This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

DENVER — Thursday was the 20th day of the partial government shutdown. Federal workers in Denver took to the streets Thursday afternoon to share their frustrations of having to go without pay. 

More than 100 people gathered downtown hoping to send a message to lawmakers.

“I thought this would be over pretty quick,” one furloughed worker said. “I thought about filing for unemployment. I’m going to have to if they don’t see reason by the end of this week.”

Workers said the rally was not a political protest, but rather a public plea.

“We are not here to debate the value of the wall. That’s for the politicians to decide,” one of the protesters said to the crowd.

“My job is to protect human health and the environment, and we can’t do it when we’re shutdown,” said Barbara Conklin, a federal worker. “I have mortgage payments. We all have to eat. It’s destroying the economy.”

The American Federation of Government Employees organized the event. The organization said it chose Senator Cory Gardner’s office as a meeting spot because although the senator is against the shutdown, the workers are hoping he can convince his fellow republicans to agree with him as well.