Wage employees at Tobyhanna Army Depot and other federal installations would receive the same percentage pay increases as salaried workers, under a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17.
The legislation would ensure that the percentage increase in rates of basic pay for wage grad, or hourly, employees is equivalent to the percentage increase received by other federal employees in the same pay locality.
It would provide 1,809 wage employees at Tobyhanna Army Depot with a 1 percent Cost of Living Adjustment. President Barack Obama recently authorized a 1 percent cost of living increase for general schedule, or salaried, federal employees, but he doesn't have the statutory authority to provide the same COLA to all federal workers.
Beginning Jan. 1, wage workers' wages are scheduled to stay the same or even decrease, creating a greater disparity between the pay of wage and salary employees, Cartwright said.
"It hurts a group of Americans that can least afford a fourth year with no increase at all," Cartwright said. "For this reason, I am proud to introduce this legislation, which would benefit a group that has been particularly impacted by a four-year pay freeze, the recent defense furloughs and the government shutdown."
There are more than 174,000 wage employees who work for the Department of Defense, including 1,809 wage workers at Tobyhanna Army Depot. Other agencies with significant numbers as well include the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Support the Wage Grade Employee Parity Act has six Republican and six other Democratic co-sponsors.
Earlier this year, Cartwright introduced the Locality Pay Equity Act, which would simplify and raise pay rates for all workers at Tobyhanna. It would place both wage and salaried employees in the New York regional market for setting the pay scale, eliminating a disparity between the two groups of workers.