Letter: The word is out: DOD gyps employees
DOD no longer has to provide meaningful wage increases that keep pace with inflation.
Regarding “Conferees' report revamps NSPS; unions optimistic about Bush signature,” although the unions have managed to preserve their right to bargain, they did not win the battle or the war on the National Security Personnel System. The Defense Department has kept intact its ability to call a government worker's cost-of-living allowance (COLA) a bonus. This is a huge loss for the federal government worker. DOD no longer has to provide meaningful wage increases that keep pace with inflation. This is another catastrophic loss for the federal government worker. Federal servants are already paid far less than their corporate counterparts. DOD will also pay less in retirement pensions because COLA money that went toward your civilian pay calculation has now been deferred to bonuses...and guess what bonus money is not a part of a federal servant's retirement pay calculation. Congratulations, DOD. You have successfully minimized my retirement after I've worked for you for 30 years and had 10 years left to go. The word is out. DOD doesn't pay fairly, doesn't promote or hire fairly and steals money from people right before they are getting ready to retire. We are no longer federal servants, we are federal slaves.
Anonymous
Air Force
What do you think? Paste a comment in the box below (registration required), or send your comment to letters@fcw.com (subject line: Blog comment) and we'll post it.