As the government shutdown drags on past two weeks, some federal workers in Maine say they are increasingly worried about when the next paycheck will arrive.
Most federal employees received a partial paycheck last week for days worked before the shutdown began.
But Alana Schaeffer, president of the Metal Trades Council, said the uncertainty about whether the next paycheck will come on time has made it difficult for workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to focus on the mission.
"[You're] trying to put your boots on, get your tools, go into the tank of a submarine and weld all day while you're thinking about, 'Am I going to be able to pay for groceries? Am I going to be able to provide for my family?'" she said.
Schaeffer's union presents about 3,000 workers at the shipyard, where roughly 95% are working through the shutdown.
Bill Reiley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees local that represents Transportation Security Administration officers (TSOs) in Maine, said it's been relatively calm at airports so far.
TSA agents are still showing up for work. Still, Reiley said the stress level goes up each day the government stays closed. Younger workers or new employees are feeling more financially stressed, he said.
"Most older workers usually put away some money aside for an emergency fund just in case things happen. You need a new roof, or they shut down the government," Reiley said.
The next paychecks are due on or around Oct. 24, and Reiley said the stress may ratchet up among TSOs if the check doesn't arrive.
"We're in a stressful job. We're at a zero-failure; we can't fail. We have to be 100% all the time, so that's very stressful. And then to put financial burdens as far as you're sitting there thinking, 'How am I going to feed my family tonight? How am I going to pay my mortgage, my rent, my phone bill, my light bill?'"
So far, at least a few banks around the state are offering no-interest loans to Maine federal employees who are impacted by the government shutdown.
Kennebunk Savings Bank, which has a branch near the Portsmouth shipyard, is offering the loans through the state's new Government Shutdown Loan Guarantee Program. Schaeffer, the union leader at the shipyard, said she's encouraging workers to call their banks to see whether they're offering the loans or some other kind of financial assistance.
Meantime, a spokesperson for the Maine AFL-CIO said they are not aware of anyone in the state that received a termination notice under the Trump administration's recent wave of layoffs. A federal judge blocked the layoffs with a temporary restraining order earlier this week.
According to federal court documents, layoffs were targeted at less than 3,000 federal employees, primarily at the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development.
