Hundreds of Area Federal Workers to Protest Shutdown

Hundreds of federal workers will descend on Portsmouth Thursday to protest the government shutdown.

The event is being organized by the New Hampshire AFL-CIO.

A rally will be held in Prescott Park at 3 p.m., followed by a march to Market Square at 4 p.m., organizers said.

The workers will use the rally to "oppose the government shutdown, US government default, and ongoing sequestration," officials said in a statement. "(The) focus will be on the damage inflicted locally at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, within the community, and across the state."

More than a thousand Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workers were furloughed earlier this month during the government shutdown.

Scheduled speakers for Thursday's protest include:

• Ron Ault, national president of the AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department
• Mark McKenzie, president of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO
• John Newton, of the Maine AFL-CIO executive board
• Paul O'Connor, president of the Metal Trades Council
  
• Arvard Worster, of the American Federation of Government Employees
• Deb Jennings, of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers
• John Joyal, of the American Federation of Government Employees
• Labor leaders from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard