Daily Dose: Union Compiles List of Bills Targeting Federal Employee Wages and Benefits

There’s been a lot of talk lately on GovLoop about potential federal pay freezes, employee reductions, and increases in the amount workers must pay into retirement funds. To increase awareness about the proposals, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) has compiled a list of bills aimed at accomplishing the goals listed above. According to the NTEU, most of the bills are sponsored by Republicans. Because of this, the union plans to back Democrats running for Congress this election season. The list compiled by the NTEU includes:

H.R. 270 would impose a mandatory two-week unpaid furlough for federal employees.

S. 178 and H.R. 408 would extend the freeze through 2015 and limit the number of workers.

H.R. 3029, H.R. 3487 and S. 1476 would reduce staffing through attrition by permitting the hiring of only one employee for every three who leave government service.

S. 178 would, among many other actions, limit the size of the federal workforce and extend the pay freeze through 2015.

For the full list of bills, check out the article:

Union Lists Initiatives to Make Federal Workers Pay

NTEU President Colleen Kelley had this to say:

“Every time we turn around, this Congress is proposing to reach into your pockets to pay for yet another fiscal problem … It seems like every week there is something new.”

One Democrat backed by the NTEU and running for reelection, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Oh), said she believes that it’s unlikely for new cuts to take place.

Are any of the above listed cuts, or any of the cuts in the Washington Post article, justified? Are any of them likely to pass Congress?

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