NFFE-IAM Federal District 1 PresidentWilliam R. Dougan was among the first to speak out against the White House decision earlier this week to impose a two-year pay freeze on federal employees.
“We are deeply disappointed by the White House announcement this morning calling for a two-year freeze on civilian federal employee pay,” said Dougan. “It is unfortunate that the Administration has chosen to support a policy that could diminish the government’s ability to recruit and retain top talent at the federal agencies that protect our borders, care for our veterans, and support our armed forces abroad.”
The pay freeze impacts all civilian federal workers, including those in various alternative pay plans and those working at the Department of Defense – but not military personnel. The Obama administration claims the freeze will save $2 billion over the remainder of this fiscal year, $28 billion over the next five years, and more than $60 billion over the next 10 years.
“We understand that sacrifices will have to be made in order to reduce our nation’s growing budget deficit, but we believe doing so at the expense of dedicated civil service employees is a misguided approach,” said Dougan. “Deficit-reduction efforts should not be focused solely on the federal workforce. All of us need to do our part to get our nation’s fiscal house in order, not just the federal workforce.”
