Now that the nation’s largest labor union for federal employees — a bastion of Democratic Party support — is calling on U.S. Senate Democrats to end the federal government shutdown, will the lawmakers listen? 

And will Colorado’s own Democratic U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper heed the union’s appeal to their party this week to reopen government so Uncle Sam can get back to work? 

We urge our senators to do so. 

Only five Senate Democrats are needed to cross over and vote with majority Republicans — it takes a total of 60 votes — to end a Democratic filibuster that is keeping the federal government closed. Colorado’s two senators could make a big difference.

Many essential federal functions have been on hold too long already, with wide-ranging services idled or limited — and federal employees going unpaid. From running national parks to processing small-business loans, operations are largely stalled. Environmental inspections by federal regulators are being delayed. Benefits verification and card issuance for Social Security and Medicare have been halted. Proceedings in immigration courts are suspended. At airports, air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration agents, though still at work, aren’t getting paid, and some aren’t reporting for duty — so air travel is strained.

The list goes on.

One urgent concern is Saturday’s looming deadline for stopping federal SNAP payments providing food assistance to low-income households.

On Monday, American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley issued a statement calling on senators to pass a short-term spending measure to resume federal operations immediately. That means Senate Democrats would have to back off their game of chicken with ruling congressional Republicans as well as the Trump administration over longer-term spending issues. 

“Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight,” the union chief wrote, as first reported by NBC News. “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today. No half measures, and no gamesmanship.”

AFGE’s 820,000 members are hard pressed to cover even their basic living expenses.

“…When the folks who serve this country are standing in line for food banks after missing a second paycheck because of this shutdown, they aren’t looking for partisan spin,” Kelley said. “They’re looking for the wages they earned. The fact that they’re being cheated out of it is a national disgrace.”

And yet, on Tuesday, Bennet, Hickenlooper and almost all their fellow Senate Democrats voted once again against reopening, for the 13th time since the federal shutdown began Oct. 1.

Their partisan supporters in elected office around the country are employing assorted diversionary tactics to take the heat off Senate Democrats for keeping the government closed. This week, for example, Colorado’s Democratic attorney general joined a lawsuit by fellow Democratic AGs in other states against the Trump administration, in a purported attempt to make it keep sending SNAP payments once funding runs out at week’s end.

Such political theatrics may score points for the next election — or may backfire — but in any event won’t reopen the government. That requires five Democratic senators to set aside the partisan grudge match long enough to cross the aisle and vote with the GOP majority. 

Bennet and Hickenlooper could lead the way. They would be doing a great service to Colorado’s 55,000-plus federal employees as well as the countless Coloradans and other Americans who do business with the federal government every day — and are standing outside the front door, waiting for it to open.