ORLANDO, Fla. — As the country faces a partial government shutdown Friday at midnight, federal workers at the Orlando International Airport shared their struggles during the last shutdown. But those impacts still linger as there is more financial uncertainty ahead.
What You Need To Know
During the 43-day shutdown in 2025, employees maxed out credit cards, dipped into their retirement and took out loans to make ends meet
Now, union representatives are preparing to help employees as another partial governement shutdown is possible
Some employees are still working out issues to get all their money from the last shutdown, others that have received all their backpay will still take months to rebound
AFGE Local 556 said they learned lessons last time and are now better prepared
There is anxiety about what might happen, but hope that Congress can pass a funding bill and keep the government open, or at the very least, have a brief shutdown. That way, these employees can try to get back on track from the last shutdown.
“It’s the big question federal workers are asking. ‘Am I going to get the last monetary aspects fixed before new ones are created?’” said Doug Lowe, the professional aviation safety specialist’s vice president.
During the 43-day shutdown in 2025, employees maxed out credit cards, dipped into their retirement and took out loans to make ends meet. Some employees are still working out issues to get all their money. Others that have received all their back pay will still take months to rebound.
“To catch up and everything after I repay the loan I had to take out and stuff, probably by the end of the year,” said Joseph Groover, the AFGE Local 556 first vice president.
TSA officers, air traffic controllers and aviation safety technicians were stretched thin financially, but also working extra shifts due to staffing shortages.
“We are in catchup mode, we had the hiring cycle happen that was supposed to happen before the shutdown, so we got people in the hiring queue. They are being processed right now to come on board, and if we have a shutdown now, that whole process is going to continue to get further delayed,” Lowe said.
Lowe said that for someone with no experience, it can take three to five years to train a new technician.
“All the folks that we represent in the aviation industry, they just want to do their jobs and not have to worry about government shutdowns,” Lowe said.
It’s been a common theme the past few months, but the TSA union, AFGE Local 556 said they learned lessons last time and are now better prepared.
“We want to do whatever we can to ease this potential shutdown, so they are not affected as hard because they still have to show up for work,” Groover said.
Some unions have contacted food banks ahead of time and are working to make sure gas cards are available to keep people coming to work, and they are staying hopeful Congress can sign off on a funding bill soon.