1/22/07: Along with supporting a bipartisan congressional call for civilian-military pay parity in 2008, NTEU President Colleen Kelley today underscored the need for a fair and adequate pay raise as well. “The 2007 federal pay raise was the smallest in 18 years and widened the damaging gap between public and private sector pay,” said President Kelley. “Fair pay is a crucial element in attracting and retaining the talented employees federal agencies require if they are going to meet the public’s needs and expectations.”

At the same time, President Kelley welcomed the letter to President Bush from Washington-area members of Congress, who pointed out they represent tens of thousands of federal civilian and military employees. “We are writing to ask that you embrace the principle of pay parity for members of the armed services and civilian federal workforce” in the fiscal 2008 budget proposal to be unveiled early next month, the members of Congress wrote to the president. The letter was signed by House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.); and Reps. James Moran (D-Va.), Tom Davis (R-Va.), Frank Wolf (R-Va.), John Sarbanes (D-Md.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), C. A. ‘Dutch’ Ruppersberger (D-Md.), Albert Wynn (D-Md.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md). Each is a supporter not just of civilian-military pay parity but of federal employees and the issues that impact their work and personal lives.

Their letter added: “As we fight the war on terrorism at home and abroad, both the armed services and the federal civilian workforce are integral to fulfilling the role of government for the American people. An equal pay adjustment in 2008 will send the important message that the services civilians and military personnel alike provide to America every day are highly valued.”