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Washington, D.C.—The House Ways and Means Committee has taken “an ill-timed and unwise step” in approving a provision in the Customs Service authorization bill that would substantially cut the pay of a large number of Customs employees, the head of the union representing Customs employees said today.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) was sharply critical of the committee vote which would cut night premium pay by as much as $2,000 a year for thousands of front line Customs employees at the nation’s air, land and seaports even as they are being asked to work 12- and 16-hour days as a key element in the nation’s homeland security effort.

“This is the wrong message to send at any time to those who are putting their lives on the line every day in defense of our nation,” Kelley said, “and it is particularly wrong now” in light of the continuing battle against terrorism and with the nation relying so heavily on the work of the “dedicated professionals” of the Customs Service. “It makes no sense to take a step with such a devastating impact on employee morale,” the NTEU president said.

The action by the Republican-dominated Ways and Means Committee came as it approved H.R. 3129, legislation that would authorize, but not appropriate, $5 billion over the next two fiscal years for Customs.

Democratic efforts to delete the pay cut provision were defeated, 20-14, on straight party-line votes.

Of the nearly 12,000 Customs employees represented by NTEU, some 7,200 are front line inspectors and canine enforcement officers.

NTEU President Kelley said that the vote is particularly inappropriate because Customs officers are being asked to struggle even harder in the war against terrorism and illegal narcotics with fewer personnel and less resources year after year. “How much can we starve this agency,” Kelley said, “before it becomes incapable of carrying out the vital missions the nation has set for it?”

The Customs Service did not ask for the changes. She noted that the system of night pay under attack in the Ways and Means Committee was originally set by Congress in 1993 and intended to compensate Customs officers for having consistently to work irregular and changing shifts, frequently at night.

These men and women, the NTEU president added, are “far from unique” among federal employees with respect to night pay. Almost 240,000 federal workers are paid a night differential for working the same hours as Customs inspectors and canine enforcement officers.

“NTEU is willing to work with Congress on efforts to change the current system if they feel that is necessary,” Kelley said, “but we will not support proposals that leave Customs employees bringing home smaller paychecks.”

NTEU is the largest independent union of federal workers, representing some 150,000 employees in 25 agencies and departments.