‘A domino effect’: Federal employees demand an end to shutdown as workers suffer, services shutter

With Congress “playing checkers,” as Regina Coates put it, she “played chess this year.” 

The 23-year employee of the Internal Revenue Service had anticipated a possible federal government shutdown, so she took every opportunity she could to work overtime and collect extra money in case she would have to go without pay. It was one of the lessons she learned from her experience during the 2018 shutdown, a five-week ordeal amid the holiday season.    

Coates’ concerns became a reality as the government closed on Oct. 1, leading to her and hundreds of her colleagues in Western Pennsylvania and thousands of federal employees across America being furloughed or forced to work without a paycheck. And while she’s prepared, Coates said she is worried for her co-workers and knows that the shutdown affects many beyond her office.

“The taxpayers that are suffering and want the service don’t realize that there’s only so much we can do,” Coates said. “We’re like inmates in this prison; we have rules and regulations that we have to follow. So their refunds are on hold. We can’t release them because processing is not here to help us help them. It’s a domino effect from the top down.”

Coates was one of about a dozen federal union workers who gathered Friday outside of the William S. Moorhead Federal Building in Downtown to call on Congress to negotiate and reopen the government. The group included IRS employees represented by National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 34, and workers from the Army Corps of Engineers represented by International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 777 and American Federation of Government Employees Local 2187.

The issue at the heart of the shutdown is the continuation of health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire, potentially leading to skyrocketing health care costs for millions of Americans. U.S. House Democrats want those subsidies to continue, but Republicans have said there is nothing to negotiate and have not budged. Republicans hold the majority in the House, but they don’t have enough votes to open the government without Democratic support. 

As politicians continue pointing fingers, IRS furloughs have halted tax services across the country, including walk-in offices in Pittsburgh, Cranberry, Monroeville, Uniontown, Erie and Johnstown. About half of the nearly 500 IRS employees in Western Pennsylvania – most of whom work in Downtown – have been furloughed.

Workers at the Army Corps of Engineers in Pittsburgh also face furloughs, while some continue working without pay, said Kristina Schultz, a biologist with the Army Corps of Engineers who also serves as vice president of IFPTE 777.  

“I came to the federal government to serve the American people, to make sure families have access to clean water, outdoor recreational opportunities, as well as support when natural disasters strike,” Schultz said. “Right now, federal employees and their families across the country and right here in your neighborhood are suffering, unsure when we will receive our next paychecks.”

Elizabeth McPeak, vice president of NTEU Chapter 34, said 1.4 million federal workers are going without pay due to the shutdown, and 700,000 have been furloughed.

“Tomorrow is payday. But there won’t be a payday for 1.4 million people tomorrow, including me, including many of you,” McPeak said addressing the workers. 

“But your bills don’t stop, do they?” McPeak asked.

“No,” the group responded.

“Your rent still has to be paid, your mortgage still has to be paid, your lights still have to be paid,” she said.

“Exactly,” one voice from the group said.

“You still have to get food for your family,” McPeak continued. “We have workers who are lining up at the food bank so they can feed their families. Federal workers should not have to go to a food bank to feed their families. That is outrageous in America.”

Ryan Leverett-Ptak, who, as a revenue agent with the IRS, makes sure that the largest taxpayers in the country are paying what they should, has already dealt with job uncertainty, being illegally fired and then hired back earlier this year after the federal government made sweeping job cuts shortly after President Donald Trump’s inauguration. 

While he continues to be paid because of the software he works on, Leverett-Ptak said he empathizes with his co-workers and other federal employees who are going without. And dealing with the unknowns around the shutdown have been discombobulating as his work situation could change at any time, he said. 

“It’s a pain because I don’t know if I’m going to be working any given week, or a different pay period,” he said. “Will the money run out, will I be fired – because I’ve been fired before – will I get put on furlough, what’s going to happen next? There’s a physical effect in pay, and there’s a mental effect in a lack of knowing what’s going on.”

Although clarity on the matter would be nice, Leverett-Ptak said what’s really needed is for Congress to come to an agreement and reopen.  

“I want to do my job, I want to get paid for my job, I love my job, it’s the kind of work that I feel good about,” he said. “And clearly, playing chickenshit games with other people’s benefits is more important than having a running government.”