Labor Leaders Urge Congress to Reopen Government Amid Ongoing Shutdown

Labor Leaders Urge Congress to End Government Shutdown as Federal Workers Face Financial Strain

Washington, D.C. — In a passionate plea for action, labor leaders representing hundreds of thousands of federal workers gathered on Capitol Hill Wednesday, urging lawmakers to swiftly negotiate a resolution to the ongoing government shutdown. With millions of federal employees either furloughed or required to work without pay, the impact of the shutdown is being felt across the nation.

“Every day that this government stays shut down, real people are hurting,” said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents over 800,000 federal and D.C. government workers. “The people who inspect our food, protect our borders, and provide healthcare to our military families are doing their jobs without pay, or they are sitting at home wondering how they are going to make ends meet.”

As of Wednesday, the shutdown entered its eighth day, with Congress failing to reach a funding agreement. The Senate rejected both Republican and Democratic proposals to end the funding lapse for the sixth time, leaving federal employees in limbo.

Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers (IFPTE), estimated that approximately 620,000 federal workers have already been furloughed from a total of about 2 million civilian employees. “What they all have in common is they are not getting paid,” Biggs emphasized.

The Congressional Budget Office has projected that roughly 750,000 federal employees will be furloughed on average each day, with the number increasing the longer the shutdown continues. The Internal Revenue Service reported that nearly 46% of its workforce is currently furloughed, while the percentage of workers affected varies significantly across federal agencies.

For instance, nearly 93% of employees at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are slated to be furloughed, while only about 3% of the Treasury’s workforce is impacted. Chris Bartley from the International Association of Fire Fighters noted that many union members are still reporting to work, including those tasked with protecting military bases, despite not receiving pay.

The financial strain is becoming increasingly urgent, as many federal workers are set to miss their first paychecks this week. Active-duty military personnel are also at risk of not receiving their paychecks by October 15 unless a funding deal is reached. “Many federal employees live paycheck to paycheck and cannot sustain any time with suspended pay,” warned Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees. “They won’t be able to feed their families or pay their rent.”

Erwin called on Congress to act quickly to prevent the shutdown from dragging on for weeks, recalling the 35-day partial government closure that occurred between December 2018 and January 2019. He criticized comments from Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought regarding potential mass layoffs of federal workers and condemned remarks from President Trump suggesting that his administration might bypass laws mandating back pay for furloughed employees.

“Denying them a paycheck is simply cruel,” Biggs stated. “These federal employees have nothing to do with this government shutdown.”

Sara Nelson, head of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, expressed solidarity with federal employees in the aviation sector affected by the shutdown. According to the Transportation Department’s contingency plan, about 25% of the Federal Aviation Administration’s workforce is being furloughed, while over 95% of TSA workers are required to work without pay.

In a related effort, Maryland Governor Wes Moore and several congressional representatives highlighted the shutdown’s impact at a major mid-Atlantic airport. They noted that around 550 TSA agents and 70 air traffic controllers at Baltimore/Washington International Airport are currently working without pay. Moore announced a low-interest loan program through the Maryland Department of Labor and reported that a state website providing assistance information has garnered 45,000 views since the shutdown began.

As the stalemate continues, the urgency for a resolution grows, with labor leaders and federal employees alike hoping for a swift end to the shutdown and a return to normalcy.