Food Bank for Federal Employees a Success

Over 100 government workers received 3,750 pounds of donated groceries from a pop-up food bank organized by the New Mexico Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the New Mexico Alliance for Retired Americans, and the RoadRunner Food Bank this last Saturday. While President Donald Trump held workers’ paychecks hostage for 35 days, working people throughout the labor movement in New Mexico mobilized to end the shutdown and set up resources to support locked out government workers.

“ ‘The government shutdown was a needless and manufactured crisis that affected real families with real financial responsibilities and jeopardized the safety of our nation. This debacle could have--and should have--been avoided,” said Josie Marrujo, an AFGE member and retired federal worker. “The impact of the shutdown goes beyond the weeks that workers went without pay, many working families are still struggling to get back on their feet. We want government workers to know that New Mexico unions are here to support them and we will join together with them to call on President Trump and Congress to make sure this doesn’t happen again.’ ”

“ ‘As the shutdown dragged on—and as contractors are still not paid lost wages—working people stepped up to care for each other in a time of forced hardship,” said Vince Alvarado, NMFL President. “By standing together, working people got each other through this shutdown. We mobilized, organized and proved the indispensable value of our labor to those who tried to ignore us. Now we demand a long-term government funding bill and legislation to guarantee that all workers impacted by the shutdown are made whole.’ ”