Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C: -- The head of the nation's largest independent union of federal workers today recognized President Clinton for endorsing a higher federal pay raise than he initially supported for 1999, but characterized the proposed 3.6 percent raise as "falling far short of what federal employees deserve."

President Robert M. Tobias of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) thanked President Clinton for endorsing congressional moves to boost by 0.5 percent the 3.1 percent raise Mr. Clinton proposed in his budget message earlier this year. There is demonstrated support in Congress for a 3.6 percent raise.

Still, Tobias called the 3.6 percent figure insufficient by any reasonable measure. The proposed raise, which would take effect Jan. 1, "fails to recognize the long?standing and continuing contribution of federal employees to a balanced budget and a sound economy," he said.

"Clearly, it's an improvement" over Mr. Clinton's initial proposal, Tobias added, "but we are left with the problem of how to close the continuing gap between public and private sector pay. It's a gap that is costing the country over time as the government runs the risk of losing to the private sector the skilled and talented people it needs."

Tobias noted with satisfaction that President Clinton has committed at this early date to propose as part of his fiscal 2000 budget a federal pay raise beginning Jan. 1, 2000, consisting of the Employment Cost Index (ECI), plus 0.5 percent. In recent years, federal pay calculations have consisted basically of the ECI, minus 0.5 percent.

With respect to the proposed 1999 raise, Tobias said that over the past dozen years, federal workers have contributed more than $220 billion in pay and benefit increases delayed or denied??an amount larger than any single group in our society.

"That alone should dictate that pay increases for federal employees should be in line with amounts called for under the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act," Tobias said. That bipartisan law, known as FEPCA and enacted in 1990, was designed to close, in stages beginning in 1994, the public?private pay gap.

Since its effective date, however, no annual federal pay raise has matched the amount generated under the FEPCA formula. NTEU and other federal unions had been pushing for a 1999 raise of 5.8 percent as "a start" on appropriate implementation of FEPCA, Tobias said.

"The proposed 1999 raise sends a disappointing message to hard?working federal employees about the perception of the value of their efforts on behalf of their fellow Americans," the NTEU president said.

Despite the disappointment, he added, "federal workers will continue those efforts in the best possible manner, in whatever agency they serve and whatever tasks they perform, and they will do so because they are dedicated, talented professionals, committed to always providing the best service they can."

NTEU represents more than 150,000 federal employees in 19 agencies and departments.