WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2010
KLMNO
EZ RE
Supplying helping hands for Peace Corps
The Peace Corps hasmore than 8,600 volunteers in 77 countries around the world — its highest numbers in the past 40 years. In the D.C. area can be found some of the top volunteer-producing states and metro regions, according to agency figures to be releasedWednesday:
Volunteers in top 10 states 1. California
2. New York 3. Illinois 4. Texas
5.Washington 6. Ohio
7. Virginia
8. Pennsylvania 9.Michigan 10. Colorado
2. District of Columbia
3.Montana 4. Oregon
5. Colorado
6.Maine
7.Washington
8. New Hampshire 9.Minnesota 10. Virginia
1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island
2.Washington-Arlington- Alexandria
3. Los Angeles-Long Beach- Santa Ana
4. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet 5. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy 6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue
7. San Francisco-Oakland- Fremont
8. Philadelphia-Camden- Wilmington
9.Minneapolis-St. Paul- Bloomington
10. Portland-Vancouver- Beaverton
1.Missoula,Mont.
2. Burlington-South Burlington, Vt.
3. Boulder, Colo. 4. Columbia,Mo.
7. Charlottesville, Va. 10. Santa Fe, N.M.
1,134 445 394 383 372 354 337 335 326 319
Top 10 per 100,000 residents 1. Vermont
9.49 8.67 6.97 6.43 6.35 5.61 5.58 4.68 4.60 4.28
Volunteers in top 10metropolitan areas
369 351
336 331
212 211
200 182 170 151
Volunteers (per 100,000 residents) in top 10metro areas
13.81 12.02 11.53
10.23
5. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo. 9.72 6. Roseburg, Ore.
9.69 9.66
8. Augusta-Waterville,Maine 9.08 9. Ithaca, N.Y.
8.84 8.81
Source: Peace Corps on
washingtonpost.com Q.
What kind of difference, if any, does the child-care subsidy make in your family budget and your work experience? Please e-mail your answer to
federalworker@washpost.com and include your full name, home town and the agency for which you work. We might include your response in Friday’sWashington Post.When answers are particularly sensitive, we will consider a respondent’s request to withhold full identification.
The Federal Page
Condoleezza and Brangelina
Former secretary of state Rice has little to say about all things Jolie, but WikiLeaks is a different story. In the Loop, A17
THE FEDERAL WORKER Obama won’t find solace with federal workers
FEDERAL DIARY Joe Davidson
L
ately, PresidentObama has been upsetting core supporterswith great speed. His agreement to extend tax
breaks for the rich, if only for two years, leftmany otherwise loyal supporters fuming. When you’re under attack, it’s
always comforting to have the warmth of home.But if home for the boss-in-chief is the hearth of the federalworkplace, hewill find the fire flickering, dampened by his plan to freeze employee pay. Although they are not a
monolith,many in the government’sworkforce cheered his
election.That’s certainly true for the federal unions that worked so hard forObama.He sharply disappointed themwhen he reversed course lastweek by abandoning the 1.4 percent raise he had earlier recommended— only to adopt theRepublican pay freeze position. Yet he didn’t go as far as some
Republicans and a report last week by his deficit commission suggested.Evenwith the freeze, many federalworkerswould still makemoremoney next year because of longevity-based step increases and bonuses. Washington areamembers of
Congress, including theHouse majority leader, are among those pushing against a two-year freeze.EightHousemembers, includingMajority Leader Steny H.Hoyer (D-Md.), saidCongress should consider a one-year
freeze.They said a second year could be reconsidered later as part of a larger deficit-reduction program. In a letter to the chairman of
theHouseAppropriations Committee, themembers said, “We do not believe civil servants should be unfairly targeted outside the context of a comprehensive approach to the federal budget simply because they carry out thework of the federal government.” In addition toHoyer,Reps.
James
P.Moran,GeraldE. Connolly and FrankR.Wolf of Virginia,ChrisVanHollen, John P. Sarbanes andDonna F. Edwards ofMaryland, andDel. EleanorHolmesNorton of the District signed the
letter.All but Wolf areDemocrats. Any adjustments to pay
beyond fiscal year 2011 should “be reserved for the 112th Congress,”which begins next month, they added, “where federal pay can be considered in the context of amore comprehensive approach to deficit reduction.” When thatmore
comprehensive approach is debated inCongress, it’s a sure bet the step increase systemand bonuseswill be aGOP target. To explain, here’s a quick
primer on federal pay because Uncle Samdoesn’tmake things simple: Mostwhite-collar employees
are paid under theGeneral Schedule,which consists of 15 grades of 10 steps each. Employees, excluding slackers, move up the step ladder automatically every one to three
years.Management can also advance employeesmore quickly based on especially good performance. Let’s look at some examples: AGS-5, step 7 employee in the Washington-Baltimore area is
ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES
President Obama’s deal to extend tax breaks for the wealthy didn’t sit well with many federal workers already smarting from a pay freeze.
