Since the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1, many federal workers across the country have been working without pay, according to Partnership for Public Service. This includes federal employees from all sectors who are deemed essential to the American public, including TSA and air traffic control workers, according to Government Executive.
This puts a strain on employees at Dane County Regional Airport, American Federation of Government Employees Council 220 President Jessica LaPointe said. She represents Social Security Administration workers and stands in solidarity with TSA and other federal employees who, like herself, are working without pay.
“There’s so much uncertainty and stress surrounding not knowing when your next paycheck is going to come in, and not knowing if you need to actually quit your job to be able to have some income,” LaPointe said. “When you’re working without pay, you don’t qualify for unemployment compensation.”
Federal employees tend to get paid less than those in the private sector and are part of the 65% of Americans who work paycheck to paycheck, according to LaPointe. This means most workers do not have large cash reserves to fall back on during situations such as federal shutdowns, LaPointe said.
Some employees have received resources and support for basic necessities, but most federal employees have not received pay, University of Wisconsin School for Workers professor Michael Childers said.
“When the federal government shuts down, there’s the people who are furloughed, who are basically just at home, then there are the people who are basically mandated to continue working even though they are not receiving a check,” Childers said. “Air traffic controllers and TSA agents are two of those groups of key people, so they’ve been working without a check for a month now.”
Since Dane County Regional Airport is small, there likely have not been many delays or backups. But in larger airports across the country, staffing issues have caused delays, Childers said.
When workers are concerned about when their next paycheck will arrive, it is difficult to do their jobs and serve the American people to the best of their ability, LaPointe said. She said that this then bleeds into the American public, who are also worried about the essential services they rely on.
“It wears us down. So it’s hard to stay mission-ready for the American people in the services that we provide,” LaPointe said. “The vicarious stress of it all is really nationwide, and it’s something that the entire nation should be concerned about.”
Currently, workers are relying on Congress and president Donald Trump to sign legislation that would either reopen the government or pay workers during the shutdown, according to LaPointe. Federal workers are trying to get Congress and the White House to demonstrate bipartisan leadership so they can meet the needs of their families, LaPointe said.
Two bills were introduced Oct. 23 in the Senate — one by Republicans and another by Democrats — but neither was passed, reflecting the growing tension between the two parties, according to NPR.
The Republican bill titled “The Shutdown Fairness Act” would have allowed essential federal workers to be paid, but it did not reach the 60 votes it needed to pass, according to NPR. On the other hand, the Democratic bill would have allowed payment for all federal employees and blocked more mass layoffs by the Trump administration, and was titled “True Shutdown Fairness Act,” according to NPR.
“We are feeling like pawns in a political game that we took an oath not to be a part of,” LaPointe said. “We’re at the mercy of lawmakers to decide whether or not we get paid, which is a really frustrating place to be in.”
In the meantime, there are some actions being taken to mitigate the impacts on federal employees, including financial institutions that have come forward with low-interest loan programs and communities providing hot meals and other resources to federal employees, LaPointe said.
LaPointe said worries for workers’ mental health remain, as suicide rates were a concern even prior to the shutdown, especially among Social Security workers due to the stress of the position and understaffing issues. There is also concern that more employees will quit their jobs because they have no other choice, which worsens understaffing.
“We’re just trying to keep it together at our agency,” LaPointe said. “Every day that this shutdown drags on, it’s a more growing concern about how this is going to affect the financial, mental and physical well being of the workers.”
