Obama Drops the Ball with Proposed 1.6% Pay Raise for Federal Workers

Employees deserve a meaningful increase to make up for years of neglect, AFGE says

News provided by

American Federation of Government Employees

Feb 03, 2016, 06:54 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. today issued the following statement:

"President Obama has again set the bar far too low by proposing a 1.6% pay raise for federal employees in 2017, continuing a regrettable record of denying federal employees even the most basic cost-of-living adjustments.

President Obama has dropped the ball by proposing a federal employee pay raise for 2017 that fails to account for years of frozen and inadequate pay adjustments, American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. said. AFGE is the nation's largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 federal and D.C. government workers.

"According to the federal law governing the civil service pay system, federal employees should receive an across-the-board increase of 1.6% next year, plus additional locality adjustments to help close the pay gap among employees in the federal and private sectors.

"For six consecutive years, federal employees received no locality increases to their pay, and for three of those years they received no pay raise at all. Since 2010, the inflation-adjusted value of federal wages and salaries has fallen by 6.5%, leaving all federal employees with a lower standard of living than they had at the start of the decade.

"We believe federal employees deserve a meaningful pay raise next year to help make up for years of neglect by elected officials. AFGE is calling on lawmakers to approve a 5.3% pay raise in 2017, which reflects the 1.6% national increase employees should receive plus a partial catch-up for the national and local pay adjustments denied for the past four years."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

For the latest AFGE news and information, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160203/329548

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131120/MM21150LOGO

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees