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NTEU was among the federal employee unions that met with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) last week to discuss pressing federal workforce issues. The meeting was held ahead of this summer’s busy appropriations season when committees will be advancing bills setting agency funding and a federal employee pay raise for next year.
NTEU voiced support for the FAIR Act, a bill introduced in the House and Senate that would provide a 3.6 percent increase in 2020, or at the very least a pay increase equal to the increase given to the military. The president earlier this year proposed a pay freeze again for the civilian workforce and a 3.1 percent boost for the military.
Another topic the group discussed was the administration’s proposed breakup of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) moving parts to the General Services Administration and others to the White House. NTEU submitted testimony to a House subcommittee earlier in the week raising strong concerns about the plan that would give an unconfirmed political appointee control over government-wide personnel policy. The union reiterated its position that moving part of OPM to the Executive Office of the President threatens the merit system and removes the agency’s nonpartisan, independent status.
NTEU also updated Hoyer on the ongoing attacks on employee collective bargaining rights—particularly at the Department of Health and Human Services—and the need to protect federal employee benefits.
Learn more about the FAIR Act and other federal employee issues here: action.nteu.org