Government Shutdown Impacting Hundreds Of Thousands Of Workers

ALICEVILLE, AL. (WCBI)- Today marks day six of the partial government shutdown.

Hundreds of thousands of workers are either furloughed or working without pay.

In Alabama, roughly 53 thousand workers are being impacted by the shutdown, including Terrence Windham.

During this holiday season, Windham was hoping lawmakers would be able to come to a consensus regarding border security so there would be no shutdown.

However, that wish was not granted.

“Right now technically speaking, yes, we are working for free,” said Windham, Union President and Correctional Officer at The Federal Correctional Institution in Aliceville, Alabama. “You want to know that when you go to work you’re going to get paid and when you’re going to get paid.”

Windham has worked at the facility for six years, and said it can be disheartening working a full day without getting paid.

“Morale for a lot of staff has gone down,” Windham described. “We try to keep it light and try to make jokes and say hey, I’m coming to work for free, but at the end of the day they all have families that they have to feed. They have bills and responsibilities that they have to provide for. A creditor most of the time doesn’t want to hear, hey my job isn’t going to pay me.”

With the shutdown happening during Christmas time, many workers scheduled vacations so they could go out of town and enjoy the holiday.

However, the partial shutdown is now cutting into those plans.

“If they’re on annual leave there’s not a guarantee that they will get paid,” the union president explained. “If they’re sick or if they have a medical condition and they’re not able to come to work, and they have the sick time, they still won’t be able to guarantee that they’ll get paid for that time, thus they won’t get a check even though they have the sick leave on the books.”

The partial government shutdown officially went into effect on Saturday.

Lawmakers are currently locked in a stalemate regarding the funding to build a wall on the border.

As of now, it’s still uncertain when an agreement will be reached.

“It’s scary especially when we see the rhetoric that’s on the hill,” Windham expressed. “We don’t know if this is going to last until next week, or we don’t know if it’s going to last until February, or March, or April.”

Windham is a family man with a wife and a child and admits, he needs his income to provide for his family.

However, despite this current situation, Windham said he’ll continue to fulfill his duty as a correctional officer and union president, and continue showing up to work everyday giving his all whether receiving a paycheck or not.

“It can be tough to kind of motivate yourself to continue on, and I try to ensure that I motivate others because we have a responsibility,” said Windham. “We signed on the dotted line that we would protect, and defend, and serve this country, and being in a correctional environment that’s what we have to do as officers, as law-enforcement. We are looked at to hold the standard and that’s just what we have to do.”

Some workers will receive back pay once the shutdown is over and everything is resolved.

However, there are others who won’t get paid at all during the shutdown.

The shutdown will likely drag over into the new year.