On November 12, President Trump signed legislation that officially ended the longest government shutdown in history. The continuing resolution (CR) funds operations through January 30, and it blocks the Trump administration from carrying out mass reductions-in-force through the end of the CR.
We urge all AFGE members and federal employees to contact your Senators and tell them “Vote Yes” on the Shutdown Fairness Act. Click here to take action.
“AFGE is grateful to the Senators who fought to ensure that federal employees’ job security is not hanging in the balance while they determine spending levels. Federal employees, a third of whom are veterans, are patriotic Americans and they should never have to stand in line at food banks because Congress has refused to do its job,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement.
While the shutdown has ended for now, AFGE has deep concerns about the growing use of government shutdowns as leverage for political gain.
That’s why AFGE is urging support for legislation recently introduced in the Senate, S. 3168, the Shutdown Fairness Act. This bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) will finally ensure that federal employees are protected from the financial harm of government shutdowns. The bill also ensures that military personnel will also be paid during shutdowns.
When the government shuts down, federal employees shouldn’t have to choose between paying rent and serving their country. S. 3168 guarantees that funds are used only and directly to pay federal employees—no diversions, no loopholes, no politics. Every dollar goes straight to the people who make government work.
This isn’t a partisan issue—it’s a fairness issue. Federal employees from every state, every community, and every agency deserve the assurance that their livelihoods won’t be held hostage in budget fights. The revised version of S. 3168 strengthens these protections, ensuring that all current federal employees are paid on time and in full, even when Congress can’t reach a funding agreement.
Shutdowns don’t just hurt federal employees—they hurt families, communities, and the economy.
Since taking office in January 2025, President Trump has issued a series of unlawful executive orders, and taken several unlawful actions, seeking to shut down congressionally mandated agencies, fire and displace federal workers, outlaw their unions, and gut merit systems protections.
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A federal judge has ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to reinstate the union contract covering 320,000 VA employees represented by AFGE in a major victory over the implementation of President Trump’s union-busting executive orders.
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As the Department of Homeland Security shutdown reaches the one-month mark with no end in sight, AFGE leaders are calling on Congress to ensure all DHS workers are paid.
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