Casey lauds proposed rule to end wage disparities among hourly and salaried workers
Rule change would increase wages for 2,100 Pennsylvania workers by a total of $23 million per year
Casey has long fought for wage equity for workers at Tobyhanna and Letterkenny
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) applauded the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) proposed rule to solve the persistent wage disparities for federal workers, including those at the Tobyhanna and Letterkenny Army Depots in Pennsylvania. Currently, salaried employees at these critical national security facilities are included in higher paying locality pay areas than their hourly employee counterparts. When implemented, the proposed rule would increase wages for 2100 Pennsylvania workers by a total of $23 million each year.
“The workers at Tobyhanna and Letterkenny Army Depots are a pillar of our Commonwealth’s economy and play a key role in protecting our national security,” said Senator Casey. “This proposed rule would ensure highly skilled workers are paid what they deserve so they can continue supporting their families and contributing to Pennsylvania’s economy and security. The workers at Tobyhanna and Letterkenny have been fighting for this for a long time, and I’m going to keep pressing to get this done.”
“This proposed rule would put additional money into the hands of federal employees whose pay lags behind their coworkers. Thank you to Senator Casey for calling on the Office of Personnel Management to increase pay for thousands of workers across Pennsylvania and for championing the fight to ensure that AFGE workers are fairly compensated,” said Ned George, President, AFGE Local 1647.
“I would like to thank Senator Casey for his steadfast dedication to this cause. Without his efforts, we would never have gotten this far,” said Chuck Vickery, President, NFFE Local 1442, Letterkenny Army Depot.
“Getting compensated fairly with higher wages would boost morale and improve workers’ lives at Letterkenny. Thank you, Senator Casey for standing up for army workers,” said Bruce, Byers, President, NFFE Local 1429, Letterkenny Army Depot.
Currently, salaried workers are paid based on a different locality than their hourly workers counterparts. The proposed rule would increase funding in Pennsylvania by $23 million each year to ensure that 2100 Pennsylvania hourly workers are paid fairly. Since 2005, salaried federal workers in Pennsylvania including at the Tobyhanna and Letterkenny Army Depots have been paid based on pay localities from New York City and DC—where pay is higher to meet higher costs of living—while their peers with hourly wages have been paid at lower locality rates. Since hearing reports from workers that this pay gap has created strong incentives to leave the federal workforce, join the private sector, and diminish the capability of the organic industrial base, Senator Casey has consistently pushed for the harmonization of locality pay areas for hourly and salaried workers. Over the past several years, Casey has advocated to remedy this issue to key Administration officials in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Department of the Army, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and Office of Management and Budget (OMB). In April 2024, Casey urged the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to return fairness to the federal workforce by ensuring that hourly workers are paid equitably, at a rate competitive with their private sector counterparts. Senator Casey pushed OPM to follow through on the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee’s (FPRAC) recommendation to eliminate differences in locality pay methodologies between hourly and salaried workers to ensure that all federal workers are paid equitably. In September 2024, Casey continued to advocate to harmonize locality pay areas, urging OMB to avoid further delays.
Eliminating the differences the methodologies in locality pay calculation would ensure that all federal employees are paid at the same locality pay rate in a given county. This proposed rule marks the most progress made to remedy this issue that has placed financial burdens on blue-collar federal workers for decades. The rule will be open for public comment for the next 60 days.
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