Leaders of labor unions representing hundreds of thousands of federal workers urged Congress and President Trump on Wednesday to negotiate a spending plan that would reopen the government, which has been shut down for a week.
Their message, delivered at a rain-soaked news conference in Washington, came as many federal workers, including those at the Department of Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration, prepared to receive the last paychecks they’ll get until the government reopens. Those checks will be smaller than usual because the pay period includes four days in October.
“Do your damn job, and pass a budget that’s going to require a little compromise,” Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, said. His union represents more than 110,000 federal employees across the country who work at agencies including the National Park Service, the Defense Department and Health and Human Services.
Mr. Erwin said many members lived paycheck to paycheck and could not go for any period without pay. (Some government workers will receive their final checks next week if the shutdown continues.)
Lawmakers are at an impasse over how to fund the government into November. The Republican plan, which passed the House, does not include rollbacks for health care cuts that Democrats say has to be a part of any deal.
While some federal workers are still on the job, more than 600,000 are furloughed, according to Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. “What they all have in common is they’re not getting paid,” he said.
Union leaders also lashed out at Mr. Trump over his threats to layoff more federal workers, which the unions said would be illegal, and only provide back pay to certain employees, a notion that appeared to be in conflict with a law that Mr. Trump signed in 2019.
“Federal employees are hard working public servants, not part of anyone’s political game,” said Lee Blackmon, federal director of the National Association of Government Employees. “Using a government shutdown to threaten permanent job cuts is unprecedented, cruel and deeply harmful.”
Eileen Sullivan is a Times reporter covering the changes to the federal work force under the Trump administration.
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