Thousands of federal employees are yet to receive their proposed wage increase slated for 2025
The pay raises for blue-collar federal workers, traditionally published by the Office of Personnel Management in time for the first full pay period in January, are currently in limbo for the year 2025.
The pay raise for these workers is usually based on an extrapolation of across-the-board pay raises and wage surveys conducted by the Department of Defense Wage Committee. However, the committee's decisions affect Federal Wage System workers across government, not just within the Defense Department or military service branches, and its operations have been temporarily delayed due to its shuttering.
The shuttering of the wage committee was a result of a 45-day review ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to ensure that the department's advisory committee efforts align with the Pentagon's most pressing strategic priorities. During this review, all members of the Pentagon's advisory panels, including the wage committee, were purged.
Despite this, the new chairman of the Wage Committee of the Department of Defense, responsible for the pay of federal blue-collar workers, has not been identified or announced. This uncertainty has caused concern among workers and their advocates, as the current status of the pay raise for blue-collar federal workers for 2025 is still waiting due to the actions of Defense Secretary Hegseth.
Ron Sanders, a former chairman of the Federal Salary Council, has warned that if the situation is not fixed soon, agencies could see an exodus of workers with highly specialized skillsets. He compared the blue-collar federal workers to those who do welding and pipe fitting around nuclear reactors for naval propulsion systems, emphasizing their scarcity.
According to Sanders, if the pay raise freeze is permanent, DOD could continue to hemorrhage blue-collar workers. As of September 2024, more than 30% of blue-collar federal workers served at agencies outside of the Pentagon or military service branches, including nearly 5,000 National Park Service employees and around 33,000 workers in the Veterans Affairs Department.
The panel's shuttering has stalled pay raises for blue-collar federal workers in 87 of the 248 local wage areas. Sanders has stated that if the pay raise eventually goes into effect, it would cause less concern than a permanent freeze. He emphasized that the impact on these workers is significant, affecting roughly 60,000 blue-collar federal workers.
The wage committee is required by federal regulations to consist of three agency officials and two union leaders. Its role in determining the pay raise for blue-collar federal workers is part of a process that involves the president, Congress, and the Office of Personnel Management.
In light of these developments, the future of pay raises for blue-collar federal workers remains uncertain. The impact on these workers and the agencies they serve could be substantial if a solution is not found soon.
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