate circumstance another way. “The first time he arrived in the morning with $100,000 in cash. He wanted to give it directly to the TSA officers,” says aviation security expert Caleb Harmon-Marshall of Gate Access. Based in Atlanta, Harmon-Marshall worked as a TSA officer for nearly a decade before leaving to launch his own platform to raise awareness and offer the general public insider insight into issues such as these. “He met with local leadership at the airport and was instructed that he could not give cash directly to TSA officers because of ethics violations and gifting rules,” he continues. Perry and his team pivoted to follow protocol and quickly arrived at what seemed like a great solution. “One a second date, members of Perry’s team returned with gift cards for the TSA officers. They had 250 gift cards in the amount of $1,000 each. The employees were grateful and excited because they weren’t getting paid,” Harmon-Marshall explains.
“I want to be clear: [Perry] went through all the proper channels,” notes Harmon-Marshall. The Gate Access founder reports that, according to his insider sources, only the PM shift received the gift cards. This, allegedly, in turn made some members of the AM workforce feel slighted. And thus, complaints were made internally. Soon after, claims were flying around about the gift cards needing to be returned. This all, of course, led to anger, disappointment and confusion.
“Senior management informed me that the decision was made to request the gift cards be returned because they weren’t distributed in a fair manner. If there weren’t enough for the entire workforce, which is over a thousand people in Atlanta, they should have been distributed randomly,” says Harmon-Marshall.
Questions quickly arose as the news spread like wildfire. What if people had already used the gift cards to buy items like gas, which could not be returned? What about those who needed to feed hungry children or buy diapers?
“Most of them [had already] spent it,” says Harmon-Marshall.
You can’t get blood from a turnip some wise person once said. But you can sometimes get positive results from viral and public outrage.
Fast-forward to yesterday, Tuesday, March 31: A spokesperson from Perry’s camp gave an update to a local Atlanta television outlet, News 11 ALIVE, that the officers are now going to be able to keep the gift cards without repercussions. According to New 11 ALIVE, a Perry rep says they have official documentation, as of yesterday, from the DHS/TSA legal team stating that the situation is now resolved and everything is fine.
So, TSA officers, many who were facing eviction and were unable to afford food, while helping to keep us safe while we’re flying the sometimes not-so-friendly skies, are able to enjoy the lifeline they were selflessly sent. Also, many of the officers are now beginning to receive the long-awaited back pay (albeit with serious concerns about the process, since, according to Harmon-Marshall, paychecks are being taxed much more than normal due to the lump sum values). Despite the roller-coaster ride this situation has been for all parties involved, there appears to be a glimmer of light at the end of the perplexing tunnel.
Bottom line: Crossing every T and dotting every I is essential in everything involving money, especially a quarter of a million dollars. It’s even more important to do so if you’re trying to give money away when you’re Black to people who are likely also…Black. In this case, it seems as though Perry did, in fact, attempt to follow proper protocols. Regardless, we are relieved the gesture benefitted hardworking staffers who still need to make ends meet during the government shutdown—despite the confusion about their gift cards being returned. We also commend Perry for his philanthropic efforts and we salute all those TSA workers who were financially impacted by the shutdown yet continued to show up for work.
Whether there’s a government shutdown in place or not, we’re all blessed to be a blessing.
