Federal Workers Tell Congress: ‘We’ve Sacrificed Enough’
November 29, 2012 As Congress contemplates avoiding going over the “fiscal cliff” – the series of automatic tax hikes and budget cuts that will take effect next year – there is a lot of talk about shared sacrifice.But a coalition of 22 different federal worker unions says the only people who have sacrificed anything on Capitol Hill are government employees. As the Federal Workers Alliance – a group that includes the IBEW and other unions representing federal workers – put it in a recent letter to congressional leaders:
Congress ordered a two-year wage freeze for federal employees in 2010, which saved the government more than $60 billion dollars. If continued, it could end up amounting to a $16,500 pay cut for the average worker over the next decade. If that was not enough, employees have also had to cough up another $15 billion in additional retirement contributions. Says the letter from the FWA:
The Alliance, which includes the IBEW, is calling on Congress and President Obama not to slash federal worker wages and benefits as part of any deal to avoid falling over the fiscal cliff. Says IBEW President Edwin D. Hill:
Click here to read more about the Federal Workers Alliance.
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