Federal union begins lobbying Congress for shutdown back pay

The president of a federal workers' union wrote to lawmakers Thursday asking them to authorize back pay for government employees furloughed during the possible government shutdown. 

In a letter to all lawmakers, Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), said up to 2 million people who work for the federal government could be without pay during a shutdown. Kelley is requesting that lawmakers include language in the continuing resolution to support back pay for them.

"I am requesting that Congress make its intention clear to pay all federal employees, including those who, through no fault of their own, may be required to stay home," Kelley wrote.

The union leader noted that during prior government shutdowns, Congress authorized back pay for furloughed federal employees. She asked that lawmakers do so again this time. 

“During the 1995-1996 government shutdown, Congress recognized that federal employees did not create the dilemma surrounding Congress’s inability to finish its work, and retroactively paid all federal employees. I urge you to follow that precedent and to support a final appropriations bill that does not penalize federal employees for the inability of Congress to act in a timely manner," Kelley writes.

NTEU has 150,000 members who work in several major federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the IRS and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kelley's letter comes as other federal worker unions prepare for a government shutdown. Officials at the American Federation of Government Employees have said they would likely file a lawsuit against the federal government for workers' pay if a shutdown occurs.