As the US federal shutdown enters its second month, government workers are accusing the Trump administration of being “out of control” and bullying people who are “simply trying to do their best”.
The shutdown surpassed 35 days this week, beating the previous record set under Donald Trump’s first presidential term. About 700,000 federal employees are furloughed without pay, and about 700,000 additional federal workers have been working without pay through the shutdown.
Affected workers say the shutdown has been a continuation of attacks they have experienced under the Trump administration, from mass firings – many of which have been overturned or blocked in federal courts – to drastic budget cuts, pushes to take early retirements or resignation buyouts, and threats of withholding back pay for workers furloughed during the shutdown.
“It’s already been a chaotic year,” said Micah Niemeier-Walsh, who works at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Niosh). She was initially fired along with most employees at the agency, but reinstated in May after a court intervened to block most of the firings.
“For many agencies, like the one that I am employed by, we’ve been effectively shut down for many months already because of the reductions in force that have already happened, and all of the attacks that we’ve been seeing on the federal workforce,” said Niemeier-Walsh, who is also vice-president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3840.
“It’s become out of control, and I really hope that this shutdown is a wake-up call of how bad things have gotten.”
In November, furloughed government employees received furlough extension notices, although many notices did not contain assurances they would receive back pay once the government reopens. Denial of back pay has been a threat repeatedly made by the Trump administration during the shutdown, along with firings during the shutdown, which were blocked in a federal court.
“I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever thought that we would have our government attacking government employees,” said Omar Algeciras, who works at the Department of Labor. “ I think this is the epitome of harassment, bullying and attacks on people that are simply trying to do their best to provide a service or services to American workers.”
The Trump administration’s treatment of federal workers and their unions has put significant pressure and mental health burdens on federal workers who provide services to the American public, said Algeciras, vice-president of AFGE Local 2391.
“This is unprecedented, it’s unnecessary and I really do think that it’s very disheartening and saddening to see and to have to talk to some of our members and remind them that they need to take a moment for themselves, not to focus on what’s being said,” added Algeciras. “We’re having to take care of our union members, we’re having to take care of our co-workers, because it’s not coming from the top down any more.”
The AFGE has called for an end to the government shutdown, avoiding assigning blame to Republicans or Democrats for the shutdown and its prolongation.
As the stalemate to end the government shutdown continues into November, Trump has affirmed he has no plans to negotiate with Democrats, with the shutdown adding to the stress and anxieties federal employees have already endured under the administration’s efforts to cull their workforce.
Russell Vought, the White House office of management and budget director, said before the administration took office he wanted to put federal workers “in trauma” and for them to be viewed as “villains”, and he has attempted to use the shutdown to further those efforts.
“For myself and my members, they’ve been going through this chaos and stress and anxiety since February of, from one day to the next, not knowing if they’re going to have a job,” said Tandy Zitkus, AFGE Local 898 president and a furloughed worker at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha).
“Since February, there’s been a constant threat every day when you get up and go to work, and it’s unfortunately nothing new. It’s become a norm for the federal worker.”
Workers have been forced to budget as best they can around missed paychecks, from filing for unemployment and waiting on those benefits, deciding whether to visit food banks and requesting deferments on bills, said Zitkus.
“It’s overwhelming. It’s hard to stay positive,” Zitkus said. “Federal workers serve the people. They’re not politicians, and so there’s a lot of frustration being expressed to me by my members of: why is this going on, why is there a political fight going on that affects us? We’re civil servants, and we serve the American people, and we want to be able to continue to do that and be paid.”
Abigail Jackson, the White House deputy secretary, placed the shutdown blame solely on Democrats and repeated the misleading claim that Democrats are pushing for healthcare for undocumented immigrants.
“The only reason the government was shut down at all, let alone for this long, is because the Democrats decided to hold the American people hostage to push their radical, far-left policy agenda of free healthcare for illegal aliens,” Jackson said in a statement.
“American families have missed paychecks and benefits because of the Democrats’ irresponsible behavior. President Trump wants the government reopen – the Democrats can choose to reopen it at any point, and they should do so immediately.”
