'This year is different': Federal workers’ union asks Dems to vote for government shutdown

A pending nail-biter vote in the U.S. Senate on Friday evening will determine whether the House Republican bill to fund the government for five more months becomes law, or if the federal government shuts down.

Now, one of the biggest unions representing federal workers is urging Senate Democrats to allow the government to shut down. In a letter sent to senators posted to Bluesky by Huffpost reporter Jen Bendery, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) — which represents approximately 800,000 federal employees — said that despite the crippling effects of a shutdown, it would still be preferable to giving President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress carte blanche to continue their attacks on the federal civil service.

In the letter authored by AFGE national president Dr. Everett B. Kelley, national secretary-treasurer Eric Bunn and national vice president for women and fair practices Dr. Kendrick B. Roberson, the union leaders explained that their decision to oppose the spending bill was "not taken lightly." They acknowledged that in the past, the union has taken the position that continuing resolutions (CRs) are "better than an outright government shutdown."

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"During past budget stalemates, the AFGE has always reluctantly supported passage of CRs," the letter read. "This year is different. Hard experience has forced AFGE to break from past practice and oppose H.R. 1968."

"With thousands of federal workers either fired, placed on administrative leave, or at immediate risk of losing their jobs, AFGE members have concluded that a widespread government shutdown has been underway since January 20 and will continue to spread whether senators vote yes or no on H.R. 1968," they continued. "Under the current CR, federal workers are being treated no better than they will be if government funding ceases Friday night."

Under a federal government shutdown, all non-essential federal employees are furloughed while essential workers (like air traffic controllers, border agents and food safety inspectors, among others) are compelled to work without pay. The AFGE's leadership argued that Trump has exhibited a "brazen refusal to carry out duly enacted laws of Congress" by ignoring Congress's "power of the purse" outlined in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. They called on Senate Democrats to allow the government to shut down in order to force Republicans back to the negotiating table, saying Democrats' alternative of a four-week CR to keep agencies open in the meantime was a better alternative.

"AFGE knows that DOGE will dramatically expand its terminations of federal workers and double down on its campaign to make federal agencies fail because there will be nothing left to stop the administration for the balance of Fiscal Year 2025, if ever," the union's leadership wrote. "The spending measure amounts to a blank check to the administration for the rest of Fiscal Year 2025 and an abdication of Congressional authority that will long outlive the debates of this week."

Click here to read the full text of the letter on Bendery's Bluesky account.