Amid Shutdown, Federal Workers in NY Slam Union Leader's Break from Dems

As the federal government shutdown neared the one-month mark, Republicans in Congress got a boost from an unlikely source: the head of the nation's top federal workers' union, who on Monday pleaded with Democrats to sign a GOP-backed spending bill that would immediately end the government shutdown — without maintaining billions of dollars in health insurance subsidies.

"Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight," American Federal of Government Employees national president Everett Kelley wrote in a statement on Oct. 27.

"Today I'm making mine: It's time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today," added Kelley. "No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today."

The statement — and a similar letter submitted to senators in Congress — marks a remarkable shift for the union, which was pushing Republicans to negotiate with Democrats before the shutdown began on Oct. 1.

Meanwhile, local leaders and rank and file members from New York and elsewhere reacted to his remarks with disappointment and frustration; AFGE represents 800,000 federal workers nationally, among them 45,000 from the mid-Atlantic and New England region that includes New York State.

Suzanne Englot, the president of AFGE Local 3911, said conversations with her own members in the last several days reveal that a majority disagree with Kelley because his statement fails to capture the "nuance" of the current moment. Her local represents more than 600 employees of the Environmental Protection Agency in New York and other states and U.S. territories.

"Clearly, there are issues that need to be resolved that require time and care," said Englot. But signing a spending bill that doesn't address the health cuts "creates a whole bunch of consequences and maybe doesn't solve the problem, and it doesn't seem like the best solution to us," she said.

A rank and file Local 3911 member, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation from the agency, said that Kelley's suggestions would "undermine" Democrats' negotiating power.

"I think it undermines any leverage that Democrats have in Congress to do their job, to stand up for the needs of the American people," he said. "Working for the EPA, our job is to ensure human health and the environment is protected for all Americans. So we know the importance of delivering public services, and this is their moment to stand up for what is right and what is most important, which is health care."

Kate, a Local 3911 member, said she is "very disappointed" by Kelley's statement.

"I was a little bit shocked that he said Congress should pass a 'clean continuing resolution,' which I don't consider a clean resolution because it takes away health care from millions of Americans," she added.

The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1 with no end in sight, after Congress failed to pass a budget bill that includes sweeping changes to the Affordable Care Act that would increase premiums and cut off millions of Americans from coverage, mostly due to Democratic opposition.

As soon as this weekend, 1.7 million New Yorkers enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, once known as food stamps, will stop receiving their benefits without federal funds. Local food banks are unable to handle the demand of people who will need help once the program runs dry, THE CITY reported this week.

It is precisely the image of federal workers potentially waiting in "food lines" that Kelley invoked in his letter to lawmakers — and in remarks on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday — calling on members of Congress to strike a deal that funds the government for the next three weeks.

In his statement on Monday, Kelley did not directly call on Democrats to fold; rather, he suggested that the health care negotiations can continue after Congress votes to reopen the government — which Democrats and union members who spoke to THE CITY said means giving up lawmakers' leverage to force Republicans to the table.

But AFGE members who spoke with THE CITY on Thursday, who all asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation from their bosses in the federal government, said that they supported Democrats holding firm in their opposition to any deal that includes health cuts.

"It is not a zero-sum game," said one Local 3911 member. "We could fight for health care while also condemning the shutdown, while also condemning the Republicans in Congress, and this administration that has used every opportunity to weaponize the federal government against the American public."

An estimated 1.4 million federal workers and 1 million federal contractors have missed their paychecks since the shutdown began on Oct. 1.

One Local 3911 member from Queens said he doesn't believe Kelley's position "is representative of all federal workers."

"It certainly isn't representative of myself, and many of my comrades in our local, Local 3911 and across the country," added the union member.

The shutdown has devastated federal workers, who have endured attacks from the Trump administration as it has sought to invalidate collective bargaining agreements in some agencies, lay off federal workers en masse, eliminate entire agencies and force workers to resign or take buyout offers.

More than 100 EPA employees were suspended and then put under administrative leave for 11 weeks after signing a letter in July calling on agency administrator Lee Zeldin to not abandon the agency's mission to protect human health and the environment. During the period the employees were on administrative leave, they received pay but were not allowed to perform their duties pending an internal investigation.

Two workers who spoke with THE CITY were allowed to return to work only two weeks before the shutdown began — and have now been out of work and without a paycheck for four weeks and counting.

"I've effectively been away from my work since July 3," the date the administrative leave went into effect, said one EPA worker. "People really care about the mission, and they stay there because they care about the work."

AFGE has been among the public-sector unions leading multiple legal challenges against the Trump administration's attacks on the federal workforce. On Wednesday, AFGE and other unions won an extension of a judicial order barring the federal government from firing workers while the government is shut down.

Even with the present disagreements with the national union, Kate, a Local 3911 member for more than a decade, said she's standing with the union even though she disagrees with Kelley's position on the shutdown.

"It's a very difficult situation, but I am proud to be a union member right now," said Kate.

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