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Return to Article: Final 2010 budget blueprint supports military-civilian pay parity

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  If you are worried about a COLA increase and aren't getting, stop complaining and joni the private sector!!!

  dirtyharry Posted July 20, 2009 8:50 AM
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  Okay The President wants to give a pay raise to the civilian federal employees. Also he wants to raise how much Postal Employees pay towards their FEHB & FEGLI (fees which were negotiated by the unions) Congress and the President bat the USPS around all the time. They use us when the can & then bar the USPS employees from the benefits they give to all other federal employees. We make the LOWEST salary compared to ALL federal employees and definetly lower than the private sector. Will the USPS employees receive the 2% raise as the other federal employees may receive. I doubt it!! They will state all federal employees except for the USPS. So if you are trying to be fair, raise the salaries of the USPS equal to the rest of the Federal employees. The President has targeted the USPS since he took office. I only hope he will look at ALL the factors before he makes USPS take on more debt or hurt the employees salaries.

  mjd Posted July 8, 2009 9:00 AM
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  "dear tigerhawk, the numbers I've provided here and in the past come from your fellow civil servants Dept of Commerce and the data is from 2007."

  Give us a break, Skeeter. The only place you get your "facts" from is from Rush, Glenn, and your imagination. PLEASE quote a source; other than those wicked dreams as the evil Civil Servants chases you through the streets with torches and pitch forks.

  Tip off Posted May 9, 2009 11:50 PM
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  I've been CS for 41 years. When inflation is high we get significantly less than the private sector gets in raises. Now when it's zero we're supposed to be happy to get zero? It's not a COLA!! Retirees get a COLA, CS employees don't. We're still catching up to our peers in the private sector. Notice I said peers - don't compare my salary for my extremely high tech, exotic state of the art responsibilities to checkout clerks and shelf stockers. That's how they get such a "discrepancy" between private and public salaries. Most low tech jobs (at least in DOD) have been contracted out.

  Bob Smith Posted May 6, 2009 12:06 PM
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  I've been CS for 41 years. When inflation is high we get significantly less than the private sector gets in raises. Now when it's zero we're supposed to be happy to get zero? It's not a COLA!! Retirees get a COLA, CS employees don't. We're still catching up to our peers in the private sector. Notice I said peers - don't compare my salary for my extremely high tech, exotic state of the art responsibilities to checkout clerks and shelf stockers. That's how they get such a "discrepancy" between private and public salaries. Most low tech jobs (at least in DOD) have been contracted out.

  Bob Smith Posted May 6, 2009 12:05 PM
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  Hey, for many years we've all received pay raises regardless of what the economy has been doing. I think in this current climate we should raise our collective hands and tell unlcle sugar that we will pass on a raise this year. Then when the economy is up again let's get back in line for a raise.

  Bob H Posted May 5, 2009 12:59 PM
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  dear tigerhawk, the numbers I've provided here and in the past come from your fellow civil servants Dept of Commerce and the data is from 2007. unfortunately that's the problem with the CS workforce. They don't know their pay plan and benefits look how often the term COLA pops up here. It would be better if CS quit listening to the "union" and actually read a little or investigate their pay plans rather than the ad nauseum spewing of nonsense here

  dan ketter Posted May 5, 2009 12:17 PM
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  Interesting to see the "COLAs" for Congressional Staffers. They look to be about 10% when comparing FY07 & FY08 (although for some odd reason, the data source, legistorm.com ,is suddenly a broken link)

  And now, between those same staffers and their Incumbent Party masters, they kill the amendment to get rid of duplicative, broken federal programs?

  This "Group of 540" is right there, on par with the Wall Street Executives dealing swaps, as the culprits of our troubles.

  M Onger Posted May 5, 2009 9:51 AM
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  I'm a civilian Federal employee so I love when Congress increases the civilian raise to equal the military raise as has been the norm lately. However, that assumes that at the orginal point the salaries were at some point "fair". I have seen an awful lot of military families living below the poverty level. That is not the case with the civilian side in my experiance. Maybe it is time for the military to get a higher raise.

  O2B XFED Posted May 5, 2009 8:43 AM
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  Dan says, "Since Fed CS earn $118K a year and the avg private sector employee only earns $55K..."

