Federal employees are set to start receiving paychecks again as the U.S. government reopens after the longest shutdown in history. This brings much-needed relief to workers who were without pay for over a month during the shutdown.
Pamela Ward, a Social Security worker from Birmingham, shared that she and her colleagues are expecting partial paychecks to arrive on Monday after enduring more than a month without wages.
“We deserve to receive our pay. We’ve been struggling,” Ward expressed.
Despite the challenges, Ward emphasized that being a federal worker means showing up for the American people, no matter the circumstances. However, working through the 43-day shutdown was extremely tough.
“It’s difficult to hear that we don’t deserve our pay or that we should stop working during this time,” she said.
Ward mentioned that she, along with thousands of other federal employees, will likely receive their first full paycheck next Friday.
“This will help us catch up on things we couldn’t manage while we weren’t paid. Some of us were fortunate to have people who supported us, but many didn’t have that help,” she said.
Although the end of the shutdown brought relief, Ward expressed concerns as the resolution is only temporary, and she fears another shutdown could occur in the future.
“I don’t know if the 43 days were worth it if we don’t receive a long-term budget solution to prevent this from happening again,” she said.
Ward remains cautious about the possibility of another shutdown at the beginning of the year and plans to prepare for it now, just in case.
