North Dakota AFL-CIO Statement on Federal Government Shutdown

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 1, 2025

Contact:  Ashley Gaschk, agaschk@ndaflcio.org, 701-527-3662

STATEMENT: North Dakota AFL-CIO on the State-level Impacts of the Federal Government Shutdown

Bismarck, ND – Today, the North Dakota AFL-CIO released the following statement regarding the government shutdown:

 

Today's unprecedented federal government shutdown is the culmination of an administration hell-bent on destroying our federal workforce and accelerating an impending healthcare crisis, so billionaires can profit even more on the backs of our working families in North Dakota. 

Here in North Dakota, 5,736 federal workers will go without paychecks. North Dakota's federal workers  are vital to the economy and our communities. These are the caretakers who serve our Veterans at the VA in Fargo, the scientists who work with farmers to improve our food system at the Agricultural Resource Service, the inspectors who keep our groceries and workplaces safe, the workers who make sure our families get the federal services they deserve, and the civil servants who play a vital role keeping the military installations in our state running. 

Over 23 thousand North Dakotans will lose their health insurance, and tens of thousands more will see their healthcare costs spike in the next few months—unless we do something now. We need Congress and the administration to come together and protect our working families from the unnecessary and cruel policies that have accumulated in Washington over the last few months. These cuts to healthcare will harm our rural healthcare facilities, forcing many to close. We will see families fall even further behind due to rising medical costs, forced to choose between sickness or debt while the billionaire class rakes in bonanza profits. 

Labor union statements:

AFL-CIO: AFL-CIO to Trump Administration: ‘Fund the Government. Fix the Health Care Crisis. Put Working People First.’

AFGE & AFSCME:Trump Administration’s Plan for Mass Firing of Federal Workers During Government Shutdown Violates Law, Unions Say