Union, Dems seek better federal pay, but must wait to hear GOP's plans

The Washington Post

By Joe Davidson

The largest federal employee union drew a pack of strong and influential friends to a cold-weather Capitol Hill rally Tuesday, but unfortunately for the workers, the powerful aren't as powerful as they used to be.

Hundreds of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) members and supporters from other public service unions gathered across the street from the Capitol to demand better pay and more respect.

They loved it when AFGE President J. David Cox Sr. spoke of opening "a can of whoop-ass" on members of Congress who defy the union.

The union members were joined by two senators and three representatives, an impressive roster of speakers for any organization. But they were all Democrats in a Congress now controlled by Republicans. The politicians fired up the crowd, said all the right words, then went back across the street, where they'll wait to see what the Republicans do.

Federal unions and most of their supporters on the Hill are like a team that never gets the ball — they can only play defense. Bills they support, like one to give feds a 3.8 percent pay raise, are good rallying points but are not likely to score.

Federal employees have contributed about $150 billion toward deficit reduction through pay and benefit cuts, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said at the rally. "The federal government will not be able to recruit and retain the kind of people that Americans need," he said, "if we don't pay people and respect people and include people in the decision-making process in our government."

AFGE also has a few Republican friends, including Rep. Rob Wittman, whose Virginia district is home to many federal employees. He drew generous applause at AFGE's legislative conference meeting Monday when he said: "We cannot balance the budget on the backs of federal employees." But he didn't commit to a particular raise amount for federal workers and certainly did not endorse the 3.8 percent figure proposed by his congressional neighbor, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.).

Prospects for an AFGE-supported retirement measure also don't look good. The Federal Employee Pension Fairness Act would repeal the three-tier employee pension contribution system that makes new workers pay more out of pocket than those longer employed. That bill was introduced by Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D-Md.), who also addressed the Monday meeting, as did Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). President Obama did not propose any additional hits to federal employee pensions, as he has previously.

Last year, the House approved legislation that would have made most feds pay 5.5 percentage points more toward their retirement, which effectively would be a pay cut. Spokesmen for chairmen of the House and Senate budget committees would not comment on what those panels will propose for federal employees.

But Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said in an interview that he sees "no sign they will change" the Republican retirement proposal or another one that would cut the workforce by allowing agencies to hire one person for every three who leave federal service.

Instead of cutting federal employment, Oscar L. Williams Jr., a Department of Veterans Affairs electrical worker in Danville, Ill., and an AFGE leader there, said staffing — along with pay — is a key issue.

"We don't have enough staff," he said after the rally. "We get congressional mandates but no money to do it."

In addition to Hoyer and Van Hollen, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Democratic Sens. Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) and Benjamin L. Cardin (Md.) also spoke at the rally, which featured lots of jokes about the 35-degree weather.

"We're going to turn up the heat on the Congress," Van Hollen said to cheers.

He complained about the possibility that Congress will not approve appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security before its current funding expires at the end of this month. Republicans in Congress have linked funding to reversing Obama's executive immigration actions, a move Democrats reject.

"The clock is ticking," Van Hollen said. Holding department funding and the security of the United States hostage is "a reckless action," he added.

Cardin claimed that he was warm at the union rally, even without a topcoat or hat, but complained about "so many cold-hearted people across the street."

"We're tired of the disrespect," he added, echoing Durbin's message. "You deserve a fair shot, and you deserve a fair salary. . . . We've got to fight for you . . . because government works for America. . . . We're going to win this battle.

The crowd cheered. But they know it takes votes to win battles in Congress, votes that are increasingly hard for them to get.