This is a Showdown Not a Shutdown

by Alissa Tafti, Co-Director of Federal Unionists Network

Once again, we are staring down the barrel of a government shutdown. And once again, millions of federal workers, contractors, and everyday Americans who depend on public services are treated as pawns in a political game.

But this is a shutdown like no other. It is part of the power grab that has been unfolding for eight long months and now reaching a boiling point. Failure to inspect our food, stalled disaster relief, veterans waiting for care, and families facing needless uncertainty is the cost of this power grab by by an Administration that appears only suited for corruption and destruction. And of course, federal workers—dedicated people who keep our country running—are being told their livelihoods are expendable, while billionaires are lining their pockets.

As federal workers we took an oath, not to billionaire backed autocrats, but to the American people.

We are standing up to the bullying of this Administration, even knowing this shutdown causes us economic and personal pain. We are asking Congress to also stand strong and demand a fair budget that protects vital services the government must provide to keep us safe, healthy and stable and the integrity of science and research that will improve our future. We are also demanding  a government that is fair and honest and serves all.

It is not normal when the federal government loses almost 300,000 workers in one year leaving the public in a lurch. It is not normal to shutter agency programs, stop research for life saving medications, put out lies about public health, and fire workers that simply speak up and tell the truth. Unless we want our country to become unrecognizable, a place where it is no longer strange when our cities are invaded by our own military, ordinary Americans become scared to speak up, the Department of Justice prosecutes anyone who is a critic of the president, and we can’t even count on safe food, we need to win this showdown.

This does not mean we want to simply go back. As federal workers, we know more than most that the government has not been meeting its promise to the people for some time. We need the funding and support to change that. Federal workers are committed to fighting for real improvement, and we can succeed when we fight together with communities across the country that deserve and expect more. We will stand with you. Let’s win this showdown today and build anew. We can create a government that brings  fairness and opportunity for all.