[End The Hypocrisy]

>>>“The president's decision is further evidence of the administration's low regard for the professionalism and dedication of the federal workforce, and for the vital services provided to the nation by federal employees,” says National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley.<<<

If they're so dedicated, where are the tax code reform proposals that those tax-leeches used to claim they were compiling?

[End The Hypocrisy]

Most Americans feel lucky to have a job, let alone an annual raise accompanied by career guarantees and lots of tax-subsidized benefits. But that's not enough for the self-proclaimed "best and the brightest". Never mind, I suppose, that the U.S. national debt just reached an all time high of $6.3 trillion dollars:

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm

[GhengisKhan]

They may be impossible to fire, but their work unit can be defunded. Hint, hint.

[goodnesswins]

What a bunch of BULL......the PRIVATE sector they cite as trying to stay competitive with is CUTTING BACK, and NOT giving pay raises in some cases (my husband got NO raise this year).

Would be better if President Bush suggested a lay off of about 20% and NO PAY INCREASES.....

[BlueLancer]

As a DoD civil servant (a double-dipper for all you ex-military guys out there), I am very happy to be getting a 3.1 percent pay raise. I have my job and I do it well, and I'm proud of what I do. I also don't belong to the union. In fact, my section's union rep won't even come into my office because of my large framed autographed picture of Ronald Reagan on the wall.

Now if that only worked to keep the other cockroaches (the six-legged kind) out as well.

[Stand Watch Listen]

FYI...I believe the Government has IGNORED all recommentdations made pursuant to the 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act and in Office of Personnel Management regulations. I believe every president has cited some form of national budgetary considerations as an exception.

Panel sets 2003 locality pay rates
Source: Government Executive Magazine; Published: October 1, 2002

Federal employees would receive pay increases ranging from 4.02 percent to 4.87 percent in January under recommendations that will be submitted to the Bush administration and most likely adopted.

The proposed raises, endorsed by the Federal Salary Council at a meeting Tuesday, would include a 3.1 percent across-the-board increase plus locality-based raises ranging from an additional 0.92 percent to 1.71 percent.

President Bush could ultimately reject the proposed raises, but recent history suggests that the council’s recommendations will take effect in January. As part of the 2003 Treasury-Postal appropriations bill, Congress is likely to approve a 4.1 percent average pay increase for federal workers. Following a formula in federal law, Bush is then likely to set the 3.1 percent across-the-board increase and then follow the council’s recommendations for the locality raises.

Federal workers in 31 metropolitan areas, ranging from Atlanta and Washington to Huntsville, Ala., get special locality pay, based on the cost of labor in each city. Outside the 31 areas, federal workers in the 48 contiguous states are covered by the “Rest of the U.S.” locality pay category.

The Federal Salary Council, a commission of government representatives and federal employee union leaders, oversees locality pay. It also recommends pay raises based on formulas set in the 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act and in Office of Personnel Management regulations.

The council’s endorsed 2003 raises reflect the fact that the government has largely ignored the formula for locality pay set out in the 1990 law. Under the formula, the government was supposed to close an estimated 30 percent gap between private sector and federal pay to 5 percent. The pay gap is down to about 19 percent, a council report issued Tuesday said. Getting the gap down to 5 percent would require double-digit raises.

Critics of the locality pay system say it doesn’t accurately portray pay differences among occupations. Standard locality rates mask the widely varying salaries that different types of professional employees can demand. Critics have also questioned the methodology used to estimate the pay gap.

Next year, the salary council, headed by new Chairman Sam Wallace, plans a top-to-bottom review of the locality pay system. The council will review the structure of the system, the number of locality pay areas, the precision of pay gap measurements and the salary surveys used to estimate locality pay differences.

