The largest federal workers union has decided it’s time for Congress to approve a clean budget resolution and end the government shutdown.
The largest federal workers union has decided it’s time for Congress to approve a clean budget resolution and end the government shutdown.
“No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today,” says Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 820,000 government workers. “Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight.”
The AFGE is an important arm of the Democratic coalition, and it speaks with a mighty voice — over 95 percent of its political action committee contributions flow to Democrats. Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries aren’t going to find it easy to ignore.
As Punchbowl News reports: “AFGE’s lobbying to end the shutdown will undoubtedly put pressure on Democrats. Several said to us this morning that this appears to be the beginning of the end of the shutdown.”
Late yesterday, AFGE was joined by the union for 20,000 air traffic controllers. It announced it would start a flyer campaign telling travelers how the ongoing shutdown threatens aviation safety and exacerbates delays: “Every day the shutdown continues, the negative consequences to the NAS and its employees are compounding.”
On Monday, there were more than 2,700 flight delays, with the Federal Aviation Administration citing staffing shortages.