Letter to Editor from Excepted Chapter President
To the Editor:
As a federal employee, I serve the public as an employee of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Because of my work, my agency designated me to continue working during the government shutdown. Some of my colleagues, however, whom I represent as president of Chapter 178 of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), are furloughed.
I know firsthand that this weighs heavily on them. They want to work. Serving the public is important to each and every one of them. What also weighs on them is the loss of their paycheck through no fault of their own.
A combination of factors, including the shutdown, is causing serious financial harm to those I represent. Federal employee pay has been frozen for three years—and many federal employees suffered unpaid furlough days from sequestration earlier this year.
They want to work, and the country is depending on us. The solution is to end the shutdown promptly and let us all return to our primary duty of serving our fellow Americans.
Miguel Flores
President
NTEU Chapter 178
Eagle Pass TX
