The repercussions of the partial government shutdown faced by government employees was the main topic of discussion on the Jan. 10 edition of America’s Work Force.

Senator Sherrod Brown spoke about the partial government shutdown affecting government employees by making them miss their first paycheck since Dec. 22. He discussed how many of these government employees rely on every one of their paychecks in order to survive but will not be receiving a paycheck this pay period because of the shutdown. Sen. Brown touched on President Trump’s stubbornness about not reopening the government until he receives full funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall even though he still has not used all of the money that was allocated towards border security.

Mike Shields, researcher with Policy Matters Ohio, discussed the barriers that people with past criminal convictions face when applying for job opportunities in Ohio. He said that those with past convictions are blocked from about 25 percent of job opportunities.

Legislative Director of United Auto Workers, Josh Nassar discussed an upcoming UAW rally pushing for the reopening of the government. He also talked about food being at risk considering FDA food inspections being down 80 percent due to the government shutdown. Nassar also mentioned how he believes that the longer the shutdown goes on, the more that it will hurt the credibility of the United States.

AWF host Ed “Flash” Ferenc spoke about an increase in TSA workers calling out sick during the government shutdown, causing understaffing, leaving them underprepared for any emergency that may occur.

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