Well now, if you listen to the fella identified as being the leader of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union, I guess we’re all supposed to, somehow, feel sorry for all of those poor, overpaid and under-worked government employees who happened to be represented by his little organization. You see, apparently the president of this fine labor organization, in what I guess was an effort to take a stand for those outstanding union members whom his union represents, now says that a one-percent increase is "absolutely unconscionable." On Saturday the head of AFGE, the largest federal employee union, said that Barry's proposal to increase pay for federal employees by 1 percent was "absolutely unconscionable" and "simply not enough." Now if it were up to me, which it’s not, federal employees wouldn’t be permitted to unionize. This joker ought to be thanking his lucky stars that Barry hasn’t the balls, as Reagan did, to start firing some of these stellar federal employees.
And in what was his attempt, I guess, to garner the sympathy vote for his members, David Cox Sr., the president of the previously mentioned American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), released a statement that said it part, "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." I’m a little curious as to why this guy, Cox, seems to be of the opinion that government workers must never be required to make the same level of sacrifice demanded by those of us in the private sector. And, funny thing, you can never fire them, no matter how bad of a job they do.
I guess what caused this ruckus is that fact that the White House told labor leaders of the proposed increase in the 2014 fiscal year budget in a phone call late last Friday night. That raise would come on top of the half-point pay hike, scheduled to take effect in late March, which has been delayed as part of the "fiscal cliff" deal struck last month. Federal salaries have been frozen since 2011. As a counter-measure, of sorts, AFGE has now pledged in its statement to "work with friends in Congress who truly value the federal workforce," a signal that the union will likely lobby the more liberal members of Congress as being part of their effort to oppose the president's budget. Ah yes, their reliable and influential "friends in Congress who truly value the federal workforce." What he means is Democrats in Congress. Look, the only thing Democrats value is the fact that these government ‘employees’ reliably vote Democrat. No, it’s much simpler and basic than that.
Other union leaders have also voiced concern over the president's proposed pay raise, saying that the minimal increase over three years does little to compensate for the rising cost of living. "While the president’s proposal for a 1 percent pay increase for federal workers in 2014 is better than a pay freeze, I don’t feel like jumping and shouting for joy," Carl Goldman, executive director of the AFSCME Council 26 told Government Executive. "There are a number of unanswered questions concerning the proposal: Will there also be locality pay increases that reflect the higher cost of living in many areas? Will there be a raise in federal employees’ contributions to the health insurance program, which could have a net effect of a pay cut? It is difficult to know exactly how to react until these and similar questions are answered," he said. Gee, he ain’t askin for much, is he? When was the last time any of you can remember getting a raise? Or is that only considered payback because we choose to be forced into to join a union.
Despite Barry’s request for a raise, it’s doubtful that federal workers will end up seeing any kind of an actual increase. And rightly so, the country is broke! Congressional Republicans are unlikely to support Barry’s budget, and have voted to freeze the salaries of lawmakers and federal employees. In a statement released back in January it was House Oversight Committee Chairman, Darrell Issa who characterized Barry’s push for a pay increase as "not necessary to retain talented employees and just wastes taxpayer money." He went on to say, "Federal employee have continued to receive promotions and within-grade pay increases over the past few years of the supposed ‘pay freeze,’ and voluntary separations from the federal government are near all-time lows." And he’s right. Why can’t we all move forward together, all making the same level of sacrifice? Again, why are those who work for the government expected to sacrifice less than those of us who do not.
Why is it always only those of us in the private sector who are asked to tighten our belts while those same sacrifices are never expected to be made by those who have the luxury of working for the government. It’s pretty common knowledge that the average federal worker earns about 2 percent more than a private sector worker in a comparable profession, though the government's generous pension system means that overall compensation is significantly higher. And once pension and health benefits are factored in, the average federal worker reaps 16 percent more in total compensation than do private sector workers. The average benefits package for federal workers, including health insurance and a defined benefit pension plan, costs the government about 48 percent more than for private sector workers in comparable jobs. The federal government employs about 2.3 million civilian workers, or about 1.7 percent of the U.S. workforce. Total compensation for civilian federal workers costs roughly $200 Billion a year.
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