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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal workers today called on President Bush to promptly issue the necessary executive order to implement the 2005 federal employee pay raise of 3.5 percent.

In a letter to the president, National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) President Colleen M. Kelley said “one of the primary ways we recognize the critical contributions made by our civilian workforce is with a pay raise that reflects their competence and dedication.”

The 3.5 percent federal civilian pay raise is contained in omnibus legislation cleared by Congress this week and expected to be sent to President Bush for his signature today.

In each of the last two years, delays in final action on the federal employees’ pay raise has resulted in a split pay increase implemented in stages, with many federal workers not receiving the full amount of the raise authorized by Congress until mid-year.

“As a result of these delays,” President Kelley wrote, “federal salaries had to be calculated twice, at considerable expense to agencies.” Quick action in issuing an executive order implementing

the 3.5 percent raise approved with strong bipartisan support in Congress would allow these added costs and delays to be avoided, she said.

The pay raise voted by Congress is more than double the 1.5 percent the president proposed for civilian federal workers in his fiscal 2005 budget. That budget proposal contained a 3.5 percent raise for members of the military.

A strong lobbying effort by NTEU members and chapters nationwide helped build bipartisan support in Congress for the same higher raise for both military and civilian federal workers, continuing a long tradition of civilian-military pay parity.

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