MCLB Furloughs Could Mean Shaky Ground for Area Businesses
Tuesday, July 9th, 2013
Furloughs for civilian workers at military bases around the country began Monday, leaving economists not asking if, but how much will it affect South Georgia's economy.
The furloughs are a result of the federal sequester budget cuts and affect about 2-thousand workers at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany.
Albany city commissioner Ivey Hines is feeling effects of the furloughs at Albany's Marine Corps Logistics Base firsthand. "Some of the things we'll be curtailing would be going out for entertainment type activities, going to restaurants or going to movies," says Hines.
For more than 29 years Hines has worked as an IT specialist at the base. He is one of about 2,000 MCLB civilian employees who have to take one unpaid day off each week starting Monday through September 16th. That's 11 days total and a 20 percent reduction in pay.
