Federal workers furloughed as government shutdown impacts thousands in Wisconsin

MADISON (WKOW) -- Thousands of federal employees are on furlough after the federal government shut down overnight.

Among them is Carl Houtman, a research chemical engineer and national union president at Forest Products.

"We have to start functioning again as an actual government. We are in a constitutional crisis," Houtman said.

Houtman, who has experienced two previous shutdowns, expressed frustration about the current situation.

"It sucks. I kind of saw it coming and have been encouraging my union members to think about it, too," Houtman said.

He feels the shutdown is a clear message that federal employees are undervalued.

"It's very clear to me as a federal employee that they, Congress and the administration, have no clue about how important our work is," Houtman said.

The Congr