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Following the Annual Federal Pay Raise Minuet

Federal Pay Raise

Contract Specialist
DCMA
Thu Nov 29, 2007 1:13 PM

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First, I'm not shocked at the Presidents counter offer. I am disappointed at Congress for not anticipating this action. If I was a member of Congress I would have asked for 4.0 pay raise knowing and understanding that the President will counter with 3.5 percent which would have been our goal all along. Believe me this stragey works, I've had to use it many of times in dealing with supervisors and upper management. In the end they want to feel like they won and you lost.

Re: Federal Pay Raise

Statistician
DOC
Thu Nov 29, 2007 2:24 PM
It is not the actual percentage that's important: it's whether Congress or the President ask for more. If the President asked for 4%, this Congress would still ask for 4.5.

Re: Federal Pay Raise

Analyst
DOD
Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:02 PM
I don't believe that, but it certainly plays into it. How about they just follow what's in the law and then no one really has to propose anything?

Pay

Mechanic
DOD
Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:39 PM

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How come everytime there is something to do with pay it is always GS the WG's contribute just as much to the federal government yet it is alway GS pay scale? I'm sure they appreciate it but the WG's are not GS's and we would like to just once go to a website and be able to get our payscale without having to go through a maze to find it. What we lower class citizens just don't count I guess. We are the back you are the brains mentality.

Re: Pay

editor
FedSmith.com
Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:59 AM
The FedSmith page on pay schedules at http://www.fedsmith.com/pay_rates/ contains a link to several different pay schedules near the bottom of the page, including wage grade schedules.

Re: Pay

Nameless, Faceless Nobody
DOD
Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:36 AM
If there is a group with more legitmate gripes than the GS it is the WG. Your jobs are often the first to be contracted out, yet your years of experience have often made the difference between a small bump and a major road block in getting things done.

I am a GS who has often been the interface with the WG parts of the organization. We used to be jealous of your pay structure but now we regret your loss to contracted personnel.

Pay Raise Minuet

Program Manager
Dept of Veteran Affairs
Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:53 PM

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Say what you will about Feds vs Private sector but the simple truth is this is an example of justifing poor fiscal management on the backs of federal employees. When you take into account the billions of dollars wasted on no bid contracts, cronyism, tax breaks for the wealthy, unbelievable debt to foreign countries and the worst fiscal management I have seen from an administration in my 30 years of service it is insulting and down right misleading to suggest that a .5 increase to a worthy work force is a threat to our security. Yes there is a bigger picture its called hypocrisy.

Annual Pay Raise

Electronics Technician
DOD
Fri Nov 30, 2007 7:27 AM

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What seems to have gone completely unobserved even by Congress is that all of the new pay for performance systems which the administration has proposed place the annual pay setting authority in the office of the head of the respective agency.

For example the pay setting authority for the DOD has been shifted by the NSPS to the Secretary of Defense and away from Congress.

Who does the Secretary of Defense report to? Who hires, fires, and sets the compensation for the Secretary of Defense?

The President will ultimately set all pay raises for the new personnel systems without Congressional oversight. One exception may be the GAO where the head of the agency is appointed for 15 years.

So you see the debate over the annual pay increase is really over as we transition to the new personnel systems.

Cheap, cheap!

Thorn in the side
DOD
Fri Nov 30, 2007 12:31 PM

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If they want to keep wages down, why don't they start at the top?

Re: Pay

Mechanic
DOd
Mon Dec 3, 2007 1:32 AM

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Exactly what I'm talking about, go to the bottom of the page go to another website go through the maze and find what you are looking for. GS's however here is what you are looking for just click and enter your information. It is a GS world you lay it out for them and we get to go to the bottom of the page and go to another website and then from there we can hunt for what information we are looking for.

Re: Re: Pay

editor
FedSmith.com
Mon Dec 3, 2007 7:10 AM
We are a small company run by a staff of volunteers that provides a free service to the federal community. If we had a number of people we could use to try and figure out the wg system for all localities, perhaps we would consider doing it. But the WG employees are a small part of the federal workforce and declining as part of the overall number. The result is that we do not have anywhere near the resources to try and convert that system into an easy-to-use database for ease of use.

