Evening star., 1962-01-11
Federal Workers Side

For the record, "as one
crying in the wilderness" let
a word in Justices name be
said for the civil service
worker, much maligned by
two correspondents in your
issue of January 7.
When the press published
news of a proposed salary
raise, the Federal worker of
rank and file was greatly sur
prised and skeptical, and still
is. Truly there is no agita-
ton for higher pay in the
average grades; by and large
we are satisfied. AS you
should know, classifieds are
not unionized to any extent,
and that is the reason the
postal workers always carry
the ball for us. Clamor for
more pay has been inStigat-
ed by the loftier echelons,
hence it is somewhat unjust
for the two correspondents
to criticize Federal workers
en- maSse.
Does the average person
outside the Government real
ize any of the handicaps or
drawbacks suffered in silence
by the public servants whom
he castigates without COM
plete knowledge whereof he
speaks? For instance, does he
know that to attend his own
mothers funeral it means
deducting that much time
from his vacation and that
the civil servant accepts this
condition uncomplainingly?
Does he know that at the
present time countless num-
bers of employees with many
years of creditable service
are being reduced in grade
drastically or thrown out of
employment entirely through
reduction in = force? And
through no fault of their
own? Elderly workers are be-
ing urged, prodded and even
coerced to resign or retire
even when they have but a
few more years to complete
service coverage.
Correspondents, be in
formed that your civil serv-
ants are giving you full value
plus for your and their tax
dollars. Please bear in mind
that we are taxpayers, too,
and who wants to cheat one
self?
John T. Burke.
\ \ 4
Writers of vindictive letters
about Government pay either
have never worked in the
Federal Government or are
not we'll informed about Gov
ernment policy for its en-
ployes.
When an employe reaches
the top of his grade, he re-
ceives no further raises un-
til he has been in that grade
10 years and at the top of
the grade 8 years. After that
he receives only 3 longevity
step raises-one every third
year. That is why there is
a scramble for higher grades.
The statement that Civil
Service people never get laid
off is entirely erroneous.
After World War II, thou
sands upon thousands of
civil service employees were
not only laid off (riffeO
but were down-graded as,
much as 3 and 4 grades. This
amounted to cuts in salary of
from $500 to $4,000 per year.
I know this to be a fact for
I was caught in each at diff
ferent times when employed
by the General Accounting
Office. Some of the en-
ployeS have never regained
their former grades. This
is something industry could
not do, for the labor unions
would never tolerate such
practices.
Government unions are not
allowed to strike against the
Federal Government as the
CIO and AF'L can do against
industrial plants, and, there
fore, they cannot be as eff
fective in helping civil serv-
ice employees as the industrial
unions are in helping their
members.
Civil service employees are
not leeches or grahby folks,
asking what their country
can do for them" Rather,
they are hard-working indi-
viduals trying to build up
sizable incomes comparable
to those of industry so that
they will have livable retire
ment annuities when they
reach retirement age.
Government Retiree.
The Marine colonel" who
complained so vehemently in
a letter about the compari-
son of those in civil service
to those in military service
picked such atypical exam
pies to Justify his particular