{"id":1251,"date":"2019-01-15T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T06:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=1251"},"modified":"2019-01-15T12:40:55","modified_gmt":"2019-01-15T12:40:55","slug":"government-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/government-shutdown","title":{"rendered":"The Government Shutdown: How Workers Became Victims of Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ken Green
\nCEO\/Founder
\nUnionTrack, Inc.<\/a><\/p>\n

Somebody else\u2019s fight is costing many federal workers their livelihoods. <\/p>\n

On December 22, 2018, the federal government entered a partial government shutdown when Congress and President Trump were unable to come to an agreement over budgetary matters. One-quarter of the federal government has gone unfunded since funding expired on December 21.<\/p>\n

At issue is money for a border wall between the US and Mexico. Trump has said he refuses to sign a spending agreement without his requested $5 billion for a wall. His opposition in Congress, led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, has adamantly refused to include wall funding in their spending packages. <\/p>\n

Pelosi and fellow Democrats have labeled the proposed wall an \u201cimmorality\u201d and insisted the conversation should be about border security in general. On the other side of the fight, Trump sees a physical barrier as the only solution to the border security problem and is threatening to declare a state of emergency at the border to get the wall built.<\/p>\n

Tara Golshan<\/a>, politics reporter at Vox, describes a heated meeting between both sides, giving an insightful look at just how contentious the debate is. The political standoff quickly turning into one of the longest government shutdowns in history. <\/p>\n

Already, the stalemate has had major financial implications for federal workers, who are not being paid during this time.<\/p>\n

A large number of these employees going without pay are AFGE union members.<\/p>\n

More Than 800,000 Workers Are Suffering Financially From the Government Shutdown<\/h2>\n

That one-quarter of the government that is shut down equates to about 800,000 people who haven\u2019t been able to earn an income and will soon stop receiving paychecks. Kathryn Watson<\/a>, politics reporter for CBS News Digital, explains that about 420,000 \u201cessential\u201d workers have had to work without pay and more than 380,000 have been furloughed, or sent home without pay.<\/p>\n

The ongoing battle and length of the shutdown means that these workers will no longer receive paychecks. The first date checks go missing is Friday, January 11, notes ABC4 correspondent Mark Meredith<\/a>. <\/p>\n

For many, that is beyond devastating. \u201cFederal employees feel really helpless,\u201d said Tony Reardon<\/a>, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents 150,000 members at 33 federal agencies and departments. He notes that workers are experiencing fear, anxiety and anger over a situation they can do nothing about. <\/p>\n

In a story for the Huffington Post, reporters Dave Jamieson and Amanda Terkel<\/a> detail firsthand stories from federal workers who are experiencing the devastating impacts of the shutdown: <\/p>\n