Federal Shutdown Averted - For Now…

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Last week, UPEC reported on the possibility of a shutdown of large portions of the Federal Government likely affecting several hundred employees in UPEC bargaining units at the Presidio, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Golden Gate National Cemetery and Coleman National Fish Hatchery.

The House and Senate agreed, last week, on a temporary two-week extension to the Continuing Resolution that has provided funding for ongoing Federal Government Operations over the past 14 months. While this provides a reprieve against the closure of Government Facilities and shutdown; it is a temporary one, and continuing operations will require a longer-term agreement in order to avoid a shutdown beginning as early as March 21 after an expiry of the CR on March 18.

At the moment, it appears that any potential shutdown would likely be implemented in similar fashion to the shutdown in 1995. UPEC staff have made requests for detailed descriptions of all plans from each Agency with Bargaining Unit Employees pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 7114(b) so that if an agreement is not reached in Congress, we will be able to provide communications assistance about the impacts of the shutdown on employees.