Furloughed workers rallied outside the Capitol Friday, along with union leaders and more than 20 congressional supporters. Speakers cited the response of police to Thursday's security situation on Capitol Hill, with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka saying, "Their actions remind us that government workers are proud public servants who often do selfless, courageous work. Because our government shut down, these people are working but don’t know if or when they’ll get paid."
Workers also stood to describe how furlough is affecting them:
Natasha Rozier, an employee at the Census Bureau, spoke at the rally, explaining that she has had to tell her 5-year-old daughter why both of her parents aren’t going to work this week.
“With no money mommy is not able to take you to the places that you enjoy the most such as Chuck E. Cheese, going to the movies, going out to eat or even buying you books,” Rozier said she told her daughter. “This broke my heart.”
She added, “Our job as federal government employees is to serve the people but that is not possible right now.”
Washington, D.C., isn't the only place federal workers have protested the shutdown. At a rally in
Beaufort, South Carolina,
[Local union president Sue] Partridge said the furloughed employees fear a protracted shutdown. Civilian employees on the bases have received just one full paycheck since July because of furlough days mandated by the sequester.
"My mortgage company and SCE&G aren't going to care about how I'm affected by the shutdown," she said. "I don't have savings to fall back. It's already been cut into by the furlough days we had planned for."
Workers also rallied in
Colorado Springs,
Ogden, Utah, and doubtless other places.
