It’s a tense time for government workers throughout the region, local union officials said. A federal government shutdown could be implemented at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday due to legislators in Washington D.C. unable to end a stalemate over Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
If a shutdown happens, the White House has threatened to implement mass government firings of federal workers.
“Of course, our guys are stressed,” said Joe Shuker, vice president of AFGE Region 7, a union that represents federal employees, including Transportation Security Administration workers at the Philadelphia International Airport.
Shuker said federal TSA workers are expected to work through government shutdowns without pay. The workers traditionally get backpack after any shutdown ends.
But, missing a paycheck will make it hard for employees to get to work and focus on the job at hand, he told NBC10’s Lauren Mayk.
“It’s a high stress job. We’re looking for bombs, weapons, stuff like that and you can’t miss, right? So you don’t want officers with added stress, of ‘how am I going to pay my bills? I’ve got to come to work and not get paid.’ It’s ridiculous, really,” he said. “Congress needs to do their job and pass a bill.”
For Alex Jay Berman, vice president of NTEU Chapter 71, which represents IRS workers, uncertainty looms as IRS employees would be required to stay on the job for the first week of a shutdown.
But, after that, he’s unsure what would happen next.
“I hate to jest but, in my mind, running on a loop is ‘it’s the most scariest time of the year,’” Berman said to the tune of the holiday favorite, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”
For employees of the National Park Service, including those at Independence National Historic Park, they are hopeful officers and parks will be kept open. And, they have been through this before.
David Fitzpatrick, secretary treasurer of the AFGE Council 270, which represents parks workers, says this time, a shutdown “feels different.”
“This one’s different because President Trump has threatened to fire, actually get rid of, these people that are going to get furloughed,” he said. “It’s a shame that the federal employees are again used as a pawn.”
Asked what federal workers could do to protect themselves in the event of a government shutdown, Berman offered a few words of advice.
“Work together,” Berman said. “You don’t have to only accept one outcome.”
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