Wage Board Legislation, Hearings Before ... 92-1, on S. 231, 315, 1086, 1288, and 1636, March 29; April 29 and 30, 1971. 1971

The five employer representatives will be selected to the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee as follows: The head (or his designee) of each of the four agencies and military departments designated as having the largest number of prevailing rate employees. One employee of the Civil Service Commission appointed by the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission.

My bill seeks to develop a more workable wage board system by giving the Federal Prevailing Wage Advisory Committee authority to study, advise and to make recommendations to the Civil Service Commission for action on the prevailing rate system and other matters pertinent to the establishment of prevailing rates. This committee shall report annually to the Civil Service Commission and to the President.

The Civil Service Commission shall provide for establishment by the Commission of boundaries for individual wage areas and designation of a lead agency for each local wage area. Wage surveys and schedules will be conducted in each area by the lead agency with a full scale survey every 2 years.

Commission regulations will provide for participation by labor representatives in all phases of wage rate determinations. The regulations also are to call for pay differentials for work involving hazards, physical hardship or unusual working conditions. A differential is also included for regular nonovertime nighttime work.

Another important provision of the Prevailing Wage Rate Determination Act calls for the establishment of a 10-step system wage rate schedule similar to the within grade steps already available to employees working under the classification act.

Further, it provides that each successive rate shall not be less than 3% percent more than the preceding rate. It is my understanding that more than 90 percent of all wage board employees are in the third and last step of each grade.

Most of them got there after one and one half years of service, and unless my proposal for a 10-step wage schedule or something similar is adopted, these employees will stay in this last step for the rest of their lives. If a 10-step system is good for classified employees, then so should it be for wage board employees, and I think my proposal should be adopted.

Mr. Chairman, no bill involving so many fundamental issues as those we are considering here today can anticipate every difficulty. However, I believe that my bill represents a giant stride in the direction of bringing a more equitable approach to the whole range of problems affecting wage board employees.

I certainly hope it will pass the Senate and the Congress this year so that by the beginning of 1972 the "forgotten men" of the Federal Government, the "wage board employees," will be seeing tangible evidence of our efforts to improve on a system which has for too long been neglected at the expense of thousands of dedicated public

servants.

I am really impressed by the tremendous number of people who are here, and the great number from my own State.

There are some 55,000 people in Oklahoma, who are in Federal employment, and almost 21,000, or 40 percent of those are people who are paid under the wage board system, and I am conforted, as I know they are, by these excellent statements that you, Mr. Chairman, and other members of this committee have made this morning.

Senator Hollings said quite properly the backbone of our economy is the blue-collar worker. He is the man in the middle, and often he is left out, and nowhere is that more true than in the blue-collar wage system of the Government for Federal employees.

I not only join in what was said here about the necessity of passing a bill, and passing it over the President's veto, if he should again veto this bill; but I say, let's not just pass over a veto a four-step bill. I say let's pass the best bill, this 10-step bill. [Applause.]

Mr. Chairman, this is the most satisfying appearance before this committee, or any other committee, I have ever had.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. [Applause.]

The CHAIRMAN. I hesitated to ask you to look around, but you received a standing ovation.

Senator HARRIS. I will wind up by saying again that we can just as easily pass over the President's veto on the best bill, the 10-step bill as any other, so I think that is what we ought to do, and if he vetoes it again, then we should have time to pass it again. [Applause.]

The CHAIRMAN. I would just like to say that I have met with spokesmen from Tinker all over the country. Wherever I make a speech, somebody shows up to represent this case.

Senator Randolph, did you want to say hello this morning to this galaxie of the faithful and the loyal and the helpful?

Senator RANDOLPH. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. [Applause.]

The CHAIRMAN. The first nonhouse witness is John Griner, president of AFGE. [Applause.]

COMMENDATION OF THE WITNESS

I might say while they are taking their positions, that I can never testify that John Griner ever goes to bed at night.

I have had calls from him through the night. He is on my doorstep when I get here the first thing in the morning.

There has never been anyone who I have known that has birddogged needed legislation as faithfully and as skillfully and in such depth as John Griner. [Applause.]

Senator FONG. I want to reiterate what the chairman has just said about John Griner.

John has been a great leader for you. He has dogged my step at every turn, everytime there was something that was coming up, he would come to my office, and he has really worked hard.

He should be congratulated for the hard work he has done, and you should be congratulated for having chosen a very fine leader. [Applause.]

