NKyTribune staff
The Internal Revenue Service began instructing more of its employees to report to work Wednesday, without pay, as the government shutdown drags into day 27.
Debbie Mullikin, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) Chapter 73, is in Washington D. C. today, delivering a petition to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, that calls for an end to the government shutdown. Mullikin represents the almost 3,000 employees in the bargaining unit that includes the Covington IRS Center (photos by Mark Hansel).
The notice calls for about 46,000 of the furloughed workers to begin returning to work immediately, in preparation for the upcoming tax season. Those called back represent more than half of the federal agency’s total workforce
The IRS sent out its updated contingency plan Tuesday.
In an effort to expedite an end to the stalemate, National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 73 President Debbie Mullikin is in Washington D. C. today.
Mullikin represents the almost 3,000 IRS employees in the bargaining unit that includes the Covington IRS Center.
She plans to deliver a petition to the offices of House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY and Sen. Chuck Shumer, D-NY, explaining that federal employees desperately want an end to the shutdown.
The text of the petition is included below:
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the federal employees represented by the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 73, I urge you to reopen the federal government, let us do our jobs and be paid for our work and receive a pay raise for 2019. These employees work for IRS and are your constituents.
Parts of the federal government have now been shut down for 27 days. Two weeks ago, the 116th Congress convened, but no action has been taken in the Senate since then to address the issue. More than 800,000 federal employees have now missed a paycheck and we are terrified about missing another one. We love our jobs working on behalf of the American people, but we need to get paid. Whether we are furloughed or continuing to work without pay, we cannot miss another paycheck. We are already struggling with how we are to pay our mortgage, rent, health care, utilities, student loans, and credit card bills. In the meantime, we are incurring late penalties and increased interest on missed payments. And at the moment, the President has implemented a pay freeze for 2019, making it harder to pay off these shutdown incurred costs once we do get our paycheck.
Some employees that have been called back to the IRS Center in Covington are expected to request leave, because they can’t afford to return to work without pay (file photo).
Your actions are having a direct impact on our ability to provide for our families. And the repercussions do not end there. Whole communities are impacted when federal employees are not paid and cannot pay their bills or contribute to the economy, even more so when they are not at work to meet the American people’s needs. This is not a game. We should not be in the middle of this political debate. Please end this shutdown now.
As hundreds of thousands of federal employees are struggling without pay, I urge you act quickly to reopen the federal government, provide prompt back pay to impacted employees, and ensure that the dedicated federal employees who work on behalf of our nation receive a pay increase for 2019.
Sincerely,
Debbie Mullikin, President
NTEU73 January 16, 2019
Mullikin said many of the IRS employees called back to work are putting in hardship requests because they can’t afford to work for free.
In a memorandum to NTEU workers, National President Anthony M. Reardon indicates those instructed to work without pay during the shutdown are permitted to take leave.
The memo also states that with President Donald Trump’s signing of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, all federal employees will be paid promptly following the government shutdown.
M E M O R A N D U M
TO: Chapter Presidents and Legislative Coordinators
RE: Update on the Shutdown and FY19 Government Funding
SUMMARY: An update is provided on government funding for Fiscal Year 2019 for agencies currently in a lapse of appropriations.
Reardon
As a reminder, the following NTEU-represented agencies are currently under a lapse of appropriations: IRS and other Department of Treasury Offices and Bureaus, CBP and FLETC, CFTC, EPA, FCC, FDA, FEC, NPS, PTO, SEC, and USDA.
This afternoon, President Trump signed into law the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, S. 24. This NTEU-supported legislation would ensure that all federal employees are paid promptly following a government shutdown and that those employees who are required to work during a shutdown are allowed to take leave.
Meanwhile, the House passed a $14 billion disaster relief bill, H.R. 268, by a vote of 237 to 187, which includes a Continuing Resolution (CR) that funds government through February 8th. Tomorrow the House plans to vote on a separate measure, H. J. Res. 28, that would fund agencies through February 28th. The Senate did not take any action on legislation related to the shutdown today. However, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced that he will object to the Senate adjourning over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) brings House-passed legislation to the floor that would reopen the government.
In other news, the White House met with a group of bipartisan House members to discuss the shutdown and border security, but the meeting did not result in an agreement. It was also reported that a bipartisan group of Senators plan to send a letter to President Donald Trump asking that he temporarily reopen the government so that lawmakers can negotiate a deal on border security. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) sent a letter to the President suggesting that the President’s State of the Union address, currently scheduled for January 29th, be rescheduled if federal agencies are still closed.
As the government shutdown continues, NTEU will not stop working with government leaders to reopen federal agencies and ensure that employees are promptly paid. I will keep you updated on further developments. For more information, please click here.
Anthony M. Reardon
National President
Tax season begins on Jan. 28 and the IRS is encouraging taxpayers to file early. Returns are expected to be processed during the shutdown, but it may take longer.
Among the services that have been impacted by the shutdown are audits, which have been halted, and live customer service by phone, which is not currently available.
The IRS plans to restore customer service as workers report, but wait times are still expected to be longer than normal.
