32BJ SEIU, the nation’s largest property service workers union on Thursday called on the Trump Administration and Republican-controlled Congress to avoid a partial government shutdown on Friday, and AFGE, the nation’s largest union representing federal and D.C. government workers, said government shutdowns negatively affect their ability to do their jobs for the American people. AFSCME President Lee Saunders also weighed in on the potential federal government shutdown, saying “It’s time for the president to come to the table and end the brinkmanship that is already wreaking havoc on hundreds of thousands of dedicated public service workers, their families and their communities. It is irresponsible to head down this path, especially around the holidays, all to pursue a divisive partisan agenda that voters have flatly rejected. Congress has already reached bipartisan agreement on every element needed to fund the federal government, so this is entirely avoidable. The ball is in the president’s court.” 32BJ SEIU represents 163,000 cleaners, security officers and other building service workers across the East Coast, the majority of who are immigrants. Almost 2,000 of these members work in federal buildings that could be impacted by a shutdown. “The impending shutdown could be devastating for the men and women who keep our federal buildings safe and clean,” said 32BJ SEIU Vice President Jaime Contreras. Meanwhile, 86.2 percent of AFGE members responding to an internal poll say they have not been given direction on what to do during a shutdown and 79.4 percent say their ability to do their work as normal is impacted when the government is about to run out of money.
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