Amid threat of national emergency declaration US government workers call in sick, demand strike action against lockout and payless paydays

By Barry Grey 

12 January 2019

Locked out and unpaid federal workers seethed with anger Friday as the partial government shutdown headed for a record 22 days with no end in sight, and paychecks failed to go out to some 800,000 employees who have been furloughed or forced to work without compensation.

In addition, many tens of thousands of federal contract workers could be losing a combined $200 million in lost pay per day, according to Bloomberg Government, and most will never be repaid after the lockout ends.

Government workers protest January 10 in Washingtotn DC [Photo Credit - AFGE]

The mounting resistance of federal workers, muzzled by the government unions, is finding increasing expression in sickouts and demands on social media for strike action against the government.

On Friday, Miami International Airport announced it was closing one of its terminals for part of the weekend due to a shortage of available screeners at Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) checkpoints.

An airport spokesman told the Miami Herald that federal screeners were calling in sick at "double the normal rate for Miami." He said other checkpoints might me closed if the shutdown continued and additional screeners called in sick.

A TSA screener at Laguardia Airport in New York City told the WSWS, “I know my co-workers have high rents, mortgages to pay. They don’t know what they’re going to do. A lot of the people, they’re the primary source of income for their household.

“You get a federal job thinking it would be secure, but then they shut down the whole government and who knows when it will be open again. A lot of these jobs you’re putting yourself at risk, for what? You'll get back your pay eventually, but no one wants to hear eventually when it comes to your pay.”

Another TSA worker at Laguardia, on the job for one year, explained, “Some people don’t have the funds to even make it to work because of the shutdown. They don’t have money for gas to put in their vehicle, basic things no one thinks about until you don’t have an income.”

“Especially Congress,” her colleague added, “I think they forget what it's like to lead a normal life. There are people that are up there in their offices, nice and cozy in their leather seats, totally out of touch with what it’s like to be down here. You can have the rest of the population sympathize with us, which is nice. I think passengers have been nicer to us. I appreciate that. And if they’re not, they do a 180 as soon as they realize we’re not getting paid.”

Asked about reports of sickouts, the screener explained, “They're calling it the ‘blue flu’. It’s nothing organized, just people saying I don’t want to come in.”

In contrast to the refusal of the federal employee unions and AFL-CIO to take any serious action to fight the shutdown, the union Facebook pages are bristling with angry demands for a massive fight-back.

The tenor of the bulk of the comments on the Facebook page of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is indicated by the following posts:

• It’s about time the workers stage a walk out. No pay no work!. Take the power to the people and demand action now!

• Everyone call in sick on Monday and shut the airlines and everything else down! Let’s strike and create our own national emergency before President Dummy does!!!

From the AFL-CIO Facebook page:

• WALK THE HELL OUT!! Shut down the airports. The shutdown would end in 2 hours.

• Total bullshit to expect anyone to work without an expectation of getting paid.... What do they call that? Oh yeah, slavery!

• Shut down a couple airports. Workers have the power—sick out days!!

• Have everyone go to sick-out days for about a week. Then demand a raise.

As hundreds of thousands of families are unable to meet rent or mortgage payments, cover health bills or put food on the table, and the government fails to carry out basic social functions such as food and drug inspection, road, bridge and mass transit maintenance, housing and nutrition assistance, the entire political system and all of its official institutions become increasingly discredited in the eyes of the working class.

Among the 420,000 "essential" workers forced to work without pay are 13,000 air traffic controllers, some of whom posted on Twitter pay stubs listing $0.00 for the pay period ending January 10. Their plight sums up the reality of class relations and the role of the state as the repressive arm of the ruling class.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/01/12/shut-j12.html