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Sunday, January 18, 2015

Cardin, Schatz Introduce Legislation to Give Federal Workers a Well-Deserved Raise

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) today introduced legislation to provide a 3.8 percent pay raise to federal workers in calendar year 2016. Federal employees have lost over a billion dollars in salary and benefits due to sequestration and a three-year pay freeze from January 2011 to December 2013.

“We have continued to place an increasing burden on federal workers, who now represent the lowest percentage of the total American workforce in the three-quarters of a century that reliable records have been kept,” said Senator Cardin. “The knowledge, expertise, skill and commitment of our public sector workforce are some of this country’s greatest assets. No other nation can match our public workforce’s professionalism and level of accomplishment. Yet all too often, public servants are disparaged, denigrated and forced to bear the brunt of deficit reduction. We need to strengthen and encourage our public workforce. In Maryland and across the nation, these public servants deserve recognition and thanks for their hard work and dedication.”

“Hawai‘i’s federal employees are some of the hardest working public servants in the country,” said Senator Schatz. “In recent years, our federal workers have endured pay freezes, furloughs, and a government shutdown. Our bill recognizes the service of working families and gives them a well-deserved raise.”



With a 35 percent pay gap between public and private employees, the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act begins to address the pay disparity affecting federal employees. Nearly 2 million federal workers, including more than 20,000 in Hawai‘i, would benefit from the FAIR Act. The legislation is supported by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), the Federal-Postal Coalition (FPC), and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE).

“This bill is an important recognition that federal employees deserve fair raises and the government needs to remain competitive with the private sector to attract the talent our nation requires,” said Colleen M. Kelley, National President of the National Treasury Employees Union. “We appreciate the leadership of Senators Schatz and Cardin in introducing this bill to provide a fair pay raise for federal employees in 2016, and will work to garner support for it.”

“This 3.8% pay increase proposed in the FAIR Act will help restore federal employees' pay after three years of pay freezes and the past two years of 1% increases which have been well below the recommended baseline increase,” said J. David Cox, National President of the American Federation of Government Employees. “We thank Senator Schatz and Senator Cardin for introducing this important piece of legislation, and for recognizing that federal employee pay is a critical component of recruiting and retaining the quality employees who are VA nursing assistants, Border Patrol agents, civilians in DoD who equip the troops, and those who help the elderly and the disabled obtain their Social Security benefits.”

“I thank Senators Schatz and Cardin and Rep. Connolly and numerous other original cosponsors on this legislation, for their leadership in supporting our nation’s federal employees,” said Richard G. Thissen, President of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. “Providing our public servants adequate compensation is about more than just fairness, it is maintaining an efficient and effective federal government.”

“Like other employers, federal agencies must be in a position to offer competitive salaries and wages for both recruitment and retention purposes,” said Alan Loptain, Chairman of the Federal-Postal Coalition. “Federal workers are presently engaged in thwarting the Ebola outbreak, leading discovery projects on Mars, and ensuring that the nation’s borders remain protected. The FAIR Act ensures that the public’s needs will be met by maintaining a skilled workforce. The Coalition thanks Senators Schatz and Cardin for their unwavering support of federal employees, and for being a strong voice for the federal workforce in the U.S. Senate.”

“After three years of pay freezes, followed by two years of meager one percent raises, this legislation is clearly needed,” said Gregory Junemann, President of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. “Not only will it bring our nation’s federal workers a respectable pay increase, but it will also help to show potential federal employees that the federal government is committed to bringing federal compensation back to an acceptable level. Make no mistake about it, after five years of federal employees seeing their net pay actually decrease compared to inflation, these workers are deserving of at least a 3.8% pay raise. IFPTE commends Congressman Connolly and Senators Schatz and Cardin for recognizing this and we are pleased to endorse this legislation, and ask other members of Congress to do the same.”

Representative Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and other House members have introduced the companion bill in the House of Representatives.

20 comments:

tom taylor said...

Gov't Employees earn more than the private sector equivalent, enjoy better healthcare, better benefits, more holidays, back pay for government shutdown a de facto paid vacation, and now a well deserved raise to boot of 3.8%...

it is time to put them all out for bid. every position... right to work, competition.

JoeAlbero said...

AMEN Tom!

Anonymous said...

Give the incompetent, lazy, teat-suckers a 2% reduction and give the military the raise!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Hawaii's fed employees are the hardest working, especially when the big O is on vacation there.

Anonymous said...

And a perpetual profit loss Tom.That is built into the system and will never change.I worked in a government facilty that hired a Superintendant from the private sector.He had the profit/loss mentality that any good money manager has.After a few years he threw in the towel.He could not hire or fire as he saw fit,and the amount of money required to keep that operation running was staggering.

Anonymous said...

The BS just keeps coming with these democrats.

Anonymous said...

I want to thank all of you for the raises. As a federal employee keep hating and keep paying. Good old Salisbury. Scream and cry about some of us getting ahead behind your
anonymous keyboards. It would be amusing
if it weren't so pitiful.

Have you ever wondered why everyone living anywhere other than Salisbury seem to get the most out of life. While Salisbury and it's people continue to drown in the hate for anything or anyone. All the good people you have chase away who tried to make life better in Salisbury. Go ahead and continue to blame EVERYONE else for your life failure.

Keep wining while we keep winning.

Anonymous said...

WTF?!?!

Social Security benefits were REDUCED by about $1000 over a year. Yeah, costs went up they said.

Anonymous said...


hard working public employees =
OXYMORON

Anonymous said...

There may be some truth in your statement. Over the past five years people come here. Get a job, buy a house and work hard to help make Salisbury better. Only to be ripped apart on these blogs by people who couldn't or wouldn't do the job . So after a while they become fed up and leave. Now there is reporting of a plant closing in Salisbury. I believe the company owner has had enough as well. Chalk another one up for the people of Salisbury you AWESOME.

Anonymous said...

Salisbury residents = LOSERS

Anonymous said...

“Hawai‘i’s federal employees are some of the hardest working public servants in the country,”

Funny how every government official says the same thing about their employees. You could substitute Ocean City, Dover, Baltimore or Salisbury for Hawaii.

Anonymous said...

I bet they feel ENTITLED to raises from the taxpayers who they have burdened with $18 TRILLION in debt!

Anonymous said...

Hi how hi how off too work I go. Sorry you people in Salisbury don'thave jobs because your too lazy to keep or get them.


Anonymous said...

2:20 its hi ho, hi ho, its off to work we go. Is it any wonder you are a government employee?

Anonymous said...

You say tomato he says to manta you get the gist. Or do you???

Anonymous said...

City of Salisbury. I'm one of those people that doesn't do there job and wine when they hire people to make me do it. Then ALL of us no good pay stealing men and women get together and blog lies about our bosses to get them to leave . To those of you who have helped WE thank you.

Anonymous said...

I'm a federal employee, screw all of you loosers! I work hard for my pay. Most of you are jealous, uneducated, local yokels.

Anonymous said...

7:57
Maybe before you call someone a loser and uneducated you should first learn to spell it correctly.

Anonymous said...

I wish they would spend the same effort fixing the system. I have not gotten a raise in years . I have got my health ins that has gone up 65%