Collective Action Leads to 1.9% Raise, Averts New Shutdown
February 19, 2019
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The Insider
We did it! The collective actions of union members, labor allies, and sympathetic lawmakers have averted another government shutdown.
Less than 48 hours before the government was scheduled to shut down again, the House and Senate passed a bill that funds a dozen agencies ranging from TSA to the FBI through Sep. 30, 2019. The bill also includes a 1.9% pay raise for federal employees this year. President Trump signed the bill into law Feb. 15.
The funding package averted another government shutdown that most members of Congress opposed, and federal employees dreaded. The last shutdown lasted 35 days, wreaked havoc on employees’ finances, and killed morale.
“For nearly two months, 800,000 federal employees and their families were used as pawns in a political battle that upended their lives, stunted local economies, and harmed everyone who depends on the services our federal workers deliver,” said AFGE President J. David Cox Sr. “Thanks to the collective actions of union members, labor allies, sympathetic lawmakers, and concerned citizens across the country, workers prevailed and prevented another government shutdown from occurring at midnight Feb 15.”
AFGE thanks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for leading us through this ordeal and for being staunch advocates for federal employees everywhere. We extend thanks to every member of the bipartisan conference committee who helped craft the budget language, and to every member of Congress who voted to keep our government open. We want to especially thank Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma for fighting to get federal workers a well-deserved pay raise.
“Federal workers will receive all the pay and leave they earned during the 35 days the government was shut down thanks to legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the president last month,” Cox added. “Thank you to Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland for introducing this legislation, which also ensures that federal workers will be paid in the result of any future government shutdown.”
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