2 Yr Salary Freeze for Fed Employees

[jimnjana]

When I was a civilian employee of the Air Force, I got a bonus every year for the last 8-10 years. Sometimes only $300-$500, but the last few years, ranging from $1100 to $1500. Then...2 years ago I switched to a different DoD agency, and discovered they're not all as generous as the Air Force. So far, I've only gotten a 16 hours time off award.

More than likely, what is going on is that the other agency reserves the cash for upper management...

 

[martyb]

More than likely, what is going on is that the other agency reserves the cash for upper management...

Maybe...but also the fact is that the Air Force is huge, with a huge budget. I'm with a much smaller agency now. It's under the DoD umbrella, but it's considered to be in the "4th Estate", meaning it doesn't fall under any of the uniformed services. Much smaller overall budget. Or...you could be right!

 

[Brat]

I am a former Fed and believe that the wage freeze is entirely appropriate. Yes, it may only impact the budget on the margins but there are many margins to be trimmed. Shared sacrifice is important.

 

[lets-retire]

Oh yeah; I understand that. In the Navy, a Navy Achievement Medal or higher gets points factored into the multiple by which enlisted advancement (E-4 through E-6) or selection board eligibility (E-7 through E-9) is determined. Even a letter of commendation signed by a flag officer gets a point. But that's one factor in a computation that includes performance evaluations, time-in-grade, time-in-service, etc. And, at least in my own case, when I was hiring ex-military during my 6 year private industry career, I recognized medals for what they were although I'm not sure all hiring managers did.

I lost the illusion of the value of medals when a guy I knew received one for work a gate during an exercise. He didn't do anything while working the gate, except perform the duties of a gate guard. The new belief was reinforced when I received the same medal for putting out a truck completely engulfed in fire in a very congested residential area before the fire dep't arrived.

 

[Nords]

I lost the illusion of the value of medals when a guy I knew received one for work a gate during an exercise. He didn't do anything while working the gate, except perform the duties of a gate guard. The new belief was reinforced when I received the same medal for putting out a truck completely engulfed in fire in a very congested residential area before the fire dep't arrived.

It's always hard to discern the behind-the-scenes politics of the awards when they're handed out at the ceremony. It was an unbelievable kabuki theater to negotiate the awards package for a 100-person submarine crew that had just completed a Western Pacific deployment for operations "of vital interest to national security", let alone if they'd done something really noteworthy.

But there's also a substantial difference between the citations of the medals I got (mostly for [-]things we don't discuss[/-] sustained superior supervision and paperwork) and the citations on the same medals earned by Navy corpsmen on duty with a Marine platoon...

For the most part, but the CO had to set the general parameters.

Yep, but back then I was sorta disinclined to ask the questions if I thought I might not agree with the answers.

 

[brewer12345]

Well, call me a quasi-public sector employee for whom the freeze will be a trickle down excuse to put a further squeeze on pay. I make maybe half (probably a lot less than half) of what I could bag in the private sector, and in the past couple of years my workload has steadily ratcheted higher. I stay where I am for the time being for a lot of reasons, but not least of which is a belief in the organization's mission and a real satisfaction in both public service and doing the right thing when (oh so many) other do not.

But I am a professional and I am good at what I do: do not insult me or push me too far.

 

[Westernskies]

But I am a professional and I am good at what I do: do not insult me or push me too far.

Or what? You'll go back to the private sector for more money?

 

[GoodSense]

I am about to join the federal government as a civilian employee, and I have absolutely no objection to the wage freeze. Our nation is going through tough times. Many people are unemployed for long periods of time. Whatever people say about unemployment benefits, I think it is demoralizing and painful to be unemployed. Those who are working in the private sector have already shouldered more. The Federal budget is a mess, and there has been little to no inflation. There is a much stronger case to be made for the wage freeze than the "do nothing" option.

The savings from the wage freeze are not trivial. If it is indeed 60 billion over the next 10 years, it's almost 5% of the deficit. (Of course the math if flawed because we are comparing savings over time to a snapshot, but it is still significant.) Whether it was a political move or not -- which decision coming out of the White House is not political?? -- the proposal made sense to me.

 

[keegs]

Just about everyone else in the workforce has endured the same 'unilateral' concessions like this, and most to a much larger degree than a two-year pay freeze (I'm on my third year of a pay freeze and I've had two raises for a total of 4% since 2004).

Ziggy...you may not have meant it in such broad terms but
executives in banking, insurance, telecom, pharmacueticals, wall street.... are included in "eveyone in the workforce" ...no ? My point being ...there are plenty of folks doing quite well right now.

And not to go off on a tangent but....my understanding is that the unemployment rate for those without a college degree is significantly higher than for those with one.

 

[ERD50]

So does anyone have some data? I had trouble finding it, maybe something like total # of fed employees over the past five years and total salary over that time, versus same for private sector? Maybe that's no good either because of consultants or outsourcing to a third party in the US? Is there a better measure?

-ERD50

 

[Khan]

Ziggy...you may not have meant it in such broad terms but
executives in banking, insurance, telecom, pharmacueticals, wall street.... are included in "eveyone in the workforce" ...no ? My point being ...there are plenty of folks doing quite well right now.

And not to go off on a tangent but....my understanding is that the unemployment rate for those without a college degree is significantly higher than for those with one.

That's OK, that will all "trickle down".

 

[ERD50]

Ziggy...you may not have meant it in such broad terms but
executives in banking, insurance, telecom, pharmacueticals, wall street.... are included in "eveyone in the workforce" ...no ? My point being ...there are plenty of folks doing quite well right now.

keegs, maybe you need to take another look at what ziggy wrote and not leave out the adjectives...

Just about everyone else in the workforce...

Geez, keegs. So clearly, he did not mean it in such broad terms, or we would have simply said "everybody", as you implied he did. Why twist his words, it's kinda weird?

-ERD50

 

[keegs]

keegs, maybe you need to take another look at what ziggy wrote and not leave out the adjectives...



Geez, keegs. So clearly, he did not mean it in such broad terms, or we would have simply said "everybody", as you implied he did. Why twist his words, it's kinda weird?

-ERD50

Evenin ERD...seems to me you don't care much for what I have to say....but I somehow manage to keep your interest...

 

[ERD50]

Evenin ERD...seems like you don't care much for what I have to say....but I somehow manage to keep your interest...

I'm always interested in opposing viewpoints. But the way you stated that it sounds like the definition of a TROLL. I was getting that feeling, and was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, I no longer will do that.

And yes, I like to try to challenge the riff-raff comments so people can engage in intelligent discussion.

-ERD50

 

[keegs]

I'm always interested in opposing viewpoints. But the way you stated that it sounds like the definition of a TROLL. I was getting that feeling, and was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, I no longer will do that.

And yes, I like to try to challenge the riff-raff comments so people can engage in intelligent discussion.

-ERD50

You sound annoyed now ERD. Hope it wasn't something I wrote.

 

[Gumby]

Ahem . . . play nice now, you two.

 

[FinanceDude]

Ziggy...you may not have meant it in such broad terms but
executives in banking, insurance, telecom, pharmacueticals, wall street.... are included in "eveyone in the workforce" ...no ? My point being ...there are plenty of folks doing quite well right now.

So, a couple hundred executives are now "plenty"??

I think there's around 15 million out of work, now THAT's PLENTY!!!