Sorry we can't help--we do provide a link to the DoD system they have devised to try and make it easier for you.

OPM Draft Salary Table 2008-DCB

Govt Employee
US Gov
Tue Dec 4, 2007 3:08 PM

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OPM's draft 08 salary table just came out with a total increase of 3.49% for the Locality Pay Area of Washington Metro Area. (Well done -- good prediction!) Yet even at 3.49%, the raw OPM data appears lower than the FEDSMITH pay rates by about .5%.

For a GS-12/5, OPM predicts with a 3.49% pay raise I'll be making 78,309. FEDSMITH predicts 78,312 for the same GS at a 3% raise and 79,069 with a 3.5% raise.

I was wondering if someone could explain the difference?

Re: OPM Draft Salary Table 2008-DCB

editor
FedSmith.com
Tue Dec 4, 2007 5:12 PM
Some of the figures in our pay tables are $1.00 higher or lower than the OPM draft pay tables. The difference you have cited between our tables and those of OPM, assuming a 3% average pay raise, is $3.00 in the annual total pay for your grade and step. We have not gone into the programming to figure out why this small difference has occurred because it does not seem significant enough to spend the time to locate such a small differential. Once the process results in a decision about an average of 3% or 3.5%, we will be working with the tables again to ensure compatibility with the final figures.

If you are asking why there is a difference between an average of 3% or an average 3.5% increase in your total pay, the answer is that there is a change in the locality pay for DC area employees when the average goes up. The locality pay adjustment for DC will jump if the average goes to 3.5%. See the article at http://www.fedsmith.com/article/1397/ for more information on locality pay.

Re: OPM Draft Salary Table 2008-DCB

Govt Employee
US Gov
Wed Dec 5, 2007 6:00 AM
Hi Editor, Thanks for your comments; I'm sorry I didn't state my question more cleary. If I may try again: OPM predicts a 3.49% increase starting in Jan. For GS12/5 living in DC metro area, a 3.49% increase is $78,309.

Fedsmith also predicts a 3.5% pay increase beginnning in Jan. For a GS12/5 living in DC metro area, a 3.5% increase is $79069.

I'm hoping to learn which 3.5% increase is right: the $78,309 said by OPM or the $79,069 predicted by Fedsmith. (I'm really hoping to learn that Fedsmith's idea of 3.5% is more accurate than OPM's!).... Thanks for your help!

Re: OPM Draft Salary Table 2008-DCB

editor
FedSmith.com
Wed Dec 5, 2007 6:38 AM
The system is very confusing. You are mixing up different sets of figures.

The OPM draft tables are based on an average pay raise for federal employees of 3% for 2008. For the DC area, the average national pay increase of 3% works out to 3.49% because of locality pay.

The FedSmith tables take into account two factors: a possible 3% average raise nationwide and a possible 3.5% average raise nationwide.

The 3% average raise nationwide results in a 3.49% raise for the DC area. The 3.5% average raise nationwide results in a higher raise for DC. With locality pay, the total would come out to a raise of 4.49% for DC. (See the article at http://www.fedsmith.com/article/1397/ )

In effect, the FedSmith tables take into account the possibility of the raise Pres. Bush is seeking and the 3.5% average nationwide raise Congress says it wants. The OPM tables are only based on the 3% the President is seeking. When you look at the average 3% raise nationwide in the FedSmith tables (which works out to 3.49% in DC) the two tables are almost identical. If the final approval is for a 3.5% national increase, your pay at your grade and step in DC would be approximately $79609. If the final approval is for an average nationwide increase of 3%, your pay in DC would be approximately $78312.

I am sure that is as clear as mud! We didn't invent the system; we are just trying to figure it out and explain it! You can thank our webmaster who came up with a formula to develop our pay tables with the estimated pay rates for the large number of variables that are obviously involved.
Total Comments: 38
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