AUSTIN, Texas — Some federal workers and union advocates in Austin said they hope the government can reach a long-term deal in response to the three-week deal leaders in Washington reached on Friday.
TSA worker Richard Odele said he's grateful that he is going to be paid again.
He was one of the dozens of people who were outside Senator John Cornyn's office in Austin on Friday, protesting the shutdown.
Some of the protesters were federal workers, while others weren't.
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the federation that represents labor unions, organized the event.
Odele said he has had to ration his grocery shopping and hopes he doesn't have to again in three weeks.
He also said he's not sure when exactly he is going to get his back pay yet.
"I'm feeling pretty at ease right now,” he said. “I'm supposed to be getting my back pay soon. But, I'm sure my fellow brothers and sisters are pretty relieved right now.”
Texas AFL-CIO President Rick Levy said, “There are differences of opinion in Washington all the time. One of the things that's unacceptable when it comes to those differences is to hold their federal employees and their communities and their families hostage.”
The AFL-CIO is still collecting food for federal workers at their Lavaca Street headquarters.
On Monday, they plan to deliver it to the Central Texas Food Bank because the government could shut down again if no agreement on a border wall is reached.