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During the 1974-75 recession the 68 federal job information centers were

inundated with job information calls. For example, the Civil Service Commission head office received about cne call every 23 seconds, or over 1300 inquiries

per day without the benefit of any advertising.

Although it is a factor not capable of measurement, job security is an
Government workers enjoy peace of

attractive feature of federal employment.

mind knowing that their employer will not go bankrupt, that they cannot easily be dismissed and that the likelihood of becoming unemployed is remote.

Because of competitive conditions, job security is less, generally, in the private sector. This is especially the case in blue collar work affected by seasonality and the business cycle, resulting in significantly lower annual rates of pay than weekly and hourly pay rates would indicate.

Comparability Survey Should Have Universal Coverage

The federal pay comparability survey is more exclusive than inclusive. Only about one-fourth of non-federal workers are included in the survey on a regular basis. This means that 75 percent of all workers are systematically excluded from the comparability survey.

Among those excluded from the sample are: those most similar to federal employees, that is, employees of state and local governments; smaller firms; and certain industries such as agriculture, forestry and fishing which are known to have generally lower levels of pay.

The exclusion of smaller firms is significant on two separate counts: (1) It results in the vast majority of firms being excluded. In the while collar survey over 98 percent of the firms in each category are excluded as a result of minimum size criteria (see Table 3).

(2) The pay scale in smaller firms is lower than it is in larger firms. The average pay in 1975 for firms with less than 50 employees was about $158.54

per week compared to $193.06 for those over 50, or a differential of almost 22

1/ Separate data for wholesale and retail trade not available.
We therefore used the 100 employee criterion which overstates
coverage.

Source:

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and
Wages First Quarter 1975, 1976.

Summary and Conclusion

It is our considered judgment that significant changes must be made in

the federal pay setting mechanism:

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survey.

Changes we recommend are:

(1) Inclusion of fringe benefits as a part of the comparability

(2) Inclusion of a differential that recognizes the more secure job situation for federal employees vis-a-vis those in the private sector. (3) Universal coverage in the job sampling procedure.

(4) Changes in federal pay which would achieve comparability to total compensation (not just pay) to that in the private sector and also in state and

local government.

Hopefully, the entire federal comparability pay system for both white and blue collar workers will be reviewed and inequities for both workers and taxpayers removed.

[Whereupon, at 12 noon, the committee recessed, to reconvene at 10 a.m., Thursday, April 13, 1978.]

CIVIL SERVICE REFORM ACT OF 1978 AND
REORGANIZATION PLAN NO. 2 OF 1978

THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1978

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS,
Washington, D.C.

The committee met at 10 a.m., pursuant to recess, in room 3302, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. James R. Sasser presiding. Present: Senators Sasser, Percy and Heinz.

Staff members present: Richard A. Wegman, chief counsel and staff director; Paul Hoff, counsel; Claudia T. Ingram, professional staff member; Claude E. Barfield, professional staff member; Paul C. Rosenthal, counsel; and Ken Ackerman, counsel to the minority. Senator SASSER. The committee will come to order this morning. Our first witness is Mr. Gene Raymond, executive director of the National Federation of Employees.

TESTIMONY OF GENE RAYMOND, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, ACCOMPANIED BY ERVIN GELLER, GENERAL COUNSEL, AND TOM TRABUCCO, LEGISLATIVE ASSISTANT

Senator SASSER. Good morning. We want to welcome you this morning before the committee, and look forward to your testimony, and if you would kindly introduce your colleague.

Mr. RAYMOND. Thank you.

On my immediate right is Mr. Irving Geller, general counsel for the federation, and to his right is Mr. Tom Trabucco, legislative assistant.

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I am pleased to appear before you today. The NFFE is the largest and oldest of the independent unions representing Federal employees. The extraordinary bill before the committee, the so-called Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, is a matter of utmost importance not only to the Federal employee, but also to the American people.

It will, if enacted, drastically alter the structure of government and is one of the most important proposals to come before the Congress since the McCarthy era.

This legislation foreshadows a giant witch hunt of Federal employees. Ďue process and the employee's right to a hearing are destroyed. The diminution of the rights of one segment of the population is a diminution of the rights of the entire body politic. This proposal, therefore, constitutes not only a clear denial of due process to the Federal employee but also represents a threat to the American people as a whole.