Liza Sanden put the first weeks of the government shutdown to good use with end-of-summer chores at her East Anchorage home. She pickled beets. She made jam.
“These last two weeks, though, have definitely been – the anxiety has been tripping up,” she said. “When are we going to go back to work? When am I going to get a paycheck again?”
As the government funding lapse became the longest in U.S. history, Sanden is one of thousands of federal workers in Alaska who are on furlough and not getting paid. Thousands of other Alaskan civil servants are working without pay.
Alaska, more than most states, is highly dependent on the federal government, for the services the employees provide and the money that fuels the economy. The state is home to some 15,000 federal workers and the shutdown affects each differently. Many we contacted for this story said they didn’t want to give their names. A few mentioned a silver lining: On furlough they don’t feel as much stress from layoff threats and working in an administration that has low regard for civil service.
One furloughed employee in Anchorage said he has traded the feeling of besiegement for new financial stress as he runs up his credit cards.
Sanden, an employee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, considers her family luckier than some. She’s taken a furlough gig as a substitute teacher. Her husband collects a pension. They aren’t in danger of losing their house. But without her regular paycheck, the family is economizing. Sanden said her kids are old enough to understand the situation and have pared their Christmas lists.
“When your teenagers ask for $20 LEGO sets, as opposed to Xboxes and new cell phones, I appreciate them, you know, trying to be reasonable,” Sanden said.
She did not want to discuss the politics of the shutdown. Others didn’t mind.
“Even before the shutdown, national parks were facing the biggest staff and budget cuts in history,” said Jason Rogers, a National Park Service archaeologist.
He blames the Trump administration and the Republican leadership in Congress, for the funding lapse and more.
“The administration has imposed new rules censoring what park employees can say about things like gender, like sexual orientation, like basic facts about American history,” he said. “So yes, I'm scared of retribution. But at this point, it's too important, and I feel like I need to speak out.”
Rogers said the loss of federal pay has cascading effects, beyond the federal workforce.
“My landlord, who doesn't necessarily pay much attention to politics at all, is suddenly concerned because, of course, he's worried if I'm going to be able to pay my rent,” Rogers said. “And I'm worried if I'm going to be able to pay my rent.”
The government, he said, has a legal obligation to send backpay when the shutdown ends, but he noticed that the Trump administration is also suggesting that it might not.
“I think at this point, nobody has any guarantees,” he said.
Stephanie Rice, who works for the Bureau of Land Management, has a lot to say. But first her caveat: “I am giving this interview in my personal capacity,” she said, enunciating carefully, “expressing my personal views on a matter of public concern.”
Rice, president of her local union, said that shows she’s exercising her right to free speech and, in theory, shouldn’t face retribution. She doesn’t think her job is safe. Still, she’s calling for action against those in the administration who aren’t spending money as Congress directed.
“They have to impeach these officials,” she said. “If these officials will not follow the law, that is the answer. That is the solution. And Congress has that power.”
Rice and her colleagues are keeping their spirits up by sharing photos of themselves hiking and engaged in hobbies — making, as she put it, lemonade of the furlough.
“They're really leaning into their volunteer activities,” she said of her co-workers. “They're getting house projects done. They're able to spend a little more time with their kids. But it's still very stressful.”
An extra stress on Interior Department employees is that the administration has already said it intends to fire a lot of them. A judge stopped the government from laying off workers during the shutdown. But once the money starts flowing again, Rice said her particular office within the BLM, which is part of Interior, is slated for a 50% reduction.
“If all we do is hide under our desks — they're gonna lay me off anyways, so I might as well go down swinging,” she said.
At the U.S. Capitol this week, senators are discussing how to end the shutdown. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters key details are nearing completion.
Senators, like their House counterparts, are slated to be off next week.
