Inside Look- How NTEU Worked with Allies to Stop the Shutdown

There is a saying in Washington, D.C., that in politics there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies. That is why our union works with any and all elected officials, whether Republican or Democrat, to get them to support you and get us what we need.

As the co-chair of the Federal-Postal Coalition, we led the 34 allied federal and postal unions and organizations to avert a shutdown. The coalition sent letters, engaged the media and organized briefings.

Together we met with targeted moderate Republicans to convince them to join Democrats and their fellow Republicans in the Senate in supporting a bipartisan solution. That work paid off and helped pressure other House Republicans and Speaker McCarthy to take action. See how your representative voted on the continuing resolution.

Many of the Republicans who worked to prevent the shutdown are in Democratic and moderate districts and face contentious campaigns in 2024, so they have incentive to compromise and look for a solution to work for us. The fight is not over. Congress still needs to pass appropriations to properly fund your agencies and increase staffing. NTEU members must continue their hard work and keep pressure on all elected officials to stand with federal employees.

The current CR expires on Nov. 17, and we all need to remain engaged in this fight which got a little messier following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.

Thank you for joining in solidarity with thousands of fellow NTEU members from across the country and with other federal employee unions to reach out to your members of Congress and #stoptheshutdown.

Stay tuned for more opportunities to work together in solidarity with each other and with other unions to continue to make a difference.

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