Flags are raised on U.S. Coast Guard buoy tenders for reveille before the start of the Buoy Tender Olympics at Station Juneau on Aug. 22. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Flags are raised on U.S. Coast Guard buoy tenders for reveille before the start of the Buoy Tender Olympics at Station Juneau on Aug. 22. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Some Coast Guard employees furloughed, others working without pay during shutdown

Almost all civilian employees in Juneau sent home

Dozens of Coast Guard employees came to work the day after Christmas only to find that they’d been furloughed until the partial federal government shutdown is over. Even the ones who are working might not be getting paid anytime soon.

Fifty-three civilian employees in Juneau were furloughed, Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer Lt. Brian Dykens said in an interview Wednesday. That’s almost all of the civilian Coast Guard employees in Juneau, as Dykens said there are 59 civilian positions between Sector Juneau, the 17th District and Civil Engineering Unit (CEU) Juneau.

He said these furloughed employees come from “a vast array of departments and jobs,” including information technology, engineering, maintenance and others. The remaining six civilian employees are working, but Dykens said employees will miss their next paycheck if a solution isn’t reached by this Friday. The next payday for Coast Guard employees is Dec. 31.

The Coast Guard’s essential services — such as search and rescue and environmental response — are still funded, Dykens said. Higher-ranking Coast Guard officials were unavailable Wednesday to provide specifics about where that funding comes from. The bottom line, Dykens said, is that the Coast Guard will continue to be there if someone’s in danger.

“We don’t know how long the government shutdown will last,” Dykens said in a statement, “but we have a plan to maintain the essential safety, security, and environmental protection services the public expects from the Coast Guard. We will continue to monitor the situation and, if necessary, adjust our operations to ensure national security and to protect life and property.”

[Coast Guard rescues injured hiker off Herbert Glacier]

The shutdown stems from an impasse between President Donald Trump and members of Congress about the nation’s budget. At the center of negotiations is the funding of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The partial shutdown has about 38,000 federal employees on furlough and 420,000 employees working without pay, ABC News reported this week.

Rear Admiral Matthew T. Bell, Jr., the commander of the 17th District, said it’s never a good time to lose funding, but it’s even more pronounced around the holiday season.

“I’m personally concerned for some of our more junior members and their families making ends meet during the lapse,” Bell said in a statement. “We’re ever watchful to ensure we have the necessary resources in place to help them if the need arises.”

There are a few options for Coast Guard employees who are struggling financially. The Coast Guard Mutual Assistance program has money set aside to help employees and their families with money. Dykens said there are also opportunities with banks and other organizations to help Coast Guard employees if need be.

NBC News reported Wednesday that 42,000 active-duty Coast Guard members remain on duty, and that the Coast Guard is the only branch of the military whose employees will go without pay during the shutdown if there isn’t a solution by Friday. Dykens said it depends on what the details end up being when negotiators in Washington, D.C. finally come to an agreement, but he and his co-workers hope they will be given back pay for the work they’re doing now.

For now, he said, they’re remaining at their posts despite many of them expecting not to be paid next Monday.

“The public expects us to save lives and protect the environment,” Dykens said.


• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.


More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ships in Port for the Week of May 28

Here’s what to expect this week.

File Photo
Police calls for Saturday, May 27

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Dozens of Juneau teachers, students and residents gather at the steps of the Alaska State Capitol on Jan. 23 in advocacy for an increase in the state’s flat funding via the base student allocation, which hasn’t increased sizeably since 2017 and has failed to keep pace with inflation during the past decade. A one-time funding increase was approved during this year’s legislative session. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
What’s next for the most debated bills pending in the Legislature?

Education funding increase, “parental rights” and other proposals will resurface next year.

Emergency lights flash on top of a police car. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Police investigate assault in Lemon Creek area

“JPD does not believe there is any danger to the public at large.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Feb. 24, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. DeSantis has filed a declaration of candidacy for president, entering the 2024 race as Donald Trump’s top GOP rival (AP Photo / John Raoux)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launches 2024 GOP presidential campaign to challenge Trump

Decision revealed in FEC filing before an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Wednesday, May 23, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

A channel flows through the mud flats along the Seward Highway and Turnagain Arm in Alaska on Oct. 25, 2014. Authorities said, a 20-year-old man from Illinois who was walking Sunday evening, May 21, 2023, on tidal mud flats with friends in an Alaska estuary, got stuck up to his waist in the quicksand-like silt and drowned as the tide came in before frantic rescuers could extract him.  (Bob Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News)
Illinois man gets stuck waist-deep in Alaska mud flats, drowns as tide comes in

“…It’s Mother Nature, and she has no mercy for humanity.”

Most Read