Just heard this this AM

[HIU8]

If a shutdown occurs, fed workers will have to come in on Monday to hand in their blackberries, laptops etc... They cannot give them up on Friday b/c the shutdown will officially begin on Monday. Sounds odd to me to make fed workers come into work, when not being paid, to hand over their electronics so they don't use them during the shutdown.

Gotta love living in the DC area. Everyone is reporting on this and everyone's reports are somewhat different (with respect to details of what will and won't be done and what fed workers can and can't expect). I'm not a fed worker, but several of my friends are (and several are single income families right now). I'm worried about them.

[lowrioh]

That is the rumor around here. We have a meeting at 3 to get details of what we have to do. I only live about 15 min from my job but it would suck to have to commute for an hour only to turn around and go home.

[YouAreTheFocus]

Hmm. But if you don't work weekends, why wouldn't you just leave your stuff at your desk (on Friday) as usual?

[boilermakermom]

Shut down? I haven't watched the news in a day or two...totally lost right now!

[egoldber]

but it would suck to have to commute for an hour only to turn around and go home.

:yeahthat:

And I report to work at 6:30. At 7 going the opposite direction it would take me over an hour to get back home.

But I don't have a BB or a laptop, but the rumor is if you have a keyfob to dial in, then you have to come in Monday to hand that in too. :gloomy: I am hoping my boss will accept mine on Friday.

But the look on the faces of some of the more Type A folks here who realized ysterday and today that they would have to give up their blackberries and not telework was priceless. :rotflmao:

[ray7694]

My dh works for the federal prisons and will have to go to work and NOT get paid.

[BabyMine]

I'm not happy that Congress gets paid. I know it's the law but I think they would come to a decision faster if they knew they wouldn't have a paycheck.

[lowrioh]

My dh works for the federal prisons and will have to go to work and NOT get paid.

I think that they are guaranteed to be paid eventually though.

[lowrioh]

:yeahthat:

And I report to work at 6:30. At 7 going the opposite direction it would take me over an hour to get back home.

But I don't have a BB or a laptop, but the rumor is if you have a keyfob to dial in, then you have to come in Monday to hand that in too. :gloomy: I am hoping my boss will accept mine on Friday.

But the look on the faces of some of the more Type A folks here who realized ysterday and today that they would have to give up their blackberries and not telework was priceless. :rotflmao:

If you're stuck over here on Monday AM, come on over for coffee.

[mariza]

I'm leaving all of my stuff in my desk before I leave tonight. I am scheduled to work Saturday, but don't plan on coming in if nothing get passes by Friday night. I haven't heard yet if we are one of those groups that are expected to be furloughed or work without pay. I cannot come to work and not get paid, how would I pay gas, and childcare? I know they would "eventually" pay me, buy since DH only gets paid monthly we depend on my checks for the daily expenses. I've been told I could get AWOL'd if I don't come in. I guess I'll have to be AWOL and deal with it.

[Ceepa]

But the look on the faces of some of the more Type A folks here who realized ysterday and today that they would have to give up their blackberries and not telework was priceless.

It reminds me of that commercial where the power goes off and the family decides to light a candle and have family time instead of watching TV, listening to music, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4vyFlxqP5c

[bubbaray]

This whole thing just really boggles my mind. I mean, people/politicians seem OK with the government shutting down. Doesn't that defeat the whole "of the people, for the people" concept??

[sunshine873]

I'm not happy that Congress gets paid. I know it's the law but I think they would come to a decision faster if they knew they wouldn't have a paycheck.

I think it's shameful that Congress will still get paid when military won't. They still have to go to work, many are still fighting in a war, but won't be getting paid until after all of this gets worked out. The promise of getting backpay doesn't mean much when you can't pay your rent or buy groceries. This is going to be detrimental for so many in the military who live paycheck to paycheck.

[lmwbasye]

Yeah...DH has to leave for the National Training Center in prep for deployment...they will literally be working 24/7 without pay...won't get backpay unless that is approved as well.

So so frustrated. It's enough to put up with the lifestyle we have to deal with...adding this in as our soldiers are leaving us is A LOT for families to deal with.

UGH!

[MamaKath]

My dh works for the federal prisons and will have to go to work and NOT get paid.

Dh used to be BOP. He is still fed le with another agency and will be in the same boat. Plus scheduled leave gets pulled and ot is unpaid. Fun. Not.

[squimp]

We were told we have to go in Monday (or our next official work day) to get our furlough letters. If you're going to apply for unemployment, we were told we need the furlough letter.

[BabyMine]

This whole thing just really boggles my mind. I mean, people/politicians seem OK with the government shutting down. Doesn't that defeat the whole "of the people, for the people" concept??

It boggles my mind too. The "of the people, for the people" seems to be on a big decline thanks to our elected officials. They bicker more than my children and still manage to do very little. It's frustrating that they can't get past their egos and compromise. It's now down to funding Planned Parenthood.

