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| NFFE-IAM National President William R. Dougan says a one percent pay adjustment is “woefully insufficient” for hard-working federal employees. |
Following reports that the President will propose a one percent pay increase for federal employees in his upcoming budget, William R. Dougan, National President of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), says Congress should act to fairly compensate federal workers who deserve more after numerous pay freezes, political attacks and a government shutdown.
“The President’s proposed one percent pay adjustment for federal employees in 2015 is woefully insufficient to account for the significant decrease in real wages that federal employees have suffered in recent years,” said Dougan.
NFFE-IAM, the oldest union representing civil service federal employees, represents 110,000 federal employees in 35 departments and agencies government-wide, including the majority of federal wild land firefighters.
Dougan continued: “Because of the three years of pay freezes federal workers endured from 2011 to 2013, followed by a meager one percent adjustment in 2014, federal employees now make an average of 35 percent less than private sector workers performing the same jobs. Morale is in the toilet.
“For NFFE-IAM, our next step is to work with Congress to close the pay gap that severely impedes the federal government from being able to recruit the best and brightest into the federal workforce. Historically, it is very common for Congress to reject the president’s request on the federal pay adjustment and increase the amount of the pay adjustment for federal workers, and we will be aiming to make that happen again this year.
“We cannot keep squeezing federal workers and expect our government to continue to function, much less function optimally. In order to maintain an innovative and efficient federal workforce, somewhat comparable compensation must be offered, and right now it is not. We genuinely hope members of Congress will understand the need to do something about this problem this year.”
