Well, not the entire Senate, yet. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) recently introduced a bill called the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) which would give federal employees a 3.3 percent pay raise in 2015. The proposed pay raise is welcomed news for Federal employees. Federal employees have endured a lot over the past years. They have gone without pay increases, endured pay freezes and furloughs and even lived through the sequester.
A report from Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis stated that the federal civilian workforce was the only entity that experienced a decrease rather than an increase in earnings in 2013. Many unions are standing strong behind the FAIR Act clearly a move that leverages their membership. Federal workers have not been exempt from the economic down-slide faced by the entire nation. Federal workers have had to reevaluate spending and planning for their family’s future. Federal employees were very shaken over the sequester. Although, many knew they would be made whole, expenses and bills that are due now have no relationship with what will happen in the future.
The gap that has always separated public employees from private employees certainly widened as a result of the slow-down and the eventual shut-down of the Federal Government. Salaries and benefits must be competitive in order to bring the highest caliber of talent to the Federal service. It is good to know that Federal employees, often under-appreciated, have found two champions in Senators Cardin and Schatz. The senators appreciate the hard work and dedication of public servants and want them to be rewarded for their hard work and long years of service.
The people of Maryland and Hawaii know that their Senators are not only fighting for Federal employees in their individual states, but Federal employees all over the United States. Because the FAIR Act will benefit all Federal employees, I am certain the Senators will have no problem convincing their 48 colleagues that implementing the FAIR Act is the right thing to do.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
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