‘Fellow pawns’ demand an end to the shutdown
They want politicians working on ‘meaningful plan’ that will get them back to work
Furloughed federal employees and outof-work contractors greeted each other Thursday with a sarcastic nickname that, on the 20th day of a partial government shutdown, captured their feeling of powerlessness: “Hello, fellow pawns.”
They shouted it to each other over the brutal wind and bitter cold in downtown Washington, where hundreds gathered to demand government leaders put an end to the shutdown and allow them to get back to work.
“I want our politicians to get to the table and work out a meaningful plan,” said Anand Desai, 36, an auditor with the Internal Revenue Service from Prince William County, Virginia. “They need to just solve it and stop using federal workers and the services we provide as a bargaining chip.”
Leaders of the National Federation of Federal Employees said they hoped that bringing federal workers to the president’s doorstep would show him whom the shutdown has hurt most.
President Donald Trump, though, wasn’t there to see them, having left earlier in the day to visit the U.S.Mexico border in Texas.
Those who gathered — chanting “pay the workers; furlough Trump” as they marched to the White House — work for various federal agencies and live in different states. Some said they support Trump’s push for a new wall and increased security along the U.S-Mexico border. Others scoffed at the idea.
But they all agreed on one thing: They need to get back to work.
“We want to send a very strong message — that this is not about politics, it’s about getting people back to work,” said Brittany Holder, a spokeswoman for the NFFE and a protest organizer. “People are feeling really stressed and anxious, and they want to know when this will end.”
Protesters packed the street outside the AFL- CIO building on 16th Street NW, holding signs that declared, “Congress: Do your job so we can do ours.”
After about 90 minutes of speeches, the group marched to the White House, where workers lined up along the fence.
“This is the people’s house,” shouted Jeffery David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees. “Surround our house with our workers.”
The protest came amid a partial shutdown that has left nine federal departments and several agencies closed since Dec. 22.
With similar marches in cities around the country, like Chicago and Dallas, Thursday’s demonstration was the largest protest against the shutdown since it began. Union leaders said if the federal stalemate continued, there would be more.
Negotiations over the shutdown remained at a standstill Thursday after a meeting between Trump and Democratic leaders unraveled a day earlier.
Workers said they felt abandoned and betrayed by a government — and president —that doesn’t seem to understand the hardship they are facing.
“We are public servants. People get into public service because we want to help others,” said De’Neal Gilliam, 30, a furloughed IRS employee from Richmond who stood outside the White House with a colorful sign adorned with pictures of Rihanna that read, “We don’t want a wall. We want work work work work work!” Protesters directed their ire largely at Trump, Republican members of Congress and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R.-Ky., for failing to make a deal to reopen the government.
“They can lie, they can steal, they can bring the United States government to its knees, but we’re going to be fighting, we’re going to be marching and we are going to make sure to hold Mitch McConnell accountable,” Cox told the crowd. “Mitch, do your job.”