Several facilities have jumped out to an early start with PAC recruitment after John Tune Ruth Marlin and I challenged them at the STL Facility Representative Meeting.  Great progress has been made at CID, ICT and special kudos go to Stace King and SUS for achieving 100% PAC membership and 100% NATCA membership.   A fine job by all. These folks are realizing that giving some to the PAC is not so much an option as a necessity.  Hey guess what?  You’re career really does depend on it!

Early last week we got a page from John Carr to call our Congressman about a resolution in the House of Representatives in favor of pay parity.  As background, the White House has tried for the last three years to shortchange federal employees while recommending larger raises for the military.  This ignored legislation from the early nineties and was a slap in the face to many hard working federal employees who were being relegated to second class citizens in the eyes of the administration.  Fortunately our friends in Congress saw this and battled hard the last couple of years to get parity in the yearly raises (ergo the back pay you are waiting on now).

This year when the White House once again showed their disdain for us (proposed 3.5% military and 1.5% civilian) so some folks in Congress decided to get it on the record that they were opposed to this tactic.

Now imagine the potential political costs to supporting federal employees.  Expressing disagreement with this leg of the Bush management agenda would be seen as a loss for the White House and in an election year that’s an even bigger deal.  It frankly took guts for any Republican to support this regardless of their own personal agreement with the issue.  And that’s where you came in.

It looked as though the vote would be right down the wire but when John Carr put out the word for a grassroots calling campaign with less than 30 hours left before the vote you responded.  NATCA members and other interested employees and groups responded quickly as constituents to express their support of the legislation giving some Congressmen the political cover to rebuff intense White House pressure and confirm their belief in the value of federal employees in this country.

We are getting better and better at this grassroots activity.  On short notice we and others helped turn what was a “pick-em” into a landslide victory.  The House voted 299-126 supporting federal employees!  Though this is a non-binding “sense of the House” vote it very affirmatively states the position that the Senate has already taken, marginalizing the contributions of federal employees in this way will not be tolerated.

So for those of you who called your Congressmen give yourself a pat on the back.  I thank you all, but the real thank you will come in next years pay raise. For those who felt it wasn’t worth their while to call, maybe you should think about that.  This sort of grassroots activity can and does work and in the face of the most hostile environment ever for FAA employees it’s your own future you’re helping.  Acting as a large group in a unified manner is not only effective; it’s what a Union is all about.

All of the Democrats voted yea so I’ve listed the Republican yeas and nays below from the congressmen from the states of the Central Region.   95 Republicans supported us and should be commended.  I think you know my thoughts on those who didn’t.  Have a great week.

Grant Anderson
ganderson@natca.org
*******************************************************

Yeas
Graves              Emerson           Bereuter            Leach               Latham

Nays
Akin                  Blunt                 Terry                 Osborne            Nussle

King                  Moran               Ryun                 Moore               Tiahrt

(Hulshof did not vote)

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding rates of compensation for civilian employees and members of the uniformed services of the United States. (Introduced in House)

HRES 581 IH

108th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. RES. 581

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding rates of compensation for civilian employees and members of the uniformed services of the United States.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 29, 2004

Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia (for himself, Mr. WOLF, Mr. HOYER, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. MCHUGH, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. PLATTS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. TURNER of Ohio, Mr. COLE, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. QUINN, Mr. GILCHREST, and Mr. RUPPERSBERGER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding rates of compensation for civilian employees and members of the uniformed services of the United States.

Whereas civilian employees and members of the uniformed services of the United States provide critical services and protection for our citizens and taxpayers, and make many other significant contributions to the general welfare of the Nation;

Whereas the ability of the Federal Government to provide a competitive salary plays a critical role in its ability to recruit and retain individuals possessing the skills necessary to provide government services effectively and efficiently to the American people;

Whereas the current pay system hampers the ability of the Federal Government to achieve the goals referred to in the preceding clause;

Whereas the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990, commonly referred to as `FEPCA', sought to achieve comparability between Federal and non-Federal pay rates through annual pay adjustments based on changes in private-sector wages and salaries;

Whereas increases in the pay of members of the uniformed services and of civilian employees of the United States have not kept pace with increases in the overall pay levels of workers in the private sector, so that there currently exists an estimated 32 percent gap between compensation levels of Federal civilian employees and those of private sector workers, and an estimated 5.7 percent gap between compensation levels of members of the uniformed services and those of private sector workers; and

Whereas, in almost every year during the past two decades, there have been equal adjustments in the compensation of members of the uniformed services and the compensation of civilian employees of the United States: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--

(1) compensation for civilian employees and members of the uniformed services of the United States must be sufficient to support our critical efforts to recruit, retain, and reward quality people in Government service; and

(2) to help achieve this objective, in fiscal year 2005, compensation for civilian employees of the United States should be adjusted at the same time, and in the same proportion, as are rates of compensation for members of the uniformed services.