A government shutdown will have major impact on thousands of employees

Newly elected National President for the National Treasury Employees Union, Doreen Greenwald, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to talk about her newly elected role and some of the tasks that come with it. Greenwald also talked about the IRS and what a shutdown would look like for thousands of employees.

It’s been six weeks since Greenwald took over as National President, and there are already a lot to be on the lookout for when it comes to protecting federal employees at NTEU. Greenwald left Wisconsin, where she’s spent the last 35 years of her career with the Internal Revenue Service, and moved to Washington, D.C., to lead the 150,000-member union. Many believe federal employees work outside of the D.C. area, but the reality is that over 85 percent of federal employees work outside of that area. As a federal employee from outside the region, promoting the truth about federal employees' work ethic is one of Greenwald’s goals. 

The Inflation Reduction Act has been a success for the Biden Administration, Greenwald said. By creating funding for the IRS, the administration has ensured that the IRS was restored to functional levels. The IRS collects around 96 percent of the money the federal government uses to fund multiple programs. Without the additional revenue provided by the Inflation Reduction Act, the IRS was struggling to do its job. 

On average, 4,000 federal employees are located within the District of Columbia. Many of these employees work paycheck-to-paycheck, and a shutdown would inexplicably harm these workers. Congress should be avoiding the shutdown at all costs, but instead are arguing over saving money and costing thousands of federal employees their jobs, Greenwald said. This will leave the employees scrambling to make ends meet and pay their rent, and even after a shutdown, it will still take months for the employees to receive their backpay from a shutdown, she said.

To hear more from National President Greenwald, press play above.