Federal workers told U.S. Representative Diana DeGette Thursday how the government shutdown and the Trump administration bring down morale in their workplaces.

At her Denver office, DeGette sat with leaders of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3607, which represents workers at the Environmental Protection Agency, and AFGE Local 4012, which represents workers at the Social Security Administration, to hear about how federal workers fear for their job security and the future of their paychecks amid the government shutdown.

Members in the U.S. Senate failed to reach an agreement on a short-term government funding measure, known as a continuing resolution, before the end of the fiscal year, meaning many major federal government operations shut down starting Oct. 1.

Denver has almost 12,000 federal employees who will be furloughed or “forced to work without pay” during the shutdown, DeGette, a Democrat, said. The Trump administration has suggested it may deny back pay to federal workers affected by the shutdown, a move DeGette said is illegal.

“If he tries to do that, he will be sued and people will win,” DeGette said. “But that’s little comfort to these employees who … are living paycheck to paycheck and are worried about what’s going to happen.”

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DeGette’s office has heard from many constituents who have tried since the shutdown started last week to contact the Social Security Administration or to get passports or veterans benefits and cannot get in touch with anyone to help them, she said.

Justin Bordoff, a legislative advocate with AFGE Local 3607, said the EPA canceled its collective bargaining agreement with the union and other unions that have agreements with the agency. He said the move is illegal and that the union does not know why the EPA canceled its agreement, and the AFGE is challenging the cancellation in court.

It’s been hard on everyone. We're all overworked, we're all burning out, and they hollowed out all the people with experience, and now we can't backfill.

Neither staff nor leadership at the EPA know what’s going on during the shutdown, Bordoff said, and the agency is in limbo, shut down but maintaining some operations. He said 75 percent of those he works with have been there for fewer than five years.

“We at the agency don’t know what we can or can’t do,” Bordoff said. “It’s been hard on everyone. We’re all overworked, we’re all burning out, and they hollowed out all the people with experience, and now we can’t backfill.”

Coworkers are fearful

Missy Haniewicz is the sole Colorado-based EPA employee whom the agency fired after she was placed on administrative leave in July for signing a letter that expressed concern about the direction of the EPA under Administrator Lee Zeldin. About eight employees have been fired across the country, and she said seven of them, herself included, plan on appealing.

“My situation is now making my coworkers even more fearful,” Haniewicz said. “I was hoping it would be sort of an example of speaking out, but now I’m fired, so it’s actually an example of don’t speak out.”

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Haniewicz said she hopes she wins her appeal and that “they will be too afraid to fire me again,” but she does not expect any improvement throughout the rest of Trump’s presidency. When she was put on administrative leave, she was told it was because of “conduct unbecoming” of a federal employee, because she signed a petition.

“I think I’m spiteful and I think I am angry, I’m incredibly angry,” Haniewicz said. “And I think that makes me willing to speak up.”

As she works through her appeal, all Haniewicz can do is wait, as the process can take about four months, if not longer during the shutdown. She said she will likely look for some contract work to get by, because while she could look for a full-time job in the private sector, she ultimately wants to go back to working for the federal government.

Brenda Carsten, a leader with AFGE Local 4012, said many Social Security workers are already living paycheck-to-paycheck, and the elimination of remote work by the Trump administration has increased commuting costs for those workers. The shutdown has added stress, as people are unsure whether they will be paid at all or laid off.

“We go into federal service because we want to serve and care about American people, and going into work every day and feeling like you’re failing because you’re just not able to provide the services that people desperately need is devastating to employees,” Carsten said.