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The nation’s largest union representing federal workers calls for solidarity among its members as the government shutdown surpasses a month.
The nation’s largest union representing federal workers calls for solidarity among its members as the government shutdown surpasses a month.
The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 820,000 government workers, held a special town hall Thursday with other union leaders to discuss how the organization plans to move forward as the shutdown continues.
Everett Kelley, AFGE’s national president, said over 2,000 workers sent in questions to be answered. For timing purposes, only five of the most requested questions were answered during the event.
“It’s a time filled with uncertainty, frustration and anger,” Kelley said, adding that the shutdown is testing federal workers “not just financially, but emotionally and morally.”
According to Kelley, many federal workers are struggling to get by during the government shutdown without food to eat or a paycheck to pay their bills. Recently, he urged Senate Democrats to join Republicans in reopening the government immediately “under a clean continuing resolution that allows continued debate on larger issues.”
During Thursday’s town hall, he reiterated that plea, adding that no federal worker should have to go hungry to “make a point to win a political fight.”
“They want to pretend as if our livelihoods are nothing more than bargaining chips in a contest to see which party wins and which party lose,” Kelley said.
Kelly Keating is the chair of AFGE Local 2065 and the Council for the Marine Corps Base, which represents civilian employees in Quantico, Virginia. She never imagined that representing federal workers would also mean locating food banks for employees, or calling sweet potato farmers for donations.
Keating called for everyone in the town hall to call their congressional representatives and demand they end the shutdown.
“We need to be reminding them of the oath that they took,” she said. “We need to be loud, and we need to tell them to do their damn job, and we need to do it every day.”
The town hall provided updates on the union’s recent court cases, including a win in federal court when a judge in San Francisco indefinitely barred the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown.
Those looking for additional assistance were directed to the AFGE’s website, where there are links to a nationwide map with resources for federal workers, including food assistance discounts and financial assistance. Kelley also promoted hardship loans and shutdown grants through the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund. Lastly, those who cannot pay their union dues were directed to make a request with their local union chapter.
Rounding out the town hall, Kelley called for members to stick together and push lawmakers to end the shutdown. Those who hadn’t joined the union that were on the call were encouraged to join, Kelley said, as with more members speaking together, change can happen.
“We are the backbones of this country,” he said. “We need to remember that our power to win these fights come from our solidarity.”
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Jose Umana
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