Evening star., 1922-01-07
BATTLE TO retain
j. s. CLERK BONUS
STARTEDBY UNION
Membership Drive to Cover
Country Opens Monday
as First Step.
LOSS OF $40 A MONTp
FEARED BY EMPLO1|
They Believe Payments Should Be
Made Until Classification Be-
comes Effective. O

To prevent a reduction of $50 a
month in government salaries through
the loss of the bonus while Congress
is considering reclassification meas
, ures, the National Federation of Fed
eral Employees today launched a cam
paisn.
The first step is huge membership
drive throughout the country to Sc
I, cure new members for the 252 locals
or the federation. among which will
De Federal Employees Union, No ..
of this city. The campaign here and
through the states begins Monday
II some provision is not made for
the continuance of the bonus granted
employees for another year, or at least
| until reclassification. such as that
| provided for in the Lehibach bill re-
| Gently passed. it is said that every
government worker now receiving
the bonus will lose il, in effect get
! ting $50 cut in salary per month.
Hope to Convince Congress.
/ The membership drive was said at
! national headquarters of the fedora
| tion to be the first move to convince
Congress "of the injustice and in
! advisability from every viewpoint of
reducing pay which the House. by a
! vote of 244 to IS on the Lehlbach bill,
| is proposing to readjust upon scien-
| tific basis. doing away with the clumsy
| expedient of a so-cailed bonus here
! after
! The bonus may be clumsy but it
i helps pay bills. according to officials
i of the federation. and the employees
want il until they get a proper re-
classification.
| The whole matter was brought up
! this week. when Chairman Madden of
the House appropriations committee
| reported the first of this years ap-
preparation bills. In statement is
sued today the federation declared, in
| part:
! Chairman Madden expressed no dis
! approval of the continuance of the
s240 bonus pending reclassification.
I and he was one of the special advo-
Gates of reclassification recently when
| the Lehlbach bill was on its passa ge
| through the House. But unless the
| House makes special provision at this
| session the 'boSus.' q year-to-year af-
! fair, will fail before eciassification
] becomes effective.
temporary measure.
| THE so-calIed bonus Of s240 a year
was granted by Congress three years
| ago at the solicitation of the National
Federation of Federal Employees The
! organization announced at the time
it regarded this as temporary meas
! ure, to meet an acute need until an
adequate reclassification and uniform
employment policy could be estab-
! lished
+! proceeding at once to agitate for
Justification. tine federation OBJ
tained from Congress, first, the es-
tablishment of a congressional joint
,reclassification commission, whose
investigations and findings have re-
classification bills. These bills define
seven governmental services, ranging
from the professional occupations to
unskilled labor, and they fix rates for
each. with rules for alloca ton and
promotion on a strictly merit basis.
The National Federation of Federal
Employees is working for these bills
as it's principal goal for the present.
Chairman Maddens attitude sug
gests that he would not be averse to
recommending measure separate
from the appropriation bills, provid-
ing for the s240 bonus for the in
Federation of Federal Employees will
work for. and to that end is strength
enine it's lines and building up its
forces all over the country