ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is facing a crisis as the government shutdown enters its third week, leaving employees without paychecks.
The CDC has been turned upside-down since February, with job cuts then and again in April, a shooting spree in August and now the government shutdown.
It’s payday, except there are no checks to cash.
“What’s it like to miss a paycheck? It’s not great,” sCDC employee Aryn Backus told Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen. “Luckily, I have a partner, and we’re able to make things work without a paycheck for a little bit.”
But Backus has plenty of colleagues who can’t, and she says this third week of the government shutdown has them in dire straits.
“People are feeling helpless, and I think a little panicked,” said Sarah Boim, a former CDC employee who co-founded Fired But Fighting, which was formed to help both current and former CDC employees.
Today she began setting up what’s she’s calling a talent marketplace to help furloughed feds land a side-hustle, “whether they’re available for dog walking or pressure washing, or tutoring — and people can get connected that way.”
She says the talent marketplace will be in operation next week.
Since April, as many as one-third of the CDC’s over 12,000 employees have been let go, and those remaining are now struggling without pay.
Backus said she isn’t sure how long most will be able to hold on.
“There’s a lot of families where both parents work at CDC and they’re both missing their paychecks,” she said. “A lot of single parents are missing paychecks right now. If it goes on for a while, things get really tough.”
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