TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— The government shutdown is nearing three weeks long and everyone affected by this shutdown is starting to feel the effects of it. That’s including federal corrections officers here in the valley.
Jose Rojas is a retired federal corrections worker of 28 years and works with the American Federation of Government Employees to help represent people working in the federal prisons.
He said things like driving long distances to work due to where the federal prisons are located, plus having to deal with the inmates of the prison is stressful enough for the employees. Now they’re doing it all while not getting paid.
He also mentioned that he has heard stories of inmates using this shutdown against the employees and insulting or making fun of the fact they have to work and not be paid. Besides the immediate impact this shutdown can have financial for employees and families, Rojas said it can also hurt them for years to come.
“Every five years we do a background check and part of the background check is our credit,” Rojas said. “So, when this hits because we’re not going to pay our credit cards in time, our mortgage in time that goes against our credit and then we have to give an account as to why and if we have bad credit, we can get disciplined by having bad credit. That’s the other part of it is we got to beg the government or whatever to try to give us letters because we can’t pay our mortgages and if we don’t get that our credit is going to get hit, and then we can get disciplined every five years based on bad credit and that’s with all federal employees.”
Rojas is asking for everyone to call on their local elected officials to help put an end to the government shutdown.
“The inmates are mocking the staff,” Rojas said. “The inmates are laughing at the staff because they see the news, they read the news, and they’re loving this. They love that they could see the stressfulness of the staff members, and please call, put pressure on our elected officials. Whatever party of you are affiliated with, because it’s not fair to the men and women who work behind these prison walls to keep society safe.”
As the government shutdown is nearing three weeks long, Rojas has been in contact with some elected officials and with the conversations he has had with them, he is unsure when this shutdown could end.
