Across the street from Trump's DC hotel . . . .

[Stinky The Clown]

. . . . the cafeteria staff at the FBI is out of work. Right behind his hotel, maybe 30 feet away, the IRS cafeteria staff is out of work. A few blocks over, the Department of Agriculture cafeteria staff is out of work. A few blocks the other way, the Department of the Interior cafeteria staff is out of work. Same for the staff of the restaurants at the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo. All tolled, that might be a meager 1,000 individuals. They are not federal employees. Instead, they work for large companies that contract with the feds to cook their meals and wash their dishes. Minimum wage for many of them. No federal benefits. No promise to be paid for lost hours.

Add in similarly employed janitorial workers who clean toilets and mop floors, empty office trash cans and make sure the halls are kept clear.

Now extrapolate that across the country. While comparatively well employed when weighed against, let's say, foodservice workers in the profit and loss world of the private sector, these represent the hardest working / least appreciated American workers. And make no mistake, while they tend to be mostly minorities in the DC area, they are decidedly white in other areas.

The shutdown causes pain at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. Does anyone think there is a lot of savings to cushion the loss of income? Does anyone think these people can "adjust" to make it for months or years?

[snowybirdie]

1. I'm waiting

For the Congress to find no food, gym openings nor emptied waste baskets when they return next week!😆

[Historic NY]

14. Dirty mildew towels

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

19. No toilet paper

That would get them to take action.

[SCVDem]

22. Crap on the floor!

Let them live with their waste!

They deserve it!

[cwydro]

28. And who will end up cleaning that up?

[Grasswire2]

2. well said

Networks need to be showing the face of the workers and their families. Contrast that with the Jarvankas jetting off to their holiday on the government plane, etc.

[SWBTATTReg]

3. Yes, and this suffering is wong, and pathetic. The wrong people are being targeted accidently...

and as a result, are suffering, all because of someone's vain and pathetic attempts to convince others that a stupid, racist wall is needed. Makes one truly think, doesn't it, about the priorities that rump and his cronies in the Congress have, and further prove that they do not deserve elected office.

Damaging America's economy in order to prove a false point that a wall is needed.

[Harker]

18. Hostages are often the "wrong people."

Innocents in a phony crisis.

[KT2000]

4. the 800,000 workers affected

may not include the contract workers, or does it.

[Wellstone ruled]

5. The real number is closer to 2 million.

Remember 800 is a white house number.

This story is about DC. Are people aware of all this happening at our federal Prisons,yes those are Contracted Services with Aramark being the largest of the providers. The second largest is a French Company.

This scenerio is playing out at many Federal Buildings through out the USA.

[Eliot Rosewater]

6. GOP has hated working people since way back.

Rump and his family, kushners, not a one of them have worked one hour in their lives.

While this goes on and on I hope people get REAL angry...FUCKING angry

[Wellstone ruled]

7. Typical Aramark new hire

at the Culinary Unit starts at minimum wage,no bennies usually for the first year and in some units year and a half. And we all know how that works out.

[TwistOneUp]

24. We need more union workers! nt

[Wellstone ruled]

25. Unite 1 and

SEIU have been doing the heavy lifting at these Food Service Locations.

The fear of retaliation is alive an well. Aramark as well as Sedco(Kanteen-Corp) as Well as Red Carpet have tons of million dollar labor lawyers on call. Just saying from experience.

[elmac]

8. trump shut down the largest employer in the USA,

I guess he forgot about all those jobs he was going to create.

[malaise]

9. The Con said they will adjust

I'd adjust the garbage

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. But Trump and Pence got a 10,000 annual raise this month....

So why should they worry?

[Qanisqineq]

11. It's scary

We finally started refilling our savings accounts after buying a house and a couple bad years. Now the shutdown. We have that savings money to rely on, but it isn't a lot and we dont want to start all over again.

I've heard, "But Congress will vote to give the federal workers the pay." My husband never received his pay from the shutdown in 2012 and had to work part of it! Bullshit.

Open the fucking government.

[czarjak]

12. Trickle down...

In other words.

[Stinky The Clown]

16. Trickle down equals Pissed on

[smirkymonkey]

13. This whole situation is just obscene and it is all Donald Trump's fault!

He doesn't want to "lose" so he's going to make people suffer because of his pathetic ego. Fuck him!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

23. don't let Republicans escape the blame

Trump makes the stupid demand; McConnell blocks legislation; the rest of the GOPers gleefully go along.

There is no sane Republican party any more.

[dlk]

15. Trump Really Doesn't Care-He Has No Empathy

It would be pointless to think he ever feels normal, human emotions.

[Gore1FL]

17. Wait until TSA employees start finding other work.

It's not like anyone is going to have incentive to hire in to replace those who quit.

When the airports start being unable to processes planes, maybe the GOP will rethink their shutdown.

[Sherman A1]

21. Agreed

and I hope they are out looking now and find something that supports them and their families.

[flying_wahini]

20. On the day that the shutdown is finally over somebody needs to run by these places with

some voters registration cards.

[murielm99]

26. Before that,

somebody needs to run by with some torches and pitchforks.

We are past being nice.

[Achilleaze]

27. The republican draft-dodger-in-chief is pissing on America