Union leaders react to federal budget deal

While leaders of two federal workers’ unions welcomed yesterday’s budget deal averting another government shutdown, 32BJ SEIU Vice President Jaime Contreras said he was “deeply disappointed that a final deal did not include back pay for the thousands of federally-contracted workers who lost pay during President Trump's ill-fated 35 day-long shutdown.” And AFSCME president Lee Saunders called President Trump’s decision to declare a state of emergency to build a border wall “an abuse of power.” AFGE president J. David Cox Sr. added that “Many employees are still waiting to be fully paid for the 35 days the government was closed, and they are still digging out of the massive backlogs and work that wasn’t done while they were locked out of their jobs.”