[Allisonsmommy]

my husband is in the army and he is a commander. He has gotten many upset calls from his young soldiers who honestly couldn't LIVE without a paycheck. the E1's and E2's make basically nothing as it is and many of my husbands soldiers are already in debt so just charging things to a credit card isn't an option. We are lucky to have some savings to use if it goes on longer than a few weeks, but many many people do not have that and the result is going to be terrible.

I also think it is totally selfish and ridiculous to make fed workers go all the way into work just to hand over their electronics. They should be able to leave them tonight.

[lowrioh]

We have been asked to report for 4 hours on Monday (with pay) but were given permission to telecommute and report via email or phone. We don't have blackberries though. We were also told after the 4 hour window we could not use our laptops to log into the network OR check our work email via remote webmail.
I have a short commute so I offered to come in and shut down any scientific equipment that needs attending to.
I could use a few days at home but the $$ situation would suck. Thank goodness we have an emergency fund. I feel bad for all the soldiers and low GS employees who live paycheck to paycheck. I also wonder what is going to happen to all the government contractors (cleaning staff, cafeteria workers, security guards) who aren't exactly high wage earners....sigh!

[egoldber]

Did you get an e-mail or another announcement? All I had this morning was a nortice that I am not considered essential and to consider myself on furlough Monday if there is no agreement.

[lowrioh]

Did you get an e-mail or another announcement? All I had this morning was a nortice that I am not considered essential and to consider myself on furlough Monday if there is no agreement.

We had a meeting yesterday with our first line supervisor.

[egoldber]

Ugh. My supervisor is out today.

[crl]

If anyone is inclined to try to help out our military members in case of a shut down, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society might be a possibility. There is a similar Air Force Army organization. My understanding is that one of the things they do is provide interest free loans to service members in case of financial crisis. I remember that when dh was a Marine officer the NMRS is where he would send Marines who needed things like cash for an airline ticket to get to a funeral.

http://www.nmcrs.org/about.html

Perhaps active duty people could comment on whether this is a good idea, as dh has been out for a long time now and my memory may be shaky or things may have changed.

Catherine

[LarsMal]

This might be a stupid question, but when they talk about politicians continuing to get paid do they mean as they work? Or is it back pay, like the essential employees are "supposed" to get when this is all over? Just curious.

Has anyone else heard how long the shutdown might last? I heard 3-4 weeks last night. I just can't imagine how much added stress that puts on the military families, and any ne employee for that matter. It's truly disgusting that it has gotten to this.

DH is supposedly the first essential employee in his dept, after his boss, because of his work right now. I know he will try to put the whole working without pay thing out of his mind, but now I will also remind him of the no OT pay so he doesn't put in extra time. He doesn't seem to be stressing about it all, but I am.

Shame on the politicians on both sides of the aisle.

[ladysoapmaker]

DH works for base over here as a student intern. Luckily we depend on his income only for extras and have been trying to use mine for the bills and we've been putting money aside for emergencies.

I feel so much for those folks who don't have that option. DS#2's cub scout pack is mostly kids from military families. I have no idea what they are planning on doing.

Jen

[bubbaray]

If anyone is inclined to try to help out our military members in case of a shut down, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society might be a possibility. There is a similar Air Force Army organization. My understanding is that one of the things they do is provide interest free loans to service members in case of financial crisis. I remember that when dh was a Marine officer the NMRS is where he would send Marines who needed things like cash for an airline ticket to get to a funeral.

http://www.nmcrs.org/about.html

Perhaps active duty people could comment on whether this is a good idea, as dh has been out for a long time now and my memory may be shaky or things may have changed.

Catherine

Saw this site linked-to on car-seat.org. http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/03/where-to-turn-if-shutdown-happens/?wh=wh

Apparently each service has a relief organization.

[soontobe]

I feel like an idiot-what is going on!?!?

[almostmom]

Another federal employee family here. DH works for the park service. We won't go homeless if he doesn't get paid for a few weeks, but it will be a significant chunk of change that we won't have, and definitely mean we dive into our savings to pay day care bills and mortgage. I can't imagine if we didn't have some back-up. But even so, it's significant. And he has about a thousand programs that are in planning mode for the spring and summer, and doesn't know how he is going to just stop the processes he's in. Ugh.

[lowrioh]

DH works for base over here as a student intern. Luckily we depend on his income only for extras and have been trying to use mine for the bills and we've been putting money aside for emergencies.

I feel so much for those folks who don't have that option. DS#2's cub scout pack is mostly kids from military families. I have no idea what they are planning on doing.

Jen

Our interns/post docs pay comes from a different bucket of money and they are pre-funded so will continue to get paid...you might try to find out if that is the case for your DH.