EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — The rally held Friday at the airport circle to end the U.S. government’s partial shutdown — the same day a deal was announced to end it — put faces to the numbers suffering from weeks of political gridlock.
The rally, which attracted about 150 people, was held hours before President Donald Trump and congressional leaders reached a deal to reopen the government for three weeks while negotiations continue over the president’s demands for money to build his long-promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Derek and Lisa Gilbert, who are married and live in the township, have been doubly impacted by the shutdown.
Derek Gilbert, 42, helps develop and test air traffic control systems at the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center.
Lisa Gilbert, 28, works in administrative support at the Tech Center as a federal contractor, so neither the mother nor the father is receiving a paycheck right now. They have three children, ages, 15, 6 and 2.
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They said they are dealing with the predicament they have been put in as best they can. Lisa Gilbert just started receiving unemployment.
“It’s a tough situation. We have one child in diapers, two still in school. You have everything you have to do to take care of them on a daily basis, put food on the table. You have to make sure they have everything they need. There are a lot of cutbacks that you have to do. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Derek Gilbert said.
Rally organizer Bob Challender, president of Local 200 of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents technology workers at the Tech Center, did not know all the details of the deal to end the shutdown, even hours after the rally ended.
“If it includes full back pay as quickly as possible for all employees, that is a deep relief,” Challender said.
A temporary reopening of three weeks still hampers the mission at the Federal Aviation Administration, Challender said.
“Half of our jobs are to get new hardware, software and technology out to the air traffic control systems. With just being open three weeks and no commitment beyond that, we cannot even plan to do that job, so it’s still a disservice to the flying public,” Challender said.
The FAA, in particular, should never be shut down for political reasons, Challender said.
Jim Davis, national business representative for the National Federation of Federal Employees, attended the rally to counter some of the myths that surround federal employees, such as that they make a lot of money and therefore can absorb the impact of the shutdown. Average salaries for federal workers are between $50,000 and $55,000, Davis said.
“Public safety and health is at risk with the shutdown,” Davis said.
Hirsh Singh, 33, of Linwood, senior director for Hi-Tec Systems, said his company has contractors at the Tech Center who have been out of work.
“It’s actually a pretty devastating situation. It doesn’t matter what party or who’s at fault. It’s just political egos that have essentially sentenced South Jersey to starve because this will have a ripple effect that will go from this Tech Center to every part of the economy,” said Singh.
Airport chaos played a role in the short-term deal being struck, news reports said.
Rick White, 54, has been working without pay at Philadelphia International Airport because he is an essential employee as a professional aviation safety specialist. They work side by side with air traffic controllers in technical operations, maintaining the equipment the planes use.
Normally, on his day off, White, of Tabernacle Township, Burlington County, would be watching his grandson, but he attended the rally instead.
White said he would not voluntarily fly right now.
“You think about all those controllers, all of our guys, instead of being focused on doing their jobs, which they normally do, now, they are worried about how they are going to pay their bills,” White said.