Federal Salary Council Recommended
2003 Percentage Pay Raises, By Locality

Atlanta 4.14%
Boston 4.40%
Chicago 4.51%
Cincinnati 4.34%
Cleveland 4.19%
Columbus 4.11%
Dallas/Ft. Worth 4.22%
Dayton, Ohio 4.09%
Denver 4.40%
Detroit 4.50%
Hartford 4.41%
Houston 4.77%
Huntsville, Ala. 4.03%
Indianapolis 4.03%
Kansas City 4.02%
Los Angeles 4.57%
Miami 4.35%
Milwaukee 4.18%
Minneapolis/St. Paul 4.28%
New York 4.53%
Orlando 4.03%
Philadelphia 4.31%
Pittsburgh 4.04%
Portland 4.33%
Richmond 4.12%
Sacramento 4.30%
St. Louis 4.06%
San Diego 4.35%
San Francisco 4.87%
Seattle 4.34%
Washington, D.C. 4.27%

Rest of U.S. 4.03%

[aerophixer]

look, I have not posted here for along time,but some of you may have known me as jetmech19. what you are saying about federal workers is not very freeper like. I am a WG-10 step 2 and work everyday in the grease pit of an F-15 eagle phase inspection dock.to just give you a look at how much we are paid,Im going to tell you that I make 17.51 per hour which after taxes brings me home a whopping $1081.00 every 2 weeks, so please be careful how you post, on what you think you know.most federal employees I am around vote bush and are solid republicans take care and be safe

[lavaroise]

union leaders said Monday they will continue to fight for a 4.1 percent raise.

I wish we had union leaders for tax payers!!!

THEIR JOB IS NOT A PRIVILEGE! DAMN IT! Our jobs and our money is our right, their jobs will not go before our jobs. Enough said.

[RightWhale]

the services they provide to America every day are not valued

The pay next FY will be 103% rather than 104% of the present FY. "Not valued" seems to be a meaningless statement.

[Centurion2000]

Though the Bush administration announced last week that it would limit the 2003 federal civilian pay raise to 3.1 percent, union leaders said Monday they will continue to fight for a 4.1 percent raise.

Anyone else hoping for a mass-firing from Bush like Reagan did to air traffic controllers ?

[RooRoobird14]

Nevertheless, Hoyer says that this latest move by President Bush sends the wrong message to federal employees. “Anything less than the 4.1 percent pay adjustment sends the regrettable message that the services they provide to America every day are not valued,”

Hmmmmmmm............considering that for every hard-working, productive federal worker, there are two incompetent lazy slugs on the payroll--what's this guy's point?

Psst, Mr. Hoyer, you're right--we don't value what most of those federal slugs do.....

[Consort]

The size of a pay increase shpuld be directly related to the size of the work force. The smaller the government, the higher the salary. Agency heads should get large bonuses based on the number of positions they eliminate.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Can't they supplement their incomes by selling all those "lost" guns and laptops we've been hearing about?

[Mr. K]

let's see, inflation is at 1% and they need a 4.1% pay increase because....?

Bush should announce a 10% across the board budget cut for ALL departments.

Make do or get fired.

Does anyone think the federal govt is 100% efficient?

[Joe Hadenuf]

Anything less than the 4.1 percent pay adjustment sends the regrettable message that the services they provide to America every day are not valued,” he said.

What services are they referring to? Services like when the people of Califoria voted 3-to 1 in favor of prop 187, it passed, we won, and it was going to put a stop to much of the tax paid support of illegal aliens, then the federal government services steps in and burned our ballots and declared our free election illegal, after we won.

WTF services are they talking about? The only thing I want the federal government to do is to protect our borders, and they can't even do that!

[HamiltonJay]

Inflation has been well under 2% for last few years, there is no reason to be griping about a 3.1% increase. Lots of people out in the real world have been getting pay cuts.

[rintense]

Cry me a river. My company has had two years of only 3% increases in salaries- across the board. Everyone is hurting, including our government.

[unixfox]

This is what happens when you have 51% of Americans working for the government. Aint no goin back either, consider it over. They have obtained the goal and will control it until the other 49% decide to take it back from the leeches.

[Eva]

>>>“The president's decision is further evidence of the administration's low regard for the professionalism and dedication of the federal workforce, and for the vital services provided to the nation by federal employees,” says National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley

I think she got this statement about right. It's a lesson that many of our state governors need to learn. A more efficient government is needed more than ever to make up for fiscal deficits.

[Consort]

Everything described here so far is not even the tip of the iceberg.

[Minutemen]

My heart bleeds for the Federal employees only getting a 3.1%
annual pay raise. In the little town I live in, some of us
Mom & Pop small businesses are trying to cope with a 20-30%
drop in monthly receipts after the fallout from Enron and 9-11. Federal (and all other gub-mint employees)workers, count your blessings.