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So far it hasn’t worked.

American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley called on senators to accept the House Republicans’ three-week stopgap bill.

“I cannot countenance the sight of workers I represent standing in food lines,� Kelley wrote in a letter to lawmakers Monday. As Thanksgiving approaches, he added, “No federal worker should have to turn to a food pantry to help prepare the family table.�

The union’s demand puts Senate Democrats, including Arizona’s Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, in a politically difficult position given how crucial union support is to Democrats.

The Arizona AFL-CIO endorsed Kelly during his 2022 run. Gallego received similar backing in his Senate campaign last year and in previous House races.

AFGE and other public sector unions have also provided support, according to campaign finance records.

Gallego took in more than $120,000 from public sector unions in the 2024 election, when he defeated Republican Kari Lake. Only three other Senate candidates — all incumbent Democrats — received more, according to an analysis from OpenSecrets. Gallego was a House member at the time.

Kelly was a leading AFGE beneficiary in 2022, with roughly the same level of financial support.

Both praised the AFGE even as they said no thanks to its advice on ending the shutdown.

“They are looking out for their members,� but Democratic officeholders also must weigh broader national concerns, Gallego said in a statement provided by an aide.

“We also need to be looking out for the 24 million Americans, including the nearly 500,000 Arizonans, who will see their premiums double or lose health care coverage altogether if we don’t address ACA subsidies,� he said, referring to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which has dramatically reduced the number of uninsured Americans.

Daniel DiSalvo, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina who wrote a book on the political influence of public employee unions, said the AFGE’s stance supports the GOP spin on the impasse — that it is Democrats, not them, standing in the way of reopening the government and letting federal paychecks and services resume.

“It highlights that ending the shutdown is in their hands,� he said.

“AFGE is an important Democratic constituency whose views matter,� he said. “But Democrats are likely to prioritize broader strategic considerations over the union’s immediate call to end the shutdown.�

The shutdown has lasted more than four weeks. With no end in sight, the pain is mounting for federal employees.

At least 670,000 are furloughed nationwide, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, and 730,000 others are continuing to work without pay. In Arizona, about 34,000 federal workers have missed paychecks since the shutdown began Oct. 1, according to the Arizona AFL-CIO.

Senate Democrats have demanded concessions regarding health care subsidies that expire at the end of December.

Republicans refuse, saying they’ll discuss such topics only after Democrats provide enough votes to reopen the government under the House GOP plan approved Sept. 19.

Kelly, like other Democrats, points blame for the stalemate back onto Republicans for refusing to negotiate.

“We don’t want the government to be shut down. The Republicans have the House, the Senate, and the White House,� he told reporters Tuesday at the Capitol. “We did not want this president holding the American people hostage, including AFGE employees, for the cost of 23 million Americans’ health care. But that’s what they decided to do.�

Gallego makes the same argument: “We can reopen the government, get federal workers their backpay and prevent health care costs from skyrocketing, but only if my Republican colleagues come to the table.�

The AFGE’s Democratic ties are strong.

The union endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris last year over President Donald Trump.

It has fought the Trump administration in court over layoffs and recently led a coalition of unions that persuaded a federal judge in San Francisco to bar mass firings during the shutdown.

Like many Democratic politicians, both Arizona senators have emphasized their support for federal workers and labor protections generally.

Kelly has referred often to growing up in a union household, saying his mother’s good union job “changed things for our family.�

He and Gallego back the Right to Organize Act, a proposal to protect collective bargaining rights.

“American workers deserve good wages, good benefits and safe working conditions,� Gallego said recently.

More than 7,200 federal workers nationwide filed for unemployment benefits just through Oct. 11, Bloomberg reported — the most since the record-setting 35-day shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019. “Every day this shutdown drags on, workers and our families are forced to make impossible choices,� the Arizona AFL-CIO said in a statement. “Fund the government. Fix the healthcare crisis. Put working people first. Now.