ASHEVILLE - Local federal union workers warn that the government shutdown and threats of further reduction in force by the Trump administration use federal employees as “pawns in a political game,” undermining employee morale after hundreds resigned in Western North Carolina earlier this year.

On Oct. 1, the federal government entered its 15th shutdown since 1981, after Congress failed to reach an agreement in a bitter standoff over funding the government. And there’s no end in sight , as Democratic lawmakers demand health care policy changes that Trump and Republicans have refused to entertain , USA TODAY reported.

See Full Page