U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), author of an amendment to the fiscal year 2003 Omnibus Appropriations bill that called for pay parity among military and federal civilian workers – including blue-collar employees, praised the House Appropriations Committee for adopting an amendment to the FY 2004 Treasury appropriations bill that would give all federal workers the same 4.1 percent pay raise recommended for the military.

Federal Wage System (FWS) employees are the federal government's blue-collar employees. These trade, craft, and labor employees are essential to the government's daily operation. The majority of FWS employees work in the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA). Fifty-eight percent of all blue-collar employees at the VA and 45 percent at DoD are veterans who have veterans' preference status, compared to only 25 percent of all federal employees. In fact, veterans' preference status federal employees are concentrated in the skilled craft and trade FWS jobs.

During the past 11 years, FWS workers at the lowest grades suffered a 1.7 percent decline in the inflation-adjusted real value of their pay. Employees in the middle of the FWS classification system have seen only a 2.5 percent increase while those at the top of the FWS scale have seen a 5.7 percent increase

"Federal employees work side-by-side with our men and women in uniform every day. They share in the successes of the U.S. military. Federal blue-collar workers perform a range of duties critical to the success of military missions, the safety of our soldiers, and the well-being of our veterans," Akaka said.

"Within the next few years, about half of the federal workforce will be eligible to retire. We must act now to fill this void to ensure that young people view the federal government as an employer of choice. Guaranteeing reasonable pay for its civilian workforce should be part of our commitment to the American people that federal agencies have the right people and with the right skills to run their government in an effective and efficient manner," he added.

Akaka said he will work with Senate appropriators to ensure pay parity between the federal civilian workforce and the military.