COVINGTON, Ky. (WKRC) - It's the 19th day of the partial government shutdown and no end seems to be in sight.
At least 3,000 Internal Revenue Service workers in the Tri-State are affected, and now they're planning a rally slated for Thursday.
Debbie Mullikin has worked for the IRS in Covington for 22 years. Her husband is also a federal employee.
“So both of our paychecks are not coming on Saturday, so we're being very careful and we're looking at using our savings and what little cushion we have to keep us going,” said Mullikin.
Not everyone has a cushion to keep paying their bills. Mullikin leads the local chapter of The National Treasury Employees Union. She says her members are starting to feel the pinch.
“I have employees here that I represent who aren't going to be able to make their rent,” said Mullikin. “I know of one young lady, who is not essential, she lost her slot at her daycare because she couldn't afford to keep paying payments at the daycare."
Stories like these are why CINFED Credit Union is offering personal loans with discounted interest rates to those affected by the government shutdown.
“When the shutdown initially happened, there was a fair number of questions, but in the past week or so, we've got a lot more inquiries and a lot more questions,” said Jim Kapp, marketing manager for CINFED.
The Cincinnati-based credit union has offered this program in previous shutdowns, but with this current shutdown being the second longest in history, the consequences for federal workers could be disastrous.
“Now that it's been a couple of weeks, people are really starting to feel that shortage, and the fact that, again, there's no income for those folks and they need a way to cover those bills,” said Kapp.
While Mullikin is grateful for CINFED and others who are understanding, she wants the country's leaders to come to an understanding.
"We're people; we're not game pieces on a board,” said Mullikin.
The National Treasury Employees Union is planning a rally set for Thursday at noon across from the IRS Service Center in Covington.