STATEMENT OF JOHN F. GRINER, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES; ACCOMPANIED BY STEPHEN KOCZAK, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH; CLYDE M. WEBBER, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT; CARL K. SADLER, LEGISLA TIVE REPRESENTATIVE

Mr. GRINER. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, first, I would like to express my appreciation for the interest shown by the different members of this committee in this legislation that is before

As of today, all of this is done by administrative fiat, or by regulation that can be changed at the whim of management, and is at the present time being interpreted in accordance with management's viewpoint.

I say to you, gentlemen, that the need for basic legislation for these employees, is becoming greater and greater with each passing day.

In fact, we are being faced with a grave situation. Militancy among this group of employees is on the increase. All they are asking for is justice and equity. I say to you, they are not getting justice and equity. [Applause.]

I must, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee-I am not going into all of the details of the different facets of the bill, which I went into last year.

I am attaching a copy of my statement of last year, which was given on July 29, to the Congress, which did go into detail with each and every item that was contained in the bill that is now before us.

Chairman McGEE. That will be made a part of the record, John.1 Mr. GRINER. What I hope to do this morning, Mr. Chairman, is to show that some of the statements made by the President are not in fact true, that these people are not getting their justice, and from time to time, I shall refer to this statement of July 29, 1970, in order to emphasize the point.

This morning I shall discuss the way in which the wage or the wage graded employees are arrived at. It is very complicated.

Had we not been on the Wage Committee, I would assure you we would not be in a position to give this discussion.

These employees are being deprived of not only their proper wages but of reasonable job security, for thousands have lost their jobs through private contractors and moon-lighting military personnel. The trend to contract out support work in the Federal service is on the increase.

I shall not attempt this morning to go into all the details that were used when I appeared before you during the last session of Congress to justify legislation for the wage grade and nonappropriated fund employees.

However, there are certain additional factors which I wish to discuss in detail. Briefly, I will also refer from time to time to certain items contained in my statement, in order that I may emphasize certain changes which have taken place since my last appearance before you.

OFFICIAL STATISTICS PROVE INEQUITY EXISTS

The Government's own statistics prove that the blue-collar employees fare much worse than white-collar employees both in job security and job pay.

Let's look first at the record of hiring and firing and job security, ported in the official statistics of the Civil Service Commission. July 1969, there were 745,735 blue-collar employees; and in 1970, there were only 674,250. In one fiscal year, a net total of blue-collar employees, or almost one in every 10, had been

ent of Mr. Griner to the Special Subcommittee on Exchanges and Commissaries se Armed Services Committee on July 29, 1970 on pp. 163–174.

legitimate employee grievances in the present National Wage Policy Committee indicates the urgent need for an objective, impartial chairman who does not automatically line up with Federal management representatives.

At present, the worker representatives on the National Wage Policy Committee see their efforts to achieve justice for their members under the present system go down to defeat by 6-5 votes time after time after time.

Let me remind you that Federal wage board workers and nonappropriated fund employees have no effective comprehensive Federal legislation establishing basic pay-setting procedures. The Coordinated Federal Wage System largely exists simply by executive decision and administrative action.

We believe a firm legislative foundation for the prevailing rate wage system is long overdue, and we urge prompt action on this pending legislation by the 92d Congress.

Mr. Chairman, I respectfully request that this letter be made part of the record of hearings by your committee on S. 231 and related wage board bills. Thank you.

Sincerely, Andrew J. Biemiller."

Now, Mr. Chairman and members of this committee, once again, I come before you, as I have on several occasions during the last 4 or 5 years, to ask equity and justice for almost 700,000 wage grade employees and for a measure of relief for the nonappropriated fund employees working in the Department of Defense and the Veterans' Administration.

You will recall that during the last session, the Congress enacted H.R. 17809. Unfortunately, the President vetoed the bill. His veto only continued or made more grave the inequity and injustice on those employees covered by this legislation.

You will recall that neither bill which was passed in the House or in the Senate gave full equity to the wage grade and non-appropriated fund employees. The bill which was sent to the President was a mere skeleton of the original legislation.

Under the conditions, as existed when this bill was sent to the President, we had no alternative other than to accept it, had the President signed the legislation.

This is a new day, a new Congress, and certainly every item as contained in the original bill introduced last year, and in certain bills introduced by Members of your august body this year, are justified and should be enacted into law.

You will note that in each and every item, we are only asking that the wage grade employees and non-appropriated fund employees be given the same rights and benefits to which the classified white collar worker is now entitled.

Again I want to point out to you that employees of the Federal Government working in wage grade positions and non-appropriated fund employees have been, and are at the present time, literally a group of men and women whom the law has forgotten.

Except for the Monroney Rider, which was enacted in the 90th Congress, there is probably no basic legislation for establishing the base pay, or the fringe and premium benefits for this group of employees.