Second federal employees union sues Trump administration over shutdown

A second federal employees union has filed suit against the Trump administration over the government shutdown, which is now in its third week.

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents 150,000 members at 33 federal agencies, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday alleging that hundreds of thousands of workers are being illegally forced to work without pay, according to The Washington Post.

The lawsuit comes just over a week after the American Federation of Government Employees union announced a similar lawsuit.

{mosads}The NTEU’s lawsuit names Albert Vieira, a Customs and Border Protection officer considered an “essential” government employee, as the plaintiff.

According to the lawsuit, Vieira has been deployed at the southwest border since November, and worked at least one overtime shift, the Post reported. The lawsuit asks that Vieira and other individuals in similar positions be paid wages that they are owed.

NTEU president Tony Reardon called the shutdown a “travesty,” according to the Post.

“Federal employees should not have to pay the personal price for all of this dysfunction,” he said.

The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Hill.

As the shutdown continues, federal employees in a number of agencies have expressed concerns about dealing with financial hardships while missing paychecks.

A union president for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers said Wednesday that some TSA agents are quitting or threatening to quit their jobs due to the shutdown, a situation that could “create a massive security risk for American travelers.”

President Trump on Tuesday night addressed the nation in a primetime address from the Oval Office, and continued to push for funding for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

An impasse with lawmakers over funding for the wall triggered the partial shutdown 19 days ago.

Democrats have vowed not to provide funding for the wall, but Trump has threatened to declare a national emergency at the southern border to circumvent Congress on the issue.