jacqueline simon is with afge, the nation's largest federal employee can you. should the government expected lose employees when this is all said and done or are people going to leave the federal service? >> guest: that depends on how long this thingng lasts. there are some misconceptions about the salaries and wages that federal employees earn. the members of our union are very modestly paid. in particular there's been a lot of attention on transportation security officers, the people who do screenings, security screening at airports. at the airport down the road they started $28,000 for you. the you. the take-home lesson $500 a week. when that is your economic resources, you can't go very long without a paycheck. and so these are people who are very committed to the mission of the agency, very proud of the work they do. they do a great job. they can't do it for free. >> host: talk about the callouts and is that something that could be used as a tactic to put pressure on ending the shutdown? >> guest: callouts? >> host: the people of called in sick during the,

the 5,000 workers of afge council 232. eric young and the 3,200 of afge council 33. these numbers are numbers to you but they are people. they are families. they are resources in our community and we'll hear from them and of course we are very, very honored to welcome j. david cox who represents the 700,000 americans of the american federation of government employees. later today, congressional democrats will go to the white house. we'll have given the president a republican path forward. we have said to them we are willing to accept what the senate republicans have passed overwhelmingly in the senate. take your path forward. take yes for an answer. instead, he's chosen a wall over workers. the president needs to end his senseless shutdown and reopen the government. and a champion in making that distinction for the president, you want to negotiate on the wall, let's proceed in a way that is respectful of our security and respectful of our values. i'm pleased to yield to the distinguished democratic senator in the senate, senator schumer. senator schumer: thank you, l

amy: david borer, thank you for being with us, general counsel at afge.eidi burakiewicz is the lead attorney in a lawsuit suing the federal government on behalf of members of the american federation of government employees, or afge, and federal employees being forced to work without pay. thank you for being with us. when we come back, jair bolsonaro has been sworn in as the next president of the world's fourth largest democracy, brazil. we will speak with the man who lost to him about what brazil might look like. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: we turn now to brazil, where far-right former army captain jair bolsonaro was sworn in as president of the world's fourth largest democracy on new year's day. >> i statate before everyone today, the day w when people wee liberated from sociaialism, this is our flag and it will never again be red. juan: bolsonaro was sworn in as brazil's 42nd president, marking the most radical political shift brazil sinc

representative trune, representative wexton, and with our good friends, secretary treasurer of the afge, kelly and president erwin of the national federal -- federation of federal employees. thank you for being here and standing up for the people who are working for us. people who are working for the federal government. people who are relied upon every day by millions and millions and millions of americans. because of this shutdown, s.e.c. regulators can't protect retirees and investors. f.d.a. food inspectors can't keep our prodeuce safe. our national parks remain without emergency rescuers. security lines at airports are longer, causing delays of travelers. the possibility is people won't get their refund checks. approximately $140 billion average refund, $2,500, people are relying on and that spur our economy. people can't necessary -- are worried about whether they can settle on a purchase of a home or a sale of their home. flood insurance is at risk. this, as senator mcconnell said, is a failed policy. i call on senator mcconnell to pass these bills that his senate has already pass

we're now going to hear from the security/treasurer -- secretary/treasurer of afge. >> it is time, my brothers and sisters, that the president do his job. that job is to represent the whole country. all of america. americans want the government open. our members want the government opened. and we need to let the president know we need him to get the job done. we're insisting that the senate take a vote on h.r. 21 and any appropriations bills to get the government open. we insist that that happens. federal employees are hurting. those reporting for work without pay are barely making ends meet. throw in the additional cost of tolls and other fees to get to work and it is astronomical. real families and real bills are being harmed in every way. and we need to hold this leadership accountable. the shutdown is greatly compromising the future of our government. who wants to sign up for a work force that says to its workers, you can come in to work, but guess what? you will not get paid for it. if current federal employees quit, how is the government going to replace them? who wants to come

