Home Media Center News Releases

Washington, D.C.— The report of the National Commission on Public Service released today is most notable not for what it recommends, said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley, but for the problems in the federal government that it chose to overlook.

“The Commission made a number of interesting observations about the federal government but ignored several overarching problems that are now hampering federal employees in doing their work and will continue to hamper them until these problems are dealt with,” Kelley said.

Chief among these problems is a lack of adequate funding for federal agencies. There is a growing budget crisis facing the government that leaves federal agencies without the resources necessary to do the work expected of them by the American public. Front-line federal employees feel this lack of resources directly and are frustrated by the continuing necessity of “doing more with less.”

The commission also missed the mark on pay for federal employees choosing to focus only on increasing salaries for those top-ranking government officials who are already highly paid. Government salaries for front-line employees lag desperately behind those of the private sector and lower pay is one of the leading reasons qualified people either leave government service or choose not to join the government in the first place.

“A recommendation to increase the pay of top officials is especially damaging to employee morale coming on the heels of a 2003 pay raise for federal employees that is lower than what Congress supported, and amid recent revelations that the current administration has reinstituted bonuses for political appointees,” Kelley said.

The union leader noted that reorganizing just for the sake of reorganizing does not provide a compelling argument. The federal government will face severe challenges in implementing the Department of Homeland Security and lessons learned there will be useful for any possible reorganization.

In testimony given before the commission, chaired by Paul Volcker, President Kelley also emphasized the need for effective labor-management relations “to create an environment where the employees who are here, who are dedicated and committed, want to stay, and where we are able to hire those who are looking to enter federal service.”

“The first Commission on the Public Service, 12 years ago, recognized a quiet crisis in the federal government. This commission quite rightly recognizes that the problems are now urgent,” Kelley said. “However, this report will not help strengthen the federal government but would allow certain basic problems to continue unchecked.”

NTEU is the largest independent union of federal employees and represents some 150,000 federal employees in 28 agencies and departments.