Bad news, good news Income for many federal employees would continue to grow under President Obama’s proposal to freeze their pay, because that plan would not affect longevity raises knows as step increases. Step increases are paid except to poor performers, with waiting periods ranging up to three years depending on salary system and step level. In addition, employees would remain eligible for promotions that bring pay raises, as well as for various types of awards and incentive payments that don’t count as basic salary.
Wage and grade $51,216 pay (national average) in 2010 $53,265 in 2011 with step increase $54,010 in 2011 with step increase and 1.4 percent increase
GS-5, step 7 $40,887 pay in 2010 $42,022 in 2011 with step increase $42,610 in 2011 with step increase and 1.4 percent increase
GS-9, step 1 $51,630 pay in 2010 $53,350 in 2011 with step increase $54,097 in 2011 with step increase and 1.4 percent increase
GS-14, step 4 $115,731 pay in 2010 $119,238 in 2011 with step increase only $120,907 in 2011 with step increase and 1.4 percent increase
Note: GS rates shown are those paid in the Washington-Baltimore area. Because GS raises vary by locality, employees in this area probably would have received a raise larger than the 1.4 percent average figure that the White House originally proposed, potentially of about 2 percent. Wage grade raises are determined separately and are capped at local GS increases.
Office of Personnel Management
paid $40,887 this year in base salary. If he receives a step increase in 2011, his salarywould rise to $42,022, a 2.8 percent
increase.An additional 1.4 percent raisewould have brought the total to $42,610. Similarly, aGS-9, step 1
employee in this areamakes $51,630 this
year.Astep increase would raise that to $53,350, an increase of 3.3 percent.A1.4 percent raise on top of thatwould have brought the total to $54,097. AGS-14, step 4 employee in
this areamakes $115,
731.Astep increasewould raise her salary to $119,238, a 3 percent increase.A further 1.4 percent raisewould result in $120,907. Actually, an average national
raise of 1.4 percent likelywould have resulted in a larger raise in this region, possibly about 2 percent.Higher raises are paid in areaswith relatively highly paid private sectorworkers, such as Washington-Baltimore. Blue collar employees are paid
at an hourly rate, under a different systemcalled thewage grade system. It allows for step increasesworth 4 percent.Wage grade pay rates are linked to those of comparable local jobs. Besides step increases, federal
employees are eligible for various types of awards, bonuses and incentive payments,whichwould not be affected by a pay freeze. Some of those payments are linked to performance and some tomanagement’s desire to recruit or retain employeeswith high- demand skills. High-levelwhite-collar
employees, such as those in the SeniorExecutive Service, are in
Today’s Deal Your Place to Save - Monday through Sunday in Metro
REPLACEMENT WINDOWS $
Any Size White Double-Hung
Window INSTALLED!* *3 Window Minimum Up to 4ft Wide x7ft Tall
Qualifying products up to $1500
Energy Tax Credit! 703-378-7999 189
Designer Kathy Ireland brings new stylish window design options to our customers.
WE SELL ENERGY STAR
www.windowworlddc.com of DC
Inc. “Simply the Best for Less” MHIC #1222286 VA License #2705274538 Class A 4116 Walney Rd., Ste. - J, Chantilly, VA 20151 Served to you by:
Sign up forThe Capitol Dish list to receivevaluable dining deals and moresent directly to your e-mail inbox.
Subscribe
forfreeatthecapitoldish.com today!
Deal only available for purchase until Midnight, December 9*
Save 50%
Heritage Asia $30 Voucher for $15
Travel to Southeast Asia by way of Heritage Asia in Georgetown. You’ll discover an assortment of Pan-Asian delights at this enticing bistro. 2400 Wisconsin Avenue, NW • Washington, D.C. 20007 • 202.333.3120
*All Deals must be purchased at
thecapitoldish.com ON THE GET
LIST— sign up FREE online!
another category. SES salaries are setwithin broad national ranges, with individual pay varying according to qualifications and performance, up to a cap that for most this year is $179,700. In a pay freeze, SESmembers
stillwould be eligible for performance-based raises so long as they are belowthe
cap.Those who are up against the capwould not be eligible for any raises. However, they stillwould be eligible for performance awards. In 2009, nearly four-fifths of career SESmembers received such awards, averaging about $14,800. The possibility of step
increases and other hikes to federal pay don’tmake the freeze anymore palatable toWilliamR. Dougan, president of the National Federation of Federal
Employees.The freeze on base paywill have a cumulative effect onworkers for years, even into retirement, he said. Labor “felt blindsided” by
Obama,Dougan complained, adding: “If this is howyou treat your friendswho helped you get elected, it’s a pretty sad statement.”
federaldiary@washpost.com
Staffwriter Eric Yoder contributed to this column.
