Space Center Employees Have to Scrub Their Own Toilets Due to Shutdown

The 200 employees working without pay to keep the astronauts at the International Space Station safe are now being asked to scrub their own office toilets due to the government shutdown, The Houston Chronicle reports. “This is our reality at the Johnson Space Center,” a NASA manager tweeted on Thursday. “We now have no custodial services while we work without pay to keep the International Space Station operating.” The tweet included photos of signs asking employees to bring trash to designated bins and seeking volunteers to help “clean toilets, wipe toilet seats, handles, and sink faucet handles with disinfectant wipes.” Custodial services have been reduced at NASA's Johnson Space Center since about 94 percent of the employees are currently furloughed. A representative from the center's hired custodial service, Native Resource Development, told the newspaper they plan to ask for “voluntary layoffs” within their own business because of the reduced workload.