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Washington, D.C – Slashing the paychecks and pensions of millions of federal employees, postal workers and retirees would endanger the financial security of their families and threaten the larger economy, according to a new letter from the Federal-Postal Coalition.

The coalition, made up of 30 organizations including the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), wrote every member of Congress about how the administration’s budget proposals would hurt their combined 5 million members.

“These middle-class workers give their all to this nation every day when they go to work, and were the first to contribute when the nation was facing severe economic challenges,” the letter states. “They should not be forced to sacrifice even more.”

Federal employees, postal workers and retirees would lose $149 billion in pensions and salaries over the next decade under the cuts proposed by the administration in its 2018 budget. Those losses would be on top of $182 billion the same group has contributed to deficit reduction since 2011, with pay freezes, reduced pay increases, unpaid furloughs and increases in retirement contributions.

The proposals include raising the amount that current employees have to pay toward retirement; basing future retirement benefits on the average of the highest five years of salary instead of the current three; eliminating the supplement for employees who retire before they can start collecting Social Security at age 62; eliminating the cost of living adjustments for all current and future retirees covered by the Federal Employee Retirement System; and reducing the cost of living adjustments for Civil Service Retirement System retirees.

“In exchange for years of hard work over long careers, our government made a commitment to middle-class federal and postal workers in the form of modest federal pensions in retirement,” the letter states. “Those pensions are not gifts; they were earned. Diminishing their value in any way for current employees and retirees fails to honor the commitments made to our public servants.”

NTEU National President Tony Reardon is leading the union’s efforts on Capitol Hill to block the proposed cuts.

“NTEU members around the country are right now urging their members of Congress to protect the paychecks and pensions of their constituents who have dedicated their professional careers to serving the public,” Reardon said. “Federal employees and retirees live in every state and every congressional district in the country, and their voices will be heard.

NTEU represents 150,000 employees at 31 federal agencies and departments.

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