Furloughed Workers Acting As Tour Guides

Some federal workers, finding themselves with free time as a result of furloughs, have started sitting at the closed museums and memorials to direct tourists to the attractions that are still open, according to NBC News.

These furloughed workers are providing the service free of charge and gather outside the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, where they hand out leaflets telling tourists which attractions are opened and which are closed.

Among the closed sights are the U.S. Capital, and among the open sights are the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

"I remembered from the government shutdown in the mid-1990s that there were a lot of tourists who didn't get the message that the Smithsonian museums were closed," Carl Goldman, the director of a local affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said. "They'd planned a trip around it, then they get there and the doors were closed."

To ensure that didn't happen, AFSCME Council 26, a group that represents employees at the Justice Department, Federal Aviation Administration, Library of Congress and other agencies, joined with the American Federation of Government Employees Local 12, which mainly represents Labor Department workers.

"We thought maybe we could put something out that would help them and help us," Goldman said.

Between the AFSCME and the AFL-CIO's Washington D.C. Metro Council, the unions got together and created the "Federal Worker's Guide to Shutdown D.C.," a group that gives the status of the different points of interest in the D.C. area.

Furloughed workers will be wearing green and blue union t-shirts on the Constitution Avenue side of the Natural History Museum between 10 a.m. until noon on Wednesday. Depending on the length of the shut down, more volunteers may be added at other museums.

Furloughed workers will also be carrying signs. According to the labor groups, it's an opportunity to have a conversation with Americans visiting the capital, as well as overseas visitors.

"It will give us the chance to let them see that federal workers are just like any other person," Goldman said. "They're trying to do a good job and take care of their family."