. or to be effected during fiscal year 1957. Except for these seven localities, increases have been approved in GSA conditional upon receiving an apporpriation adequate or paying for them. The employees affected will receive the increased amounts retroactively when such an appropriation is made. This supplemental request covers estimated increases during the entire year so that once the appropriation is made, it will no longer be necessary to withhold increases effected before June 30, 1957. The appropriation language includes a proviso which would make immediately available the amount for increases effected through December 2, 1956. The remainder would be initially apportioned as a reserve to be released for obligation from time to time as ĠSA demonstrates amounts for subsequent increases. This provision is similar in wording and the date of December 2, 1956, to that included in the budget for the operating expenses, PBS item for 1958. The amount of $640,000 is the $1,220,000 less $580,000 for increases actually effected through December 2, 1956. (See exhibit A which follows.) JUSTIFICATION The estimated cost of wage board rate increases to be effected during 1957 is based on actual experience during the 11 months of 1956 that locality prevailing wage rates were utilized by GSA. The increased cost was 5.31 percent for 11 months which computes to 5.79 percent for 12 months as follows: Cost of wage board employment for 1956 at increased rates---. Cost of increases at rates in effect Aug. 27, 1955. Plus 11 to convert to 12 months.. Ratio computed for 12-month period---. $50, 858, 569 -2, 565, 685 48, 292, 884 -percent__ 5. 31 . 48 5. 79 _do__. __do_ As increases during 1957 will be effected from time to time during the year, the cost for 1957 is estimated at half of the full year rate of 5.79 percent, or 2.9 percent of cost of wage-board employment at rates in effect July 1, 1956, as follows: Gross cost of ungraded positions: Add: $5,440 or above.. Less than $5, 440__ Total___ Less lapse (66.5 percent of $1,487,927 1) _ . Net effective permanent wage-board employment.__. Temporary employment... Overtime and holiday pay. Nightwork differential Total cost of wage-board employment (July 1, 1956 rates) - Wage-board employment financed by OE, PBS (81.28 per- Estimated cost in 1957 of increases during 1957, 2.9 percent. 1 Amounts as shown in 1957 column of pp. 81-82 appendix to 1958 budget. Attached is a schedule of increases actually effected from July 1, 1956, through April 7, 1957, and a projection for the rest of the year to a total of $1,233,173 which is rounded down to $1,220,000 for this estimate. Mr. THOMAS. This proposed supplemental is to pay wage-board pay increases during the fiscal year 1957 to certain employees of the General Services Administration. That is what it is, isn't it? Mr. MEDLEY. Yes, sir. Mr. THOMAS. What about it? Mr. MEDLEY. Mr. Chairman, as the committee knows, Public Law 763 of the 83d Congress shifted certain employees previously in the custodial and crafts grades to wage-board rates prevailing in local areas, and established procedures whereby agencies with employees in those categories would pay on the basis of local prevailing rates. Mr. THOMAS. I have spent considerable time interpreting that law, trying to figure out who is who, where the Civil Service Commission comes in, and where the agency comes in. Would you detail the method of procedure here. How long has the act been in effect? Mr. SCHMIDT. The act was approved September 1, 1954. The conversion of the custodial and crafts employees from the Classification Act to wage board was made on August 28, 1955. Mr. THOMAS. Before the act was passed, what was the procedure, and how were the wage increases of the blue-collar people handled? Mr. SCHMIDT. All of the salaries of the custodial and crafts plus the protective employees used in the building operations were fixed under the Classification Act under the CPC schedule, a horizontal wage that applied across the country. Mr. THOMAS. Go ahead. Mr. SCHMIDT. For example, the same salary was paid for a laborer working in Washington, D. C., as for a laborer working in Chicago or New York, in the higher wage areas. Mr. THOMAS. What did the act of 1954 do? Mr. SCHMIDT. The act first of all abolished the CPC schedule. Second, it transferred to the general schedule under the Classification Act the protective employees, the guards and fire fighters, and transferred to wage board all of the custodial and crafts employees, including related laborer positions. Mr. THOMAS. Do the guards and fire fighters have a separate classification? Mr. SCHMIDT. They are now paid under the general schedule of the Classification Act. They were transferred from the CPC schedule to the general schedule under the Classification Act. Mr. THOMAS. In other words, they are not governed by the new act? Mr. SCHMIDT. No, sir; they are not governed by the local wagefixing procedure. They are governed by the fixed salaries under the Classification Act. NUMBER OF WAGE-BOARD EMPLOYEES IN GSA Mr. THOMAS. How many people in the General Services Administration are affected? Mr. SCHMIDT. We have a total of about 15,000 employees under the wage board. The total under the "Operating expense" appropriation for the Public Buildings Service is 11,400. Mr. THOMAS. 11,400 employees? Mr. SCHMIDT. Yes, sir; under "Operating expenses" for the Public Buildings Service. Mr. THOMAS. What about the "Buildings management fund?" Mr. SCHMIDT. The total under the "Building management fund" is about 14,000, and the difference between that and the 11,400 is covered by reimbursable services paid from other appropriations. Mr. THOMAS. As far as we are concerned, here, excluding reimbursables, you have about 11,400? Mr. SCHMIDT. That is right, sir. Mr. THOMAS. At this point in the record, detail the number of employees involved and the amount of increases since the act up to April 1. NUMBER OF WAGE INCREASES BY AREAS AND REGIONS How many increases have they had? Mr. SCHMIDT. Well, they have varied. Mr. Suskin, can you furnish information on that? Mr. SUSKIN. Their rates are reviewed annually since we converted in August of 1955, most localities have received at least one wage increase and many have received a second. Mr. THOMAS. Under the law, you must review the wage scales annually. Is that mandatory? Mr. SUSKIN. It is an administrative determination, sir. Mr. THOMAS. It is administrative? Mr. SUSKIN. Yes, sir. Mr. THOMAS. How many raises have you given each one of your districts? Put that in the record. had since the act has been in effect. had? How many raises has region 3 Mr. SUSKIN. Two for region 3, sir. That would be the Washington, D. C., area itself. There are several labor-market areas in region 3, and there are quite a number of labor-market areas in region 1. Mr. THOMAS. How many regions do you have? Mr. SUSKIN. Ten. Mr. THOMAS. Will you do the table by regions and show the number of increases they have had and the dollar increase, the amount? Mr. SUSKIN. Yes, sir. Mr. DORSEY. Do you want that by regions or localities? Within. each region there may be several different schedules, some of which may have gotten 2 increases, while other localities may have gotten only 1 increase within the region. Mr. THOMAS. It is on a locality basis rather than a regional basis? Mr. DORSEY. Yes, sir. Mr. THOMAS. What is the area? Mr. SUSKIN. We refer to them as labor-market areas. Any area from which we recruit workers, and in which employees can transfer from one employment to another, is considered a labor market area, and the wages may change from one labor market area to another. For example, in region 1, the localities up near the Canadian border might have lower wage rates prevailing as compared to the wages in Boston. Therefore, we cannot treat the entire region as a whole. Mr. THOMAS. I believe you had better break it down by regions, and show the amount of increase in any part of that region, the total and what it has cost, if you will, please. Mr. SUSKIN. We will be glad to do that, sir. (The matter referred to is as follows:) |