East Bay Representative Lateefah Simon meets with Bay Area workers impacted by government shutdown

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — The U.S. government shutdown is now in its fourth day as Republican and Democratic politicians fail to agree on a way forward to resolve a budget dispute.

On Saturday afternoon, East Bay Congresswoman Lateefah Simon held a roundtable discussion with federal and county employees, along with local union representatives, to discuss how the shutdown is impacting working families on the ground.

“What is the point of the government? Is the point of the government to help people, and provide them with basic services to stay alive? Or is the point of the government to make sure millionaires and billionaires get even richer?” said Adin Vaewsorn, psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, during the meeting.

Among those in attendance were TSA employees from the Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport.

MORE: Government funding vote fails again in Senate as hopes fade for quick end to shutdown

“In order to keep the economic engine of the Oakland airport open, that’s very important to this area, to the economy of this area. We have trained screeners that are coming in during the shutdown,” said Michael Reisler, a TSA employee at the Oakland airport.

Some government employees are on unpaid leave. But TSA workers, by law, have to come to work, even though they are not getting paid.

The Alameda Labor Council estimates that there are 78,000 federal workers in the Bay Area. The highest number are in Alameda County at 10,400, which includes TSA workers.

“We have families. A lot of our TSOs live paycheck to paycheck. They have childcare issues. They have to show up at 3 o’clock in the morning to fly out the traveling public,” said Gilbert Galam with the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents TSA employees.

Simon said this was an opportunity to hear from federal and county employees on the ground, who represent the thousands of Bay Area families, so she can take their concerns back to D.C.

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“The small business economy relies on Medicaid and Medicare for their folks. So, this fight isn’t a political boxing match. This is about the foundation of the American people,” Simon said during the roundtable discussion.

Republicans control Congress, but the Senate doesn’t have the 60 votes needed to pass the spending bill. That gives opposition Democrats some negotiating power. Democrats are focused cuts to healthcare – a message shared by some Bay Area unions.

“The message that we want you to take back to D.C. is that Democrats must support a spending bill that protects health care. Period. End of sentence,” said Zach Goldman, Political Director of SEIU 1021, during the roundtable.

“I want to give an opportunity for members of this community, who again are representing the folks who are keeping the Bay Area and the nation running, for what this moment means for them,” Simon said.

Simon points out that President Trump has already fired a large percentage of the federal workforce. She claims the shutdown is an opportunity fire even more employees.

MORE: Bay Area federal workers face furloughs during shutdown; brace for permanent layoffs

Earlier in the week, the White House blamed Democrats for the shutdown.

“The Democrats continue to recklessly hold the American people hostage over their demands to give illegal aliens health care,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Simon heads back to D.C. on Monday, where the debate on the legislation is set to continue.

“We are following, really, the direction of low-income and working-class people on the ground, to say that our health care is not an option. It’s the floor,” Simon said.