‘We need our paychecks’: Local federal workers demand urgent action as countdown for government shutdown begins

Local members of the American Federation of Government Employees are calling on their elected officials in Washington to pass a budget so they can keep receiving their paychecks as the countdown begins for the government shutdown expected on Sunday.

Going into the weekend, Jacksonville International Airport TSA Agent Fadwer Carmicheal is unsure of when she’ll be paid again.

“You have to think about daycare, childcare, gas, food rent,” Carmicheal said.

Carmicheal has worked at JAX for the last 12 years and said she was also impacted by the last government shutdown in 2019.

“It was very, very scary, but the TSA fought, they were strong. They were proud. But it wears on you. It wears on the officers,” Carmicheal said.

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Brandon Hartzog is in the same position as a federal firefighter at the Naval Station Mayport.

A federal government shutdown would mean that he and his team will be relying on credit cards for their daily expenses.

“Sunday I work, not knowing if I’m gonna get paid in two weeks,” Hartzog said. “You have to take all your money and yet put it back in the cut in the henhouse. You can’t be out enjoying stuff, can’t be at football games, concerts, all that stuff.”

Travel plans could also be impacted by a government shutdown since national parks and museums would close as well. In addition, TSA wait times and passport processing times are expected to be longer than normal.

Some federal offices will also have to close or face shortened hours during a shutdown.

“We need our paychecks,” Carmicheal said.

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All federal and furloughed workers will get backpay for however long the shutdown lasts. What’s most concerning to both Carmicheal and Hartzog is the impact the shutdown has on morale.

During the last shutdown, many essential employees began calling in sick to work.

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