AFGE: President’s Pay Raise Proposal ‘Simply Not Enough’

AFGE President J. David Cox, Sr. said in a statement that Obama’s proposed 1% pay increase for federal workers is “simply not enough.”

AFGE President J. David Cox, Sr. said in a statement that Obama’s proposed 1% pay increase for federal workers is “simply not enough” and also called it “absolutely unconscionable.”

According to Cox:

President Obama’s proposed 1% pay adjustment for 2014 is simply not enough. It is not enough to allow federal employees to make up lost ground from two-plus years of frozen pay. It is not enough to allow workers, most of whom earn very modest salaries ranging from $24,000 to $70,000, to maintain living standards. And it is not enough to send a message with any kind of clarity that the administration values the federal workforce and doesn’t believe it should continue to bear an enormously disproportionate share of deficit reduction.

AFGE will work with friends in Congress who truly value the federal workforce, and understand that forcing us to bear an additional $18 billion to $19 billion in deficit reduction by failing to provide employees with the full across-the-board increase called for under the law is absolutely unconscionable.

Other labor leaders showed more appreciation for the news. William R. Dougan, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees told CNN, “After all that federal workers have sacrificed the past three years, they have earned a raise. I repeat, they have earned a raise.”

The reactions from federal labor leaders were in response to news announced late Friday from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget that the president intends to propose a 1% pay increase for the federal workforce in his 2014 budget proposal.

About the Author

Ian Smith is one of the co-founders of FedSmith.com. He has over 20 years of combined experience in media and government services, having worked at two government contracting firms and an online news and web development company prior to his current role at FedSmith.