This government shutdown is not like the others: Furloughed federal workers explain

This government shutdown is not like the others: Furloughed federal workers explain

Author: Working People October 22, 2025 Duration: 51:58

The federal government shutdown is now in its fourth week. Over 700,000 federal employees have been furloughed, with nearly as many continuing to work without pay, yet there are still no signs that an end to the shutdown is near. "Unlike past presidents, Mr. Trump appears to feel little urgency to strike a deal to reopen the government," Luke Broadwater writes at The New York Times. "Instead, he has used the shutdown, which began Oct. 1, as an opportunity to further remake the federal bureaucracy and jettison programs he does not like, seizing on unorthodox budgetary maneuvers that some have called illegal." In this episode, we speak with three furloughed federal employees about the harm government shutdowns cause working people, and we discuss why this shutdown is different.

Guests:

  • Adam is a furloughed federal employee who works in recreation for the US Forest Service, managing hiking, biking, and equestrian trails in central Idaho. He serves as chapter president of National Federation of Federal Employees Local 1753, and he is an organizer with the Federal Unionists Network.
  • Ellen is a furloughed federal employee who works in SNAP oversight and administration at the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. She serves as chapter president of National Treasury Employees Union Local 255, representing FNS employees at the Northeast regional office, and she is an organizer with the Federal Unionists Network in Boston.
  • April is a furloughed federal employee who works in the office of Head Start at the Administration for Children and Families HQ in Washington, DC. She serves as chapter president of the National Treasury Employees Union Local 250.

Additional links/info:

Featured Music:

  • Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song

Credits:

  • Featured music: Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song
  • Audio Post-Production: Alina Nehlich

There’s a conversation happening about the economy, politics, and culture, but too often the actual voices of the people who keep everything running are absent. Working People changes that. This is a place where the lived experience of the working class in modern America takes center stage. Produced in partnership with In These Times magazine and The Real News Network, each episode is built around a candid interview with someone from the vast and varied landscape of the American workforce. You’ll hear from teachers, factory workers, service industry employees, caregivers, and many others, each sharing the unvarnished details of their daily reality. Conversations naturally unfold to cover not just the specifics of their jobs, but the broader context of their lives-their personal histories, their political views, the dynamics within their families, and the unique blend of satisfaction and struggle that defines their world. The Working People podcast doesn’t offer abstract analysis; it provides a direct, human connection to the stories that collectively shape our society. It’s about understanding the hopes, the frustrations, and the resilience that are woven into the fabric of working-class life today. By listening, you get a genuine portrait of the people whose labor is so often discussed, yet whose own narratives are so rarely heard in such depth.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Working People
Podcast Episodes
Massive strike at Kaiser Permanente enters third week [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:53
An estimated 31,000 health care workers in California and Hawaii walked off the job on Jan. 26 in their ongoing battle with healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente to address workers' demands for safe staffing, more manageabl…
America's toxic future looks like East Palestine, OH, today [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:05
Feb. 3, 2026 marked the three-year anniversary of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical disaster in East Palestine, OH—one of the worst industrial disasters in US history. Over the last three years, resident…
"A hero": Nurses, federal workers honor Alex Pretti [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:49
Hundreds of union nurses, federal workers, and local residents gathered outside the Veterans Affairs central office building in Washington, DC, on Jan. 28, to hold a vigil for Alex Pretti and all who have been killed by…
Largest nurses union calls to abolish ICE after Alex Pretti killing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:53
On Friday, Jan. 23, around 50,000 people in Minneapolis, MN, engaged in a historic mass strike and day of protest to demand an end to ICE terror and President Trump's federal siege of Minnesota. Then, on Saturday, Jan. 2…
"Shut everything down": Minnesota calls for mass strike on Jan. 23 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:59
The state of Minnesota is under siege by our own federal government, and residents—immigrant and US-born alike—are living in fear. With the deployment of over 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota in recent weeks, this is th…
The longest-running strike in the US is over—and the workers won [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:47
On Monday, Nov. 24, after more than 1,100 days on strike, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members were cheered on by supporters at a rally in downtown Pittsburgh before returning to work at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Eve…
What does it mean to be a union member in these dark times? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:11
Making ends meet in today's economy is difficult enough, but with so many societal crises affecting working people's lives on and off the shop floor—from mass layoffs to untenable costs of living, from an authoritarian f…
'We're done': Starbucks workers launch indefinite national strike [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:02
Four years after the first Starbucks store in the US unionized in 2021, workers across the country are still facing rampant union busting and still fighting for a first contract with the coffee giant. That is why a super…