B3
Theft, trashing mail among misdeeds of postal employees
Report says those who misbehave are a small fraction of workforce
BY ED O’KEEFE Ever had one of those days
when you just want to throw your work in the trash? At least two postal letter carriers did — and got caught. Most of the nation’s almost
195,000 letter carriers this year swiftly completed their appoint- ed rounds, but a few workers discarded mail or stole thousands of dollars of tax refunds and med- ication. A Georgia letter carrier left the
U.S. Postal Service inMarch after admitting he dumped more than 600 pieces of mail into a Dump- ster, including Netflix DVDs and first-class mail.He told investiga- tors that he threw out the mail because he wanted to be done for the day. The man is serving 12 months of probation, and he paid a $500 fine and $182 in restitu- tion toNetflix. Aletter carrier in Alabama was
caught on tape dumping more than 250 pieces of mail into a gas station Dumpster. She resigned from the Postal Service in August after pleading guilty to one count of delay of mail. The bad behavior is detailed in
the Postal Service Inspector Gen- eral’s semiannual report to Con- gress, which covers the period from March to September this year. The watchdog team con- ductedmorethan1,990investiga- tions thatprompted453arrests— few of which involved postal em- ployees — and more than $672 million in fines and restitution. Some postal workers also stole
INCASE YOUMISSEDIT. . . Federalworkers have been the focus ofmuch political
debate.Max Stier, president and chief executive of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Ser- vice, explored that debate inOutlook on Sunday. An excerpt:
5myths about federal workers
Federal workers are America’s new favorite target. Last week, President Obama proposed freez- ing their pay for two years. “Get- ting this deficit under control is going to require somebroadsacri- fices,” he said, “and that sacrifice must be shared by the employees of the federal government.”Mean- while, the president’s bipartisan deficit commission endorsed a three-year pay freeze and a 200,000-person reduction of the federalworkforce. But are federal workers really the problem behind the struggling economy and the bloated budget? To answer, let’s first dispensewith somewidespreadmisunderstand- ings about our federalworkforce. 1. Federal employees are overpaid compared with private-sector workers. The notion that federal workers consistently earn higher salaries than comparable private-sector
from the mail before it left the post office, according to the re- port. A California postal worker quit in June after investigators caught her rifling through parcels in the back of a parked truck and stuffing pill bottles in her pant pockets and shirt. Under questioning, she admit-
ted to stealing from hundreds of parcels over four years to support an addiction to Vicodin. The worker resigned, was ordered to pay more than $9,300 in restitu- tion, and sentenced to 10 months in jail and six months of proba- tion. Closer to home, a District letter
carrier and two co-conspirators pleaded guilty in July to stealing more than $100,000 in Treasury checks, D.C. government checks and identity theft. A joint sting operation in February among the Postal Inspection Service,U.S. Se- cret Service and theD.C. Office of Inspector General caught the postal worker mishandling checks belonging to other routes. Over two years, the letter carri-
er admitted receiving about $500 for each check passed to her co- conspirators, who would then cash them using fake driver’s li- censes. She resigned from the Postal Service in July and was sentencedto25monthsin jailand ordered to pay more than $130,000 in restitution. The Postal Service employs
about 580,400 career workers, andthe actions of those described in the report represent a fraction of 1 percent of all USPS workers, spokesmanMark Saunders said. “We are a microcosm of soci-
ety,” he said, adding later that “one offense is one too many, and employees who commit illegal acts are dealt with accordingly.”
ed.okeefe@washingtonpost.com
workers has become an accepted truth. Conservative think tanks, including theCatoInstitute,make much of data that does not offer faircomparisonsofsimilarpublic- sector and private-sector jobs or account for how experience and education affect pay. A pediatri- cian with a small practice in Des Moinesandadoctorat theNation- al Institutes ofHealthwho is lead- ingateamof50researchers trying tocure cancerbothprovidehealth care, for example, but we shouldn’t expect that they be paid the same.
6
READTHEENTIREARTICLEat
washingtonpost.com/outlook.
D518 3x5.25
Payment Options
Available
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64