A group of labor, management and union groups sent a letter to President Obama on Friday urging him not to target federal employees’ salaries or benefits in the deficit cutting proposal that he is scheduled to unveil on Monday.
Obama’s deficit cutting plan will detail how to pay for the $447 billion jobs stimulus bill that he announced on September 8 as well as suggest other ways to cut the deficit by as much as $3 trillion.
The letter is being sent by the Federal-Postal Coalition, a group of national member organizations that collectively represent 4.6 million active and retired federal and postal workers. The main premise of the letter is to request that any debt cutting proposals not involve further reductions in wages and benefits of federal employees and retirees.
“During these tough economic times when citizens are demanding more from the federal government, America cannot afford a second-class civil service,” the coalition members said.
The letter points out that a two-year pay freeze has already been enacted on federal workers, federal agencies have already cut back significantly on hiring new employees, and that recent proposals have placed a disproportionate burden on federal employees, such as the recommendations from the Deficit Commission.
