Mohamed: I'll call back later formula t10 safe Government workers have already dealt with pay freezes over the past few years, so furloughs are especially concerning to those who don't have a large cash reserve, says Bill Dougan, national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, a union representing roughly 110,000 government workers. "Most of our members are middle-class workers, so they don't have necessarily these large savings accounts built up or huge retirement accounts that they could turn to to cushion the effects of losing those furlough days' pay," he says. "Many of them at the lower grades live paycheck to paycheck. Many of them are frightened about whether they'll be able to pay bills on time and meet the needs of their families."