Small family business offers jobs to federal workers who aren't being paid during shutdown

A small family business in Pennsylvania is doing its part to help local federal workers who've been furloughed during the partial government shutdown, KDKA-TV reported.

The 123shirt.com in Robinson Township placed an ad on Craig's List that offered jobs to federal employees who want to earn money to help make ends meet. The job pays $18 an hour.

"You just listen to all the news coverage, and you [know] somebody's got to do something," shop owner Larry Barasch told KDKA. "So this is what we decided to do."

So far, four Transportation Security Administration workers have taken him up on the offer.

"We said anyone with a valid U.S. government I.D. … come and work," he said.

What is the job?

Those who go to work for the shirt company are helping print T-shirts that read, "Stronger Than Hate."

"We're not giving them hard tasks. We're just saying just help," Barasch told the news station.

"They're desperate," he added. "When you're living week-to-week, day-to-day, you still have a mortgage, you still have to pay for food, you still have to pay for utilities," Barasch said. "I mean what are you supposed to do? Live off a credit card?"

But helping those who aren't receiving a paycheck isn't the only good deed being delivered.

The money raised from the T-shirts goes to the Tree of Life Synagogue Victim's Fund, which has special meaning for Barasch's family. Eleven people were murdered at the synagogue when a gunman opened fire there in October.

"My uncle Judah Samet was the Holocaust survivor who missed the shooting by four minutes," Barasch said.

What else?

Last month, Barasch presented an $18,000 check to the Tree of Life Victim's Fund.