With More Than 600,000 Veteran Employees, Federal Government Is Largest Employer of Middle-Class Veterans
Statement from Will Attig, Executive Director of the Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO on President Trump canceling pay raises for civilian federal workers:
I am enraged and disheartened that once again the Trump administration is leaving the men and women that served our nation with pride and dignity behind by freezing a 2.1% pay increase and going as far as to recommend a 0% increase.
Historically, veterans work in the public sector at a much higher rate than their non-veteran counterparts due to many factors. One is that veterans seek stability and protection when looking for jobs while transitioning to the civil workforce. These freezes will especially impact our post-9/11 veterans where an estimated 1 in 4 Gulf War II-era veterans work in the public sector.
The Union Veterans Council will be advocating for Congress to pass legislation ensuring a 1.9% pay raise for this large group of veterans and their families.
We have invested millions of dollars into our veterans while on active duty and we should do whatever it takes to recruit and keep these highly skilled patriots working in the agencies that make the country run.
