Wildfire and other emergency response personnel will continue working during the federal government shutdown that began this week, but advocates warn that those workers could still be impacted.
In shutdown plans from the departments of Interior and Agriculture, wildfire staff and other workers – including law enforcement officers – will be spared the furloughs faced by thousands of their colleagues. In some cases, funds may be available to continue paying them. But Max Alonzo, with the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) union, said not all fire workers will be so lucky.
“They have to work and still stress about how they're going to pay the bills,” he said of those who will continue to work not knowing when their next paycheck will come.
The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 mandates that workers receive shutdown backpay, but Alonzo said many federal workers live paycheck to paycheck. The day before the shutdown, representatives Janelle Bynum (D-Ore.) and Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) introduced legislation to ensure that all federal firefighters continue to be paid during the shutdown. It has yet to receive a hearing.
Alonzo also noted that wildfire response depends on many workers whose principal jobs aren’t in wildfire.
“A lot of the staff running the fire, making sure that the operations are running smooth, they're going to be sitting at home,” he added.
In a memo to federal agencies last week, the White House budget office told officials to prepare for possible mass firings during the shutdown. It directed agencies to “use this opportunity” to consider terminating employees working on programs or projects that satisfy several criteria, including whether funding for them lapsed with the shutdown
“One of my fears is that they are going to use this as an excuse to just get rid of as many people as possible,” Alonzo said.
The NFFE represents more than 100,000 workers across the federal government, and union leaders hope Congress can figure out a way to end the shutdown soon. The previous shutdown, during Trump’s first term, lasted 35 days and was the longest in history.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Boise State Public Radio, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio and KJZZ in Arizona as well as NPR, with support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