  Wow, if that's true, then I'm getting SCREWED by both standards. Last I checked, I'm nowhere close to making the $55k figure that Dan says the private sector gets, much less the $118k that Dan says I'm supposed to be getting, and I've been on the combined military and CS sides of the house for nearly 20 years...

  Yes, I'm being obnoxious. But there's no way in hell I'm going to see $118k until/unless I become a GS-14 Step 7 or a GS-15 Step 2, neither of whic is likely to happen in any case because I'm simply not willing to live/work in the DC grind for xx number of years...never mind the lack of jobs in my area that could lead to such a grade, even as I work on my Master's degree. But either way...if there's going to be an attempt to prove a point, couldn't it at least look like something factual instead of something that's obviously overblown?

  Tigerhawk Posted May 4, 2009 4:31 PM
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  I can always count on a comment form RATC that is steeped in nonsense. Have you been following the COLA numbers so far this year its down 3.7%, still think your going to get a raise?? The reason why I compare CS to the private sector is the posters continually talk about the private sector and their benefits. The issue is they are ignorant as to what they earn and how it compares

  dan ketter Posted May 4, 2009 12:20 PM
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  I have worked alongside the military for many years, in both the Army, the Air Force and at the DoD level. Although civilians do not bear arms, we DO contribute to the mission. We are important too and I am glad there appears to be pay partity this year, despite the fight from Obama that we do not receive it.

  Kathy Posted May 4, 2009 7:51 AM
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  Fed retirees will receive (0) for COLA this year you say Dan ? I don't think so. Fed workers will be compensated very well for the work they do/did. Stop comparing CS with the private sector. The Bush admin. tried that and look where it has gotten us. Reading your comments is like listening to Fixed News or Boss Limbaugh. They don't make any sense.

  Retired Air traffic Controller Posted April 30, 2009 5:31 PM
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  This whole pay parity issue is just dumb. Why don't we call it what it is; COLA parity! This would eliminate the arguments made every year and allow those in congress to focus on real issues. The civilian and military compensation packages are totally different. No reason for the annual raise to cause such consternation. It doesn't mean we do the same work or that our pay is equal or that one of us works harder, it only means our annual raise is the same. Nothing more, nothing less. End of discussion.

  Skeptical Posted April 30, 2009 11:24 AM
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  To r: The State Department does have numerous civilian employees based in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as other dangerous countries (Pakistan, Cuba, Israel, etc). The State Department also has civilians (and even family members) being killed in some of these countries. It is true that some of these countries are voluntary "deployments". The individual applies for a post and it may or may not be approved. It all depends on what job skills are required. One of my agency co-workers (female) spent a year in Iraq. Other fellow employees have been in Iraq for short tours of six months.

  jfb Posted April 30, 2009 11:18 AM
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  Can we stop using the term COLA only Fed retirees receive a COLA which will be "0" this year. Since Fed CS earn $118K a year and the avg private sector employee only earns $55K how does congress justify ANY raise

  dan ketter Posted April 30, 2009 10:38 AM
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  They should look at Government vice Private Workforce parity if anything. We get paid more than private sector employees and need to quit being blind to this fact. The myth of government employees being paid less than private sector employees is shamelessly perpetuated.

  Anon Posted April 30, 2009 9:35 AM
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  When we begin in earnest to deploy civilians from the State Department to work Iraq and Afghanistan as hard as the military has, then it may be time to consider pay parity. The military Services have been doing THEIR work overseas for years.

  r Posted April 30, 2009 9:33 AM
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  Can we please stop using the term "pay parity"? There is no parity at all in the pay, benefits, retirement, etc. packages--perhaps because the jobs are so very different--and that's not what we're talking about here anyway!

  This annual discussion is about COLA parity, i.e., a bizarre argument about whether military and non-military personnel working side by side somehow are encountering differing rates of inflation in the same economy.

  Allen Posted April 30, 2009 9:27 AM
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  Budget resolutions do not require the President's signature.

  Craig Posted April 30, 2009 7:50 AM
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  Sad that Congress has proven they don't care if agency continue to spend money on programs that don't work and/or produce results.

  Andy Neilsen Posted April 30, 2009 7:01 AM