In my opinion, every federal worker should walk off their job.

[shockey80]

They should put in place a real shutdown. How many times have we been through this. How many times are the American people going to let themselves be used as pawns. The American people are fucking sheep. I am fucking sick of it.

[manor321]

1. I have a pro-shutdown Trump-humper coworker going on vacation soon

Is it bad to hope that his flight gets cancelled? Only his flight.

[spooky3]

7. No, but I hope a TSA worker finds something verboten in his luggage. nt

[manor321]

9. OK. That's good enough. :)

[sarcasmo]

2. Working for a check that shows, Net Pay: 0.00 . Bonkers.

[Skidmore]

3. Govt employees

are forbidden by law to strike. Quick way to actually lose their jobs.

[shockey80]

5. Thats the point, they can't fire everybody.

The American people no longer fight together. They are sheep. We have workers rights because Americans broke the law, they fucking died fighting for workers rights.

[Bradshaw3]

10. I sympathize but

It's easy to say they should all walk off their jobs but in truth only a few would take that chance and likely get fired. Now if there were some way to gt 90 percent or so to commit to it and Dems in congress offer protection, then it might work.

[sarisataka]

11. That's what air traffic controllers thought

Back in the 80s...

[BumRushDaShow]

12. "they can't fire everybody."

Oh yeah they can. That is the RW lunatic GOP member's wet dream. "Less government" or "no government".

Over 1/2 of the TOTAL of those working for the federal government are contractors (the furloughed are generally civil servants). So they can easily insist on bringing in more contractors to do the work.

Would it survive a court challenge? Maybe/maybe not because civil servants are required to do work deemed "inherently governmental" but who knows? Would it fuck up the country big time? You bet.

[KPN]

13. As a retired federal career employee, while I understand and actually would support a federal

walkout if it occurred, I think it is unfair to indirectly refer to the people caught up in this mind boggling cluster as "sheep". You are right, they can't fire everyone. But I'm quite certain they would fire some -- probably the people that they could single out as the "leaders" of the walkout in each and every federal agency involved. That would almost certainly amount to hundreds, if not thousands. Most of those people probably have families they support with their federal income as well as some level of debt, in some cases substantial debt, they are servicing with the income they derive from their jobs.

Any federal government-wide walkout most assuredly will require leaders who would be taking that exact risk. Protecting their families and their financial futures in those circumstances should not be called "being sheep" by any of us, especially those who are only indirectly affected by the shutdown.

Otherwise -- I like your passion. I would gladly support a mass workplace walkout by the rest of us to demonstrate our support for the affected federal workforce and hopefully drive a silver spike in the TrumpShutdown.

[shockey80]

14. Thank you.

[mwooldri]

4. With missing paychecks, yep... A sickout.

No TSA? No flights for regular passengers.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. See PATCO, 1981

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/reagan-fires-11359-air-traffic-controllers

As a related sidenote, yesterday, the House passed a bill that would not only restore retroactive pay to furloughed employees, but would mandate that such a stipulation be permanently codified into law so congress would not have to keep crafting the same retroactive pay legislation over and over and over when there is a lapse of appropriations. Since the Senate passed their own retroactive pay bill, the 2 bills will need to be reconciled, re-voted on by both chambers, and then go to the President for signature.

[wishstar]

8. Trump and Repubs would love that as they could replace them all with loyalists

Civil servants cannot walk off their jobs but would be quickly fired which would leave lots of vacancies that the upper level Trump appointees would eagerly fill with Repub friends and relatives

[muntrv]

15. I am hoping his secret service agents walk off as well as the pilot.

[Igel]

16. Most federal workers got their paychecks yesterday.

If you just listen to the soundbite news media you'd miss that.

About 1/4 of the government is without appropriations.

Some of that 1/4 has alternate means to pay 100% of their employees for a while, and are doing so.

Of the less than 1/4 that's without means to pay, some percentage (depending on the agency, maybe 20%, maybe 70%) are working without currently receiving pay. But a large part was told to stay home, so there's no "walking off the job" possible.

I've worked when my employer couldn't pay me immediately. It happens. It was difficult. I got back pay; that also happens. But at the same time, it showed I was loyal to my job and to those I served (and, yes, my boss from time to time showed loyalty--it's a two-way street) and that I considered my job worth doing. It showed I didn't have the dollar as my highest value. Money is not everything.

There are three parties responsible for the shutdown. In any impasse, there's always at least two sides saying "I'm right and it's entirely the other guy's fault." And they're almost always wrong. I may be on one side, but that doesn't mean I'm unable to see past my own convictions.

[shanny]

17. I wouldn't lay it on federal employees.

I rather see a general strike.

[Hekate]

18. Doctors and nurses at VA hospitals?

[lilactime]

19. If the Trump shutdown doesn't end, eventually all federal workers will be affected.

It's not as if McConnell will let the Senate vote on funding the rest of the government when their funding runs out or that Trump would sign a bill if he did.