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Washington, D.C.—By continuing to press for a smaller 2005 pay raise for federal civilian employees in 2005 despite strong bipartisan support for and congressional passage of a higher raise, President Bush has once again signaled the low value he attaches to the efforts and contributions of federal workers, the head of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) said today.

NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley called “very disappointing” the president’s move to limit the 2005 pay raise for civilian federal workers to 2.5 percent; Congress has approved a raise of 3.5 percent—the figure contained in the fiscal 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill cleared by lawmakers in their recent lame duck session. That measure has not yet been sent to the president for his signature.

When the president signs the omnibus funding measure, the action of Congress in approving the 3.5 percent raise for civilian federal workers will take effect and supercede the president’s plan.

Nonetheless, Kelley said that President Bush continues to send “the wrong signal” to federal employees about the value of the work they do for the American people. “This kind of action has an inevitable adverse impact on federal employee morale,” the NTEU leader said, calling it “an unnecessary and unwise step backward in recruitment and retention efforts by federal agencies.”

The administration’s directive came in the form of a letter from President Bush to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate in which he suggested that federal civilian workers should be held to a 2.5 percent raise and receive no locality pay for 2005.

Kelley called President Bush’s action “particularly irksome” in that Congress already has spoken “very clearly” on the matter of a 3.5 percent raise.

“One thing is clear,” the NTEU leader said, “despite NTEU’s successful efforts to work in a bipartisan fashion and secure a fair federal pay raise, the White House is determined to try to force its will, and pay federal employees a smaller pay raise then they deserve.”

She added: “I expect the fight over the federal pay raise for 2006 to be every bit as difficult.”

The administration initially proposed a raise of only 1.5 percent for civilian workers in 2005, while proposing 3.5 percent for members of the military, and stuck to that lower figure throughout 2004, despite clear evidence of wide bipartisan support for military-civilian pay parity. NTEU strongly supported the 3.5 percent raise for both groups of federal workers.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 30 agencies and departments.