A Furloughed Worker And Single Dad Speaks Out
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Roughly 800,000 federal workers were furloughed Tuesday as a result of the government shutdown, and Will Ryan from Philadelphia is one of them.
Will Ryan, a single parent in Philadelphia, is one of the 800,000 federal workers who were furloughed Tuesday. (Facebook)
Ryan has been working in the Philadelphia Metro Area for two years and four months. He declined to go into the details of his job.
He and his colleagues were warned against a possible furlough on Monday, but didn’t receive any official paperwork until Tuesday morning, according to Ryan.
“So I may be furloughed, I may not... who knows. Bullshit when I have to find out at the last second,” Ryan posted on his Facebook page early Tuesday morning. “They already shot us down as non-essential yesterday I thought. This whole situation is bullshit.”
Ryan said they were initially supposed to leave the office at 11 a.m., but it was postponed to 2:30 p.m. for reasons that were unclear.
“Orderly shutdown is the official term. More or less prepare the office to be closed for an extended period of time,” Ryan said. “Before you ask, we have no idea how long it'll be.”
Ryan told Neon Tommy that he’s not sure how many of his fellow workers would be affected, but probably about 95% of the workforce will be sent home, and the rest are covered for one reason or another.
And all of them are dissatisfied with the current situation.
“Who isn't? You've got a group of almost 5,000 disgruntled employees there. The next person I find that's happy about what's going on will be the first,” he said.
Ryan added that he did not see the government shutdown as a worthwhile solution for its current problems.
“This could have easily been talked out long before this point. It seems like getting a CR [continuing resolution] or a budget passed wasn't a priority until last week,” he said.
“The fiscal year doesn't just sneak up. There's plenty of time to address the issue.”
A member of the Libertarian Party, Ryan was an initial supporter of Obamacare, but said “the implementation feels shoddy.” He’s not going to participate the new insurance program when it takes effect.
Looking ahead into the following days, Will said day-to-day business shouldn't affect him too much, although many public services are now closed. He said he was "self-sufficient" but worried about his finances.
“From today until a CR is passed, we'll be in furlough status. Non-paid leave, in plain English,” he said, “I'm a single parent. This is the only income in my household. I've got some assistance, but not much.”
But Ryan seemed calm - amused even - when asked what he plans to do on his days off.
“Play it by ear. Take my son to school, look for another job, sleep in if I want," he said. "Feels like being unemployed, but you're still committed to a company. The company in this instance just happens to be the government."
He told Neon Tommy that it’s “above his pay grade” to know whether there’s any revolving fund or revenue to keep his workplace running in the short-term.
