Union leaders representing hundreds of thousands of workers are calling on Congress to end the government shutdown, which stretched into the eighth day Wednesday.
“Federal employees, a third of whom are veterans, are patriotic Americans who provide essential services to communities across the country,” the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 820,000 federal and D.C. government workers, said in a news release.
“These employees should be able to do their jobs free of political interference. Instead, they are being forced to either work without pay or stay off the job without pay for as long as this shutdown continues.”
Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, on Tuesday called Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought’s move to deny pay to furloughed workers “illegal.”
“The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act is bipartisan law that has been in effect since 2019, and one that passed the House overwhelmingly with only 7 no votes, passed the Senate on a voice vote without a single Senator raising a concern, and was signed by President [Donald] Trump,” Biggs said in a release.
“It is outrageous that OMB has now not only removed it as a reference point for federal employees to be aware of during a time of uncertainty for themselves and their families but is actively attempting to ignore the law altogether.
“This is lawless, cruel, and immoral. Despite the OMB director’s clear disdain for our federal workforce, he can’t unilaterally ignore a law that overwhelmingly passed both chambers of Congress and was signed by President Trump himself.
“The OMB needs to stop playing games with the livelihoods of federal workers and their families.”
The union represents about 30,000 federal workers across the U.S.
The Association of Flight Attendants, which represents over 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, said the shutdown has “negative repercussions that last far beyond the shutdown itself.”
“Aviation safety depends on government workers. Air Traffic Controllers, FAA Technicians, and Transportation Safety Officers, to name a few, all play a role in keeping our airspace safe,” the AFA said in a press release.
“If the government shuts down, many of these essential workers won’t be allowed to work or get paid. And those who are required to work, like Air Traffic Controllers and TSOs, still don’t get paid during the shutdown.”
Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, on Tuesday called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to return to Washington, D.C., and “negotiate an end to this shutdown.”
The NFFE represents 110,000 federal workers nationwide.
“House Republicans have refused any meaningful negotiations,” he said in a press release.
“It appears to me that Speaker Johnson and his colleagues have no intention of ending this shutdown anytime soon.
“It seems they would rather sit back and play the blame game than undertake the necessary work to pass bipartisan spending legislation. Despite their assertions, their work is not done until a bill is passed, and the government is reopened.
“Taking a 10-day break before that is accomplished is a dereliction of duty.”
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