(ryan baugh, statistician, department of homeland security, afge local 1924) "i don't want to see this again in three weeks - i don't want this to be business as usual."federal workforce missed multiple paychecks due to the shutdown. and it could take weeks for employees to get their full amount of back pay. something lawmakers say is a priority.(congressman jamie raskin, d/md) "we're determined to see that everybody gets paid this week" maryland congressman jamie raskin says he's relieved the shutdown is over.(congressman jamie raskin, d/md) "some people were crying that they could go back to work..."but in order to avoid a shutdown, congress will need to find a deal on border security by the february fifteenth deadline.in washington, morgan wright. (vicki) also tonight at 5:30... kron4 is always tracking local stories. here's a look at what's going on in your neighborhood right now. (grant) in the east bay... police are looking for an armed man after two u-c berkeley students were robbed. it happened just after 9:30 on sunday night. police say the students were at the basketball cour

we are working, afg affiliated with afl-cio through our privileged union programs, through a network of many labor banks offering interest-free loans as well as working with a lot of federal credit unions offering interest-free loans. we have been working with members of congress to -- that's worked with major lenders in this country to not foreclose, not to take people's cars, not to do those type things to try to understand that people are -- through no fault of their own are not getting paid. there's been a large outpouring of people doing and giving things. however, there is a downside to that. we are federal employees. there are laws that actually prevent us from accepting, you know, of value of maybe more than $20, someone can give me the exact number, but it's a small amount of accepting things and we are calling upon congress that sure we in this instance, as long as this lockout is going on and people are now talking about preparing into march and april of a continuing guess, we need some type of relief and at least some provision passed by the congress that these folks if s

(ryan baugh, statistician, department of homeland security, afge local 1924) "i don't want to see this't want this to be business as usual."federal workforce missed multiple paychecks due to the shutdown. and it could take weeks for employees to get their full amount of back pay. something lawmakers say is a priority.(congressman jamie raskin, d/md) "we're determined to see that everybody gets paid this week" maryland congressman jamie raskin says he's relieved the shutdown is over.(congressman jamie raskin, d/md) "some people were crying that they could go back to work..."but in order to avoid a shutdown, congress will need to find a deal on border security by the february fifteenth deadline.in washington, morgan wright. ( james ) happening today ... a group of lawmakers, from both parties, will begin efforts to avoid another government shutdown. house democrats continue to oppose the president's border wall...but hint at some sort of compromise... democrats say they are willing to spend money on technology to use at the border.. without an agreement...government funding runs out agai

we're now going to hear from the secretary treasury of afge. >> good morning, brothers and sisters. it's time, my brothers and sisters, that mr. president do his job. that job is to represent the whole country, all of america, americans want the government open, our members want the government open. and we need to let the president know we need him to get the job done. we're insisting the senate to take the bill to re-open the government. federal employees are hurting. those reporting for work without pay are barely making ends meet. the cost of tolls and other fees to get to work is getting astronomical. we need to hold this leadership accountable. the shutdown is greatly compromised the future of our government. who want to sign up for a workforce that says to its workers you can come to work but guess what, you won't get paid for it? if current federal employees quit, how is the government going to replace them? who would want to come to work for a government that doesn't pay their employees? absolute outrage. if google or amazon would lock out 800,000 employees or force 420,000

(ryan baugh, statistician, department of homeland security, afge local 1924) "i don't want to see thisgain in three weeks - i don't want this to be business as usual."federal workforce missed multiple paychecks due to the shutdown. and it could take weeks for employees to get their full amount of back pay. something lawmakers say is a priority.(congressman jamie raskin, d/md) "we're determined to see that everybody gets paid this week" maryland congressman jamie raskin says he's relieved the over.(congressman d/md) "some people were crying that they work..."but in order to avoid a shutdown, congress will deal on border security by the february fifteenth deadline.in washington, morgan wright. (ken) (ken) some freshman democratic lawmakers made their mark today with a proposal to help prevent government shutdowns. the legislation is called "seas" or shutdown to end all shutdowns. lawmakers say the goal of the bill is to take the option of a shutdown off the table. the lawmakers say the law would require an automatic 30-day continuing resolution if congress fails to pass a full year of ap

there's nothing internal within fema's union or within the afge that we have right now that we can offerloyees to offset this stop work. >> you know, as i wrap this up, is there an expression or something that you're using to get by every day or an adjective, adverb to help you? does anyone want to take a stab at that? fran, sherry, gary. >> you have three branches of government to ensure that each one operates equally. however we like to ask senator mcconnell to use that process to call the vote, to bring our workers back to work. we want to protect human health and the environment. that's our job. we care about the american people. >> absolutely. kate, how about you? anything you're using? >> i have to admit i'm kind of leaning on the 67 senator thing. also constitutionally 67 senators can get a vote passed regardless. the usda was formed by lynn on the to protect the american people. it's not able to do that if it's not working. it's putting american lives in jeopardy. 5,000 people a year die of food related illnesses and we weren't inspecting food. that's terrifying. >> sherry, your

