Trump’s ill-conceived plan to block pay raises for federal workers would hit KC hard
President Donald Trump said Friday he would take a “good, hard look” at his decision to eliminate planned pay raises for most federal civilian employees, including thousands in the Kansas City region.
That’s good news, likely prompted by howls from Republican legislators who represent federal workers. If the president thinks hard enough, we’re confident he’ll agree his pay freeze is churlish and unnecessary, and rescind it.
If not, members of Congress from our area should take the lead in overturning the freeze without his help. There are signs some are prepared to do so.
It’s easy to think of federal workers as faceless bureaucrats. They’re not.
They’re your neighbors. There are more than 38,000 federal workers in the Kansas City region, according to the local Federal Executive Board, making the government by far the biggest local employer. In practical terms, a wage freeze for a workforce of that size would dent Kansas City’s overall economy, and it should be overturned on that basis alone.
But the impact of the federal workforce can’t be fully explained by raw numbers. There are Department of Agriculture workers in Kansas City who help keep the food supply safe and affordable. Environmental Protection Agency employees help maintain clean air and water.
Local workers with the Social Security Administration make sure checks are delivered to the seniors who earned them. The Federal Aviation Administration has an office here — the agency is working on the new airport terminal. The Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services employ hundreds in the Kansas City region.
More? The Internal Revenue Service, the General Services Administration, the Justice Department, the National Weather Service and more than 100 other federal agencies employ Kansas City workers.
It is not an exaggeration to suggest the lives of every person in the Kansas City area intersect with federal employees on a regular basis. These are the people the president has insulted by implying they’re somehow unworthy of modestly higher salaries.
The pain locally could be even worse. Kansas City-area federal workers are entitled to a pay bump over base federal salaries because it’s more expensive to live here, a concept known as “locality pay.” Trump froze that, too.
Like all organizations, the federal workforce includes some inferior performers. But rejecting a modest 2.1 percent pay raise for all federal civilian workers will likely increase the number of underachieving employees by giving high-performing workers a clear incentive to leave for the private sector.
Remember, federal employees have had to endure unpaid furloughs, job uncertainty and job losses over the past decade, including under President Barack Obama. Now, when the economy is near full employment, they deserve pay increases they have earned.
There are signs local members of Congress understand this. On Friday, Rep. Kevin Yoder told us he will oppose the pay freeze and work as a member of the House Appropriations Committee to reinstate the pay hikes. “We shouldn’t be shortchanging federal employees,” he said in a tweet.
It’s a welcome, rare sign of Yoder’s independence from Trump. If needed, senators including Roy Blunt, Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts must join his effort if the president leaves the pay freeze in place.
Trump has often talked about his support for American workers, but his pay-freeze decision shows his true colors: From farmers to nail fabricators to Harley-Davidson factory workers to federal employees, Trump is no friend of the working man or woman.
That’s something to remember this Labor Day.
This story was originally published August 31, 2018 at 4:09 PM.