Federal workers getting official notice of that 20% furlough pay cut

Furlough notices have started to go out officially notifying federal workers and their unions of the furloughs it's been obvious were coming since it became clear that Republicans were going to refuse to shift from their all cuts, no new revenue position to end the sequester. TSA and customs have sent out furlough notices, as have the Justice Department and the National Labor Relations Board. The Army, too, has started sending furlough notices:

[...] employees at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Gunpowder, Md., as well as the Corps of Engineers in Walla Walla, Wash., will be forced to stay at home without pay one day each week from April 22 through Sept. 21.

Translation: A 20% pay cut for 5 months. Employees will stay at home on either a Monday or Friday. Not everybody may get to choose their days, because supervisors have to ensure that at least half the staff is available on both days.

So, federal workers, you're going to have extra time off'but cancel that vacation you were going to take with the kids this summer, because with a 20 percent pay cut, you're not going to have the money for hotels or amusement parks. Maybe you could afford to take the kids camping, except that furloughs and cuts to seasonal workers at national parks might make that difficult, too. Cancel that work you were going to have done on your house'but don't forget to wish the contractor who was going to do it luck finding replacement work as the sequester takes money out of communities and slows economic growth.

One thing federal workers might do with that extra time is make your voice heard. Talk to your friends and family and neighbors about the reality of what's going on here'that Republicans are holding government workers, low-income mothers and children, seniors, students, scientific research, weather forecasting, travelers, and really the entire economy hostage to protect tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy. And let Congress know you're paying attention.

Tell Congress it's time to end tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy.