Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a funding bill that would provide federal workers with an average pay increase of 1.9 percent in 2019. While inflation has been at 2.8% for the 12 months preceding June 2018, 1.9% is better than the cuts proposed by the administration.
“When the administration says federal employees don’t deserve fair pay, it is gratifying to see some of the most powerful senators from both parties strongly reject that notion,” said National President Tony Reardon. The union supports separate, pending legislation to provide a 3 percent increase for federal employees in 2019.
The Senate appropriations bill also included appropriations for several NTEU-funded agencies, and it maintains a moratorium on outsourcing through A-76 competitions.
NTEU opposes cuts to pay, retirement, and other benefits. Private-sector wages increased 10.4% on average over the last five years, compared to an overall 6.9% increase for federal workers. Private-sector pay trends average 3% in 2018, highlighting that professional federal workers continue to fall farther behind their private-sector counterparts. Federal employees have also contributed approximately $200 billion in deficit reduction through pay freezes, below-market pay adjustments, and retirement contribution increases.
It's time to boost the pay of professional employees getting them closer to their private-sector counterparts.