SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – The partial government shutdown is forcing many impacted federal employees to adjust and adapt to no paychecks coming in.
But one local union is making an effort to help out its members.
“We’re feeding the members of our union that, uh, have failed to get paid,” Derrick Arnold, President of NTEU Local 105
The president of the local Customs and Border Protection officers’ union hosted their first food distribution event, which they personally organized, as the partial government shutdown continues.
“It’s maybe one last meal that they have to worry about or one last bill or something that they need to spend money on so they can focus on something else,” Arnold said.
ABC 10News spoke with Arnold just as funding for the Department of Homeland Security was about to run out in February, and this event was something they were looking into organizing.
He told ABC 10News that this is one of the ways they help give them something many of us take for granted while they wait to be paid.
It’s been a tough time for these federal employees navigating life without a paycheck.
I know a lot of parents have told us stories that they're going without to make sure their kids are fed and be able to go to go to school and do it. And the hardest thing right now is spring break,” Manuel Araujo, Vice President of NTEU Local 105, said. “Spring break, kids are at home for all three meals. That's heartbreaking right there, where they have to choose, do I have enough gas to make it to work, or do I feed my kid?”
Dozens of employees showed up to the distribution event that the union teamed up with Feeding San Diego to host on Wednesday afternoon.
“There's people who are saying, I'm not just down to my last dime, my last penny. I'm going to debt trying to survive,” Arnold said.
On Wednesday, Republicans in the House and Senate said they have a path to end the shutdown and get these employees paid.
For now, Arnold has a message to those with the power to end this shutdown.
“At this point, it's no longer about political differences. People's lives are being impacted. We're not taking vacation, we're coming to work and we're not getting paid. Please get back to work and get us paid,” Arnold said.
