SALT LAKE CITY — A representative of Utah’s contingent of IRS workers — some furloughed, some working without pay, some laid off due to the shutdown — says concern about their predicament is setting in.
“It’s caused way more stress than is needed,” said Avery Jackson, president of Chapter 17 of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents IRS employees in Ogden and Salt Lake City. “They’ve gotten their last paycheck. Now, a lot of people are trying to get second jobs. They’re trying to do gig jobs just to make ends meet. They’re starting to sell things out of their homes, their possessions.”
Accordingly, Jackson is putting out a call for help from a nonprofit organization or other entities willing to partner with the union to create a food pantry that IRS and other federal workers can tap for help as they contend with the shutdown and the absence of a steady paycheck. The union local had operated food pantries at buildings where its member IRS employees work in Salt Lake City and Ogden, but can no longer access the sites due to the shutdown.
“The idea is to build something way beyond just the IRS, that is going to help every federal employee in Utah,” he said.
His hope would be to find a central site for food donations, outside a federal building, that could then distribute the food to federal buildings all over Utah, whether they house IRS, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Forest Service or other workers.
In a similar vein, a food pantry is taking shape at Salt Lake City International Airport, owned by Salt Lake City, to aid federal workers impacted by the shutdown, notably Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection employees. More details are to be released on Thursday by Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Bill Wyatt, Salt Lake City’s director of airports.
The federal shutdown started Oct. 1 after U.S. lawmakers were unable to reach accord on a measure to continue funding the federal government. That’s led to the furlough of workers across the nation and layoffs, with even those still working not receiving paychecks.
The IRS is the largest employer in Weber County, with some 6,000 workers, but the office of U.S. Rep. Blake Moore estimates there are around 40,000 federal workers across the state who have been furloughed or are working without pay.
The situation is particularly dire for many rank-and-file IRS workers because they sometimes live paycheck to paycheck. Some struggle to make ends meet but earn too much money to qualify for food stamps and other public assistance programs, Jackson said.
That’s prompted some to wonder whether it would be better to get a minimum-wage job that would potentially allow them to tap into public assistance, he said, which led to the creation of the three food pantries earlier this year.
Jackson has reached out to existing food banks and food pantries for help. IRS employees, though, likely wouldn’t be eligible for assistance given income guidelines for aid recipients.
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