>> i don't know -- i'm sorry, i don't know any of these people and the president of our -- of afg local 3381 and i have yet to have a member of the unit articulate that position to me. whether the president can relate or not, i don't know. but what i do know is this administration has in the past year authored three executive orders that striped rights for bargaining unit employees later overturned in the courts, he's frozen salaries of civilian workers, and now he's using federal workers as a pawn for his political agenda. so how he can say that he relates, that is -- i guess i would have to look him square in the eye and ask him that question. >> he's made federal workers a target, oftentimes separate from this. brian garthwait, thank you very much and we wish you luck getting back to work. >> thank you for having me. >>> joining us now is former director of legislative affairs under president trump, mark short. he knows a thing or two about how this president deals with congress and i'm sure has an opinion on the current impasse. thanks for taking the time and happy new year to your

afg, at&t, comcast, nbc universal, macy's, mastercard, pepsico, t-mobile, google, andbook, paa, friends airbnb. eastern star searchlight -- she cannot be here but is here in spirit. we truly thank you for -- what you have done bringing us together here. we could not be here without you. give it up for shelley. >> thank you, everyone. was here today, she had a very special presentation. day on behalflk of at&t, humanity connection here is, for you, the visionary award. >> thank you. thank you for all of the work you do. yourg under source -- underserved youth so they can achieve academic excellence. every day, you walk the talk. we are grateful you are here with us today. may god bless you. >> it is very unexpected. thank you so much. bywant to close today thinking reverend al sharpton and hopefully, we will be doing this for years to come. at a time when so much is riding on political futures, this is a wonderful opportunity, to listen to some key voices and driving conversations that are vital. this difficult time come we reflect on 1968, a very difficult year, obviously, for the count

to reverend al sharpton and the national action network, to my esteemed cohorts of honorees, to my afg my beloved wife elizabeth, and other distinguished guests, all of you that are here on this occasion, good morning. i am humbled and honored to receive this prestigious award. not only is this a notable achievement but is even more special as i am receiving this award in honor of a man who had a dream in which he hoped for the realization of equality and justice for all people. 51 years ago doctor martin luther king junior stated the following words, i say to you today my friends so even though we face this difficult of today and tomorrow i still have a dream. in the dream it is deeply rooted in the american dream, i have a dream that one day this nation would rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. even now these words still have a resounding effect on those who hear them. dr. martin luther king jr. was a man wise beyond measure for he knew that every triumph that would be had that every joy would be

the members of the dallas chapter of afge are real people who are facing too real birds as a direct result of this shut down. they are struggling to pay for rent and groceries. the gut punch is that the president is far more concerned with his base and 2020 than securing the well-being of over 800,000 families. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i rise to honor u.s. navy's latest combat ship christened the u.s.s. wichita. on saturday the u.s.s. wichita will be commissioned in florida where she will be begin her service to our country. as the third u.s.s. wichita in u.s. naval history, this ship will carry on the proud legacy of representing can's' largest city around the globe, which will also be represented onboard by chief petty officers isaac davis, a graduate of wi

. >> federal works are will not be afg their is their red it regarding, maying, the president seems to be insensitive for that. they think maybe they can just ask your father for more money, but they can't. they candidate. >>> a "new york times" investigation found trump received at least $413 millions in as ittes in the 1990s when his businesses were struggling. in 2015, then candidate saturday about you this he kol i started off in brookline a million dollars. i came inwith at florida this is not a game. this is real now fora lot of people. sometimes they talk about it like it's a political game but there are people who are it not receive thereof -- that is so stunning that the individuals we call leader in washington the so people are going to have to suffer essentially until i get there essentially. it's high position on the house of the republican party because we're the governing majority. we don't the house. you had the opportunity to dithese are or kit these are real keem who cannot go b their daily lafs because they have to figure out how they're going to put food on the table

a series of moves that were fought by the afge and nteu and reversed in court. madam speaker, the original political philosopher of this administration, steve bannon, told us very clearly what was the principle and overriding political aim of this administration when he essentially declared war on our government and its work force. he stated at the outset of the administration that the new administration is in an unending battle for deconstruct construction of the administrative state -- deconstruction of thed a misk state. every day -- the administrative state. every day it's going to be a fight, he said. and by administrative state i mean my constituents who are working to protect our air, water, planet, climate and e.p.a. and noaa. he menals the civil services at the department of justice who are prosecuting mobsters and white collar criminals. the i.r.s. agents trying to collect money so we have a government. he means the people at noaa who are trying to save from us the horrors of ocean acidification, the collapse of the glaciers and the cataclysmic weather