Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C.—Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), called “extremely disappointing” President Bush’s issuance of an Executive Order establishing a 2.0 percent pay raise for federal civilian workers in 2004. NTEU is the largest independent federal union representing some 150,000 federal workers in 29 agencies and departments.

Congress is expected to pass legislation including a 4.1 percent increase for federal workers as part of the Omnibus Appropriations bill shortly after it returns on January 20. Language in the bill would also make the 4.1 percent pay raise retroactive. If Congress acts as expected, federal pay will have to be calculated twice in the same month, resulting in an enormous waste of taxpayer money.

“NTEU has worked with Congress to garner broad bipartisan support in both the House and Senate for the 4.1 percent increase,” Kelley said. “President Bush could have—and should have—instituted the 4.1 percent raise without making federal employees wait for final action in the omnibus bill and for the retroactive payment of their wages.”

Just last year, a two-part pay raise generated by the president’s lower increase and his refusal to recognize the clear will of Congress resulted in significant delays—and additional expenses to federal agencies—in implementing the full bipartisan increase for federal workers.

“All of this delay and additional expense is both damaging to employee morale and completely avoidable,” said President Kelley. “I do not understand why this administration chooses to denigrate the work and value of federal employees in this way year after year.”

--30--

For more information, visit the NTEU web site at www.nteu.org