February 04, 2019

Senator Warren Announces Sajid Shahriar, Federal Worker and Labor Leader Forced Out of Work During Shutdown, as SOTU Guest

Boston, MA - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren today announced that Sajid Shahriar, an employee of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) who was furloughed during President Trump and Senate Republicans' 35-day-long federal government shutdown, will accompany her to the State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 5, 2019.

Sajid is a Massachusetts labor leader who serves as Executive Vice President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 3258 and AFGE Vice President to the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. During the federal shutdown, Sajid did not receive a paycheck for 35 days and organized rallies in Boston with fellow federal workers, unions and community allies to urge Republican leaders to re-open the government. Sajid has devoted his career to fighting for fair housing, equal pay, the dignity of all work, and strong collective bargaining rights for workers across this country.

"I'm glad Sajid will be joining me for the State of the Union and represent federal and contract workers across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the country, many of whom were forced to go without pay for as many as 35 days as a result of the government shutdown," Senator Warren said. "It's time to send a message to President Trump and Senate Republicans: federal and contract workers are the backbone of our economy and their livelihoods should never be used as pawns in Republican political games," she continued.

"I'm humbled and honored to share that I will be representing federal workers at the State of the Union as the guest of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. Thank you to the Senator for continuing to raise the stories of federal workers and the people we serve, and for recognizing the importance of our AFGE union rights," said Sajid.

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