Arkansas federal workers call for reopening government as shutdown passes third week

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/MITCHELL PE MASILUN -- 1/11/2019 --
Union members protest the government shutdown outside the Victory Building, which houses the offices of Sens. Cotton and Boozman, Friday, Jan 11, 2018 in Little Rock.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/MITCHELL PE MASILUN -- 1/11/2019 -- Union members protest the government shutdown outside the Victory Building, which houses the offices of Sens. Cotton and Boozman, Friday, Jan 11, 2018 in Little Rock.

Nearly two dozen federal employees and supporters rallied Friday outside the offices of Arkansas’ congressional delegation in Little Rock, waving signs reading “End the Shut Down” while shouting “We are people not pawns” and “Shutdowns hurt families.”

It marked the first day since the beginning of the partial government shutdown that some 800,000 federal workers across the country went without paychecks following the ongoing Congressional impasse over border security funding.

In Arkansas, over 13,000 people work for the federal government, according to the U.S. office of personnel management data. Many of those employees have been asked to work without pay, which they say is beginning to strain their personal finances and workplace spirits.

“We feel like we’re being held hostage,” said Brandy Moore, who works at the Federal Correctional Institution in Forrest City and serves as national secretary for the union representing prison workers. “These people live paycheck to paycheck, and they can’t afford to go without one.”

Republican Sen. John Boozman expressed disappointment for the partial shutdown in a statement to the Democrat-Gazette Friday, saying, "I don't believe such a disruption in services and uncertainty for federal employees is in the best interest of Arkansans.”

He said he plans to continue working with President Donald Trump and “colleagues from both sides of the aisle to find an agreeable solution.”

Moore said the shutdown has been draining on workers’ morale at the 2,058-inmate facility in Forrest City.

“We risk our lives every day not knowing if we’re going to come home or not,” she said. “That just adds insult to injury.”

Workers like her who are deemed “essential,” which also includes airport security agents and other public safety positions, have been working through the shutdown since Dec. 21.

Still, the impacts of the shutdown haven’t been broadly felt for the general public, despite closures to part of the Clinton Center, federal parks and certain landmarks receiving federal money.

Security lines at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock appeared relatively normal late Friday morning, with about a half-dozen travelers waiting to enter the checkpoint area.

“It’s because [of] the dedication of the employees still doing their work even though they didn’t get a paycheck today,” said Robert Harrison, a national representative with the American Federation of Government Employees, the nation's largest federal employee union.

But with the uncertainty in the latest congressional logjam, he said he worries about the long-term impacts, including higher costs and trouble replacing workers who are forced to find other work in the meantime.

For workers like Vicky Buzbee, an Internal Revenue Service auditor who was among Friday’s ralliers, she’s been forced to heavily cut down her family’s spending. She said she’s putting off overdue oil changes for her cars and keeping the turning the thermostat down, among other cutbacks.

“Our kids got a lot less for Christmas this year,” she said.

Chad Wade, a 17-year Forestry Service engineer near Hot Springs, said he’s planning to take a personal loan to help pay for his 18-year-old son’s college tuition, which is due this month.

While he said he loves the work he does and his career has afforded him chances to live in other parts of the country, he is nervous about how long he can hold out financially.

“I’ll give it until February. After that I might need to figure out something,” Wade said.

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