Federal Employee Concerns - Federal employees are tired of being used as pawns in political power struggles [3] - Federal workers feel they are being leveraged in budget fights [3] - There is concern that the current situation is not just about the budget, but about power dynamics [3] - Federal employees are doing more with less and feel this is another attempt to further reduce resources [4] - Federal workers are worried about potential mass firings [1][6] - There is a concern that the administration is politicizing nonpartisan civil services [11] Union Response - The National Treasury Employees Union is taking action on behalf of federal employees [2] - The union emphasizes worker solidarity and doing what is right [6] - Some union members are speaking out against the situation [5] Lack of Guidance - There has been no guidance from the Administration regarding potential mass firings [7] - Federal employees are uncertain about their job security [8] Political Interference - Some federal employees have found their out-of-office emails automatically changed to messages blaming Democrats [8] - Federal employees were not instructed to blame Democrats for the shutdown [9][10]