On Monday, the draft fiscal 2020 Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill was advanced by members of a House subcommittee. The bill calls for an average 3.1% pay raise for federal civilian employees in 2020. If passed, the bill would block President Trump’s proposal to freeze federal employees’ pay next year.
This House subcommittee action represents a significant procedural win for the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), the Machinists Union (IAM), and other federal employee advocates, who have worked tirelessly to make sure Congress bucks President Trump’s short-sighted request to freeze federal workers’ pay in 2020.
Just last month, hundreds of NFFE-IAM and IAM members stormed Capitol Hill to fight for a fair pay increase for federal employees in 2020. Hundreds of visits with Congressional offices were made during the 2019 IAM Legislative Conference held in Washington, D.C. May 6-8, 2019, and clearly, the advocacy of this union’s members made a difference.
“This is a clear win for federal employees. We still have a long way to go to get a 3.1 percent pay adjustment for federal workers in 2020, but this is a good way to get this fight started.” said NFFE National President Randy Erwin in response to the House subcommittee action. “Here is the bottom line: federal workers make 31 percent less than private sector workers in similar jobs. That needs to change, and finally lawmakers are beginning to understand that. Congratulations to all the members of this union who helped secure this successful vote.”
The next steps in the process is for the appropriations bill to advance in the full House Appropriations Committee and then ultimately reach the House floor. The Senate has not yet published its own draft of this spending bill.