People who work for the Internal Revenue Service might not seem like the most sympathetic members of the federal workforce.
But those workers play an important role in keeping America running, said Elizabeth McPeak, an IRS employee and first vice president of the National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 34.
“We do the jobs that America needs us to do so that we as average Americans just pay our fair share,” said McPeak, who emphasized she was speaking in her role as a local union leader and not on behalf of the IRS.
And laying these workers off won’t lower anyone’s taxes — but it will make it harder to get customer service or other tax help, McPeak said.
Roughly half of the more than 500 members the local union represents were laid off last week because of the government shutdown. That includes workers at IRS walk-in offices who provide in-person assistance in Cranberry, Monroeville, Erie, Johnstown, and Altoona, as well as staff who work in downtown Pittsburgh.
Nationally, roughly half of IRS staff have been furloughed due to the shutdown.
The shutdown, which began October 1, is entering its third week with no end in sight. Democrats in Congress say they are withholding their votes on legislation to keep the government running until Republicans negotiate on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire. Republicans have said they won’t discuss it until Democrats vote to reopen the government. Though Republicans control both the House and Senate, most bills in the Senate need 60 votes to advance, which means some Democratic support is needed.
Most local IRS Taxpayer Advocates are laid off, McPeak said. Advocates help taxpayers resolve complex tax issues when standard help is not enough.
“Those folks dig into … problems and they walk with these folks until their tax issue is completely resolved. Now, that’s a service that we all want to have access to and anybody can have access to it, except not now because we’re furloughed,” she said.
Also laid off were local examiners who ensure companies and international businesses “pay their fair share.”
“ We want to work,” McPeak said. “We do not wanna be furloughed. We want to get back to work, and it is grossly unfair to threaten us that we are going to lose our jobs or possibly not get paid at all for a situation in which we are being treated as political pawns.” President Trump has threatened to use the shutdown to make permanent layoffs of federal workers, as well as to not provide back pay to workers who work but don’t get paid during a shutdown.
Kate Giammarise / 90.5 WESA
Elizabeth McPeak and other federal workers rally outside the William S. Moorhead Federal Building in downtown Pittsburgh on April 9, 2025.
This shutdown was particularly chaotic compared to previous shutdowns, McPeak said, with employees not getting the typical notice as to if they had to report to work or not.
The turmoil comes amid what has already been a very difficult and chaotic year, she said, with job cuts of probationary employees earlier this year as part of Elon Musk’s efforts to cut the federal workforce, and an executive order by the President that would take away union rights for many federal employees.
Long term, McPeak said she is worried about the impact of a prolonged shutdown on the federal workforce having a chilling effect on people wanting to work for the federal government.
“I used to tell folks, ‘You want a stable job? Come work for the federal government,’” McPeak said.
“And I think that just across the country folks are saying, ‘Hey, I don’t wanna go work for the feds. Why would I, why would I wanna get on that rollercoaster?’ And who can blame them?”