Federal employees are getting a 1% pay increase this year, but until this week, that did not include wage grade federal employees.
The $1.1 trillion spending bill unveiled Monday night includes a 1% pay increase for workers under the wage grade system.
Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) made the announcement Monday night, saying the raise was modest but overdue. She negotiated the terms of the pay increase with Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY).
The move follows an idea introduced in a bill recently by Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) who proposed giving the same pay increase to Wage Grade employees as to other federal employees.
Federal employee unions quickly praised the move. AFGE National President J. David Cox, Sr. said, “With this language in place, more than 200,000 employees at our military bases, veterans’ hospitals, federal prisons and other worksites now will receive the modest pay raise being given to all other federal workers.”
The government employs hourly workers in more than 40 agencies, with about 70 percent of those at the Department of Defense.
