Union leaders for federal workers in the Atlanta area say their members are dealing with mounting pressure as Democrats and Republicans remain locked in a stalemate over how to reopen the government.

As the shutdown continues, the House-passed Republican bill failed to move forward in a 54-45 vote on Day 9.

On Thursday, Sandra Williams, the head of the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, was with other members on a picket line in Cumming. She said that the continued shutdown is causing financial strain for workers and government contractors across the metro Atlanta area.

Williams also noted hearing from workers over concerns about how they'll be able to support their families and afford health care without subsidies from the Affordable Care Act. The expiration of subsidies would more than double what subsidized enrollees currently pay for premiums next year, according to an analysis by KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues.

Democrats have demanded that the subsidies, first put in place in 2021 and extended a year later, be extended again. They also want any government funding bill to reverse the Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump's mega-bill passed this summer, which don't go into effect immediately but are already driving some states to cut Medicaid payments to health providers.

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune floated an "off ramp" to the government funding impasse, suggesting that he could hold a later vote on expiring health care subsidies if Democrats would first support a stopgap spending bill to reopen the government. That plan was dismissed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

Williams said members of Congress need to think about everyday Americans who will struggle to pay their bills because of this stalemate.

"When we talk about the lost wages and the jobs being taken away from public sector employees, I have to think about the single parents that are trying to raise their children," Williams said. "We are at a time where we are in a sandwich generation. Not only are people trying to raise their children, they're also trying to care for their elderly parents. Without a job, that level of pressure makes it nearly impossible to function." 

Williams says she wants Republicans and Democrats to reach a bipartisan agreement to relieve working families caught in the middle of the shutdown.

As talks in Washington, D.C., continue, government officials are looking toward Oct. 15, the next payday for the nation's military service members.