Federal Insider: Obama's pay raise for feds praised by unions, local Hill members

Like kids with a surprise in their Christmas stockings, local members of Congress and leaders of federal employee organizations are joyful over a larger-than-expected pay increase for federal workers.

Just in time for the holiday bills, President Obama authorized an average pay raise of 2.1 percent for 2017, instead of the 1.6 percent he submitted in August. That means pay for the civilian workforce will increase by the same percentage as the military’s, continuing a parity that has generally been followed for years.

The military raise was included in the National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress last week.

National Treasury Employees Union President Tony Reardon said that after it was clear the military would get 2.1 percent, he pushed members of Congress for civilian workforce parity. “It was our view that the federal pay raise wasn’t a done deal and could be adjusted,” he said.

That appeared to be a veiled swipe at American Federation of Government Employees President J. David Cox Sr., who on Wednesday seemed resigned to the lower amount, telling reporters it was a “done deal.”

After The Washington Post broke news of the larger pay hike on Friday, however, Cox sent a message to his members saying, “We did it! For years, AFGE has pushed aggressively for lawmakers to pay government workers what they deserve . . . Together we organized, mobilized, and fought back. Now, we have seen the results of our efforts.”

Both union presidents cited the efforts of Democratic Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland and Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, as well as Reps. Steny H. Hoyer and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, also Democrats. In a letter sent Wednesday to Obama, the members of Congress requested the higher increase. “With very few exceptions we have had parity with respect to pay raises for the military and for civilian federal employees,” they wrote.

“Federal workers are constantly being denigrated even as they carry out critical missions under difficult circumstances,” the letter continued. “Since 2011, federal workers have ‘contributed’ over $180 billion to deficit reduction. Pay freezes, salaries lost to the sequestration-related furlough, and higher pension contributions have hurt a largely middle class workforce that has a higher percentage of women, minorities, and veterans than the private sector workforce.”

Hoyer called the increased rate “a major victory for those who serve our nation.”

Van Hollen said Obama understands that the bigger boost “would help attract and retain the top-quality workforce necessary to serve American families. A strong federal workforce, and a pay structure that recognizes the contributions of our civilian and military personnel, makes America stronger and delivers better value to the taxpayers.”