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A Democratic senator on Wednesday formally introduced a bill that would provide an average 3.2% pay raise to civilian federal employees in 2022, mirroring legislation already under consideration in the House.
The Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, would provide federal workers with a 2.2% across-the-board pay increase next year, along with an average 1% increase in locality pay. Companion legislation was introduced by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., in the House in January.
In 2021, federal employees received a 1% across-the-board pay raise after Congress declined to override former President Trump’s alternative pay plan. That increase did not include a change in locality pay rates.
DoD workers will retain union rights, Biden says February 25 President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday revoking several actions taken by President Donald Trump while in office. (Evan Vucci/AP) Bargaining unit employees at the Department of Defense will retain their right to union representation, after President Joe Biden signed an executive order Feb. 24 revoking previous policy that would have allowed the secretary of defense to exempt those employees. That previous policy, established by a January 2020 memorandum signed by former President Donald Trump, would have allowed the secretary of defense to designate agencies or subcomponents that performed intelligence, counterintelligence, investigation or national security work as exempt from collective bargaining guarantees, effectively removing any union agreement that got in the way of those missions.
Government Executive
email Biden Rescinds Memo Granting Defense Secretary Authority to Ban Unions
Last year, then-President Trump granted the Defense secretary authority to strip Pentagon employees of their rights to bargain collectively, although it was never acted upon.
Last year, in a memo first reported by
Government Executive, Trump delegated his authority to exempt certain national security jobs from federal labor law to the secretary of defense, citing the need for “flexibility.”
“When new missions emerge or existing ones evolve, the Department of Defense requires maximum flexibility to respond to threats to carry out its mission of protecting the American people,” the document stated. “This flexibility requires that military and civilian leadership manage their organizations to cultivate a lethal, agile force adaptive to new technologies and posture changes. Where collective bargaining is incompatible with these organizations’ missions, the
The battle for the future of the federal workforce February 23 Members of Congress are fundamentally divided on how best to improve the federal civil service. (bowie15/Getty Images) Both Democrats and Republicans agree that the federal government’s workforce management practices as they currently stand aren’t good enough to meet the needs of the American people. But as demonstrated at a Feb. 23 House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing, they have radically different ideas of how to fix things. Those two stances are well-exemplified in the policies advocated for by the most recent presidents from each party. During his four years in office, President Donald Trump placed his focus on making it easier to get rid of poor-performing federal employees and restructuring pay to better match private sector competition and performance metrics.
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email Union Announces Boldest Agenda Yet to Strengthen Federal Employee Rights, Pay and Benefits
The president of the nation’s largest federal employee union forecast a “two-year window” to undo former President Trump’s workforce policies and expand workers’ collective bargaining rights.
American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley on Sunday announced an expansive agenda to undo the Trump administration’s workforce policies and to improve the rights, pay and benefits of workers throughout the federal government.
At the union’s annual legislative conference, held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kelley congratulated members for persevering through an administration that seemed to union officials focused on the eradication of collective bargaining at federal agencies. He then quickly pivo