‘Willingly Forgoing Paychecks’: Federal Workers Support Shutdown Fight

A coalition of unions in the federal sector signed on to an extraordinary Federal Unionists Network letter September 29 urging the Democrats to fight Trump administration cuts, even at the price of a government shutdown. It was titled “No Bad Budget in Our Name,” and signers represent tens of thousands of federal workers.

Now that the shutdown has started, FUN is organizing a response among federal unionists, stating: “This is much more than a fight between branches of government or political parties. This government shutdown is a showdown between the public and the billionaires.”

“[They’re] using a shutdown as a threat to pressure Congress to pass a budget that impacts our most vulnerable, including seniors, rural communities, hungry children and cuts out access to healthcare for millions of Americans,” said FUN Co-Executive Director Alyssa Tafti in a statement. “Federal workers took an oath to serve the American people, and our veterans, our seniors, and our families deserve better than to have these important services and protections taken away from them,” she said.

Health care workers agreed. “It is completely reckless and morally bankrupt for Trump and Republican leaders to use a government shutdown as leverage to enact massive Medicaid cuts that will harm millions of Americans,” said Yvonne Armstrong, president of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, which represents 450,000 public and private health care workers from Massachusetts to Florida.

SAVE OUR SERVICES

“A government shutdown is never Plan A. Federal workers and the communities we serve will face severe hardship,” the FUN letter to Democratic leaders said. “But federal workers will willingly forego paychecks in the hopes of preserving the programs we have devoted our lives to administering.

“In order to save our services today, we need to send a message to this Administration that enough is enough,” the letter concluded.

Democrats are demanding that Congress extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, which Republicans are allowing to expire. Health care costs for 22 million people will rise by an average of 75 percent. Millions would pay thousands more per year, and many will be priced out of health insurance.

Democrats are also trying to stop Trump from unilaterally canceling federal funding, and to restore cuts to Medicaid that are projected to immediately close 300 rural hospitals. But Republicans have refused. By law, Congress controls funding, but the law is not being enforced.

The Republicans passed Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” in July to give the rich more tax breaks. It cut $1 trillion from Medicaid, which many hospitals depend on.

“Trump’s and the Republicans’ track record show they have zero interest in maintaining a government to serve its people,” wrote National Nurses United. “The [Democrats’ proposed bill] would not only restart the government, but also save lives by restoring health care funding and assistance, while ending the Trump administration’s unprecedented power over government spending.” NNU has 225,000 members across the country.

During past government shutdowns, non-essential workers have been furloughed, while essential workers were expected to show up without pay. They eventually received back-pay. This time, however, Trump’s budget director, Russell Vought, has threatened to lay off workers permanently instead. Unions have filed suit in California, charging that he does not have that authority.

HORROR SHOW

Federal workers have been put in this paradoxical position because Trump administration actions since February have already shut down vital government services and safeguards, with no end in sight.

Government workers have experienced eight months of horror, with mass layoffs of probationary employees, data theft by DOGE, and orders that have prevented them from doing their jobs.

At Housing and Urban Development, fair housing lawyers were prohibited from contacting their clients. At the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 90 percent of staff were laid off. At NASA, perfectly good weather satellites were ordered abandoned because they record carbon in the atmosphere. EPA workers charge that administrators are “directly contradicting EPA’s own scientific assessments on human health risks, most notably regarding asbestos, mercury, and greenhouse gases.”

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Over 200,000 federal workers have been axed and by December, 300,000 federal workers (one in eight) are expected to be gone.

“Congress must draw the line,” said James Kirwan, a FUN organizer. “Public service and public programs are not bargaining chips in a billionaire power grab.”

BENT ON DESTRUCTION

New Trump-appointed administrators seem bent on the destruction of their agencies. Trump even fired a FEMA head after he told Congress he wasn’t in favor of eliminating the agency entirely.

In the worst union-busting in memory, the administration has claimed that union contracts for most federal workers are void and stopped agencies from collecting union dues. Administrators in many agencies are ignoring contracts and acting like their unions don’t exist.

Lawsuits by the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union have had mixed results, but the courts have mostly declined to stop the administration’s actions.

Public protest and the unworkability of the cuts have meant that at a few agencies, notably Veterans Affairs, the IRS, and the General Services Administration, managers have backed off from the more extreme projected reductions in force.

At many agencies, including the VA, FEMA, EPA, and NASA, workers have signed public declarations sounding the alarm that their work was being undermined. Congress, which is controlled by Republicans, has taken no action, however.

“The Continuing Resolution we are currently operating under has given President Trump extraordinary powers over government spending, which he has used to slash public services,” FUN wrote. “As a result, the American people are already experiencing unprecedented harms.”

Addressing the Democrats, FUN wrote: “We ask that you refuse to support any budget that does not rightfully return the power of the purse to Congress and ensure any and all appropriated funds are spent on our critical public services.”

The Federal Unionists Network is holding a call on October 2 called “Federal Worker Showdown: Now is the Time to Fight.” You can sign up at the link.