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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal workers today welcomed the administration’s long-overdue recognition of both the fairness and importance of parity in civilian and military pay increases. The administration’s 2007 budget blueprint proposes a 2.2 percent pay increase next year for both civilian federal workers and members of the military.

“NTEU’s successful and continuing efforts to build bipartisan congressional support for civilian-military pay parity apparently have finally made an impression on the administration,” said National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen M. Kelley.

At the same time, the NTEU leader pointed out that not only would a 2.2 percent increase be the smallest federal pay raise since 1988, it would fail even to keep pace with inflation and private sector pay, much less reward workers for their continuing contributions to the country.

The bipartisan 1990 Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA) was supposed to close, in stages over 10 years, the public-private sector pay gap; however, federal worker pay today trails that of their private sector counterparts by about 13 percent.

As to inflation, on a monthly basis, it averaged 3.39 percent during 2005, and rose to 3.42 percent in December, the latest month for which data are available. In light of those figures and of the contributions that federal employees—both civilian and military—make to the country in so many ways, the proposed 2.2 percent raise is “disappointing, to say the least,” Kelley said.

In recent years there has been a growing understanding among members of Congress—as well as the public—that fair pay is not only the right step to take, it is a critical component of the continuing competition between the federal government and private sector employers for the best workers.

“This is a serious competition for the best and the brightest that will only intensify as increasing numbers of federal workers reach retirement age,” Kelley said. The federal government is expected to face a retirement drain over the next few years as upwards of 60 percent of the federal workforce hits retirement age in the next 10 years.

“In this technological age, and with security such a vital concern, it is critical that the federal government use all the tools at its disposal to attract and retain the high-quality employees the public wants and expects it to have,” she said. “Fair and competitive pay clearly is a major component in that competition.”

The NTEU leader also expressed her concern over the administration’s intention, stated in its budget blueprint released today, to move federal workers away from the General Schedule pay system. Such a move is embodied by the administration in its proposed legislative proposal dubbed the Working for America Act (WFAA).

NTEU reacted sharply to the WFAA proposal which, in addition to scrapping the General Schedule and putting in place an untested and as-yet undefined pay-for-performance system, also would significantly curtail the collective bargaining, due process and appeal rights of federal workers in virtually every agency.

The union has made clear its intention to oppose any personnel system that is not fair, credible and transparent. To date, members of Congress have not been particularly receptive to the administration idea, suggesting instead it would be wiser to see how proposed personnel changes in both the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense work out before seeking to expand the concept throughout government.

NTEU has succeeded in winning two federal court decisions preventing implementation of the illegal personnel scheme the Department of Homeland Security is seeking to put in place. The matter currently is before the U.S. Court of Appeals.

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