Kanjorski Toured
Depot with U.S. Army Under Secretary to Highlight Largest Employer in NEPA
WILKES-BARRE - Today, Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) announced that the Administration
made a major decision toward changing the wages of a significant portion of the
Tobyhanna Army Depot workforce to ensure that federal employees receive the
fair and equal pay that they deserve. As
a result, over 2,000 federal employees at the Tobyhanna Army Depot will receive
pay increases. For years certain types
of federal employees have received different wages from other federal employees
even though they work the same hours at the same facilities. Congressman Kanjorski actively sought support
from President Obama to ensure that this pay disparity was fixed. Because pay scales are different for the two
classifications of workers at the Depot, the absurd result has been workers
working side by side, doing similar jobs, but getting different sized paychecks.
"Keith Hill and his fellow leaders of the
AFGE union brought this issue to my attention years ago and we have been
working to fix this ridiculous situation ever since," said Congressman
Kanjorski. "The Bush Administration
never paid attention to this problem, but the Obama Administration is fixing
it.
Congressman Kanjorski today toured the
Tobyhanna Army Depot with the U.S. Army Under Secretary Dr. Joseph
Westphal, the second in command at the U.S. Army, to highlight the importance
of Northeastern Pennsylvania's largest employer. They also toured the levees in Wilkes-Barre,
which was a project that they worked closely on together to make a reality.
Congressman Kanjorski added, "As the two
wars wind down, it is more important than ever to secure the core mission of
our region's largest employer. I am
pleased that the second most powerful person in the Army took the time to visit
Tobyhanna Army Depot."
"We greatly appreciate Congressman
Kanjorski's help in ensuring that the union employees at Tobyhanna Army Depot
receive the same wages that the rest of the employees at the Depot receive,"
said Keith Hill, AFGE National Vice President, District 3. "The Congressman deeply understood our
concerns about the pay disparity and worked to make sure that it was fixed so
that all employees at the Depot receive fair and equal wages. He continues to show day in and day out that
he is not just about talk, but about action."
Wages for most federal employees are based
on the wages in the private sector in that area. There have been two different methods for
determining federal wages, which caused particular consternation at the
Tobyhanna Army Depot, as some federal employees were paid less for doing the
same work as others just because their pay scale was different. In particular, most union and trade employees
have been placed on a smaller pay scale than most professional, technical, and
administrative employees, even though they work the same hours at the same
facility.
On September 15, 2010, Congressman Kanjorski
wrote a letter which was signed by ten other Members of Congress, urging
Sheldon Friedman, Chairman of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory
Committee (FPRAC) to vote on a
proposal to address the unfair pay disparity for federal employees working in
the same geographic area. The FPRAC advises
the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) about matters concerning the pay
of federal employees. OPM defines how the pay scales are
determined.
Yesterday, the FPRAC approved the
proposal that OPM establish fair and equal pay scales for all federal employees
working in the same geographic area, just as Congressman Kanjorski had urged
the Committee's chairman. Congressman Kanjorski spoke with the director of OPM
who is in support of the recommendation.
The director will issue regulations on this matter to implement the
proposal in the near future.
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