Reps. Kennedy and Frank Announce Step Forward on Pay Equity Issue for Area Federal Workers

Press Release

Reps. Kennedy and Frank Announce Step Forward on Pay Equity Issue for Area Federal Workers

The U.S. Congressmen representing Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island announced today that a key House committee has endorsed their call for the pay of blue collar federal workers in the Providence-Fall River area to be brought in line with the higher compensation that is paid for the same jobs in the Greater Boston area.

Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Barney Frank (D-MA) applauded the decision by the House Appropriations Committee to recommend, as part of the 2008 federal spending bill that includes funding for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), that the existing wage disparity be rectified, by joining the Providence-Fall River area with the Boston area for the purposes of calculating pay. The two Congressmen had urged the Appropriations Committee to address the problem in the 2008 bill (known as the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill), which was approved by the committee on Monday night. The committee report accompanying the bill includes language calling for the change, noting specifically that there is "no reason for the different treatment between the two categories of employees."

"I am pleased that we are moving in the right direction on this important pay equity issue," Congressman Frank said. "This action by the committee makes it clear that the current unfair situation affecting federal hourly wage workers in our area must be fixed. My colleagues and I will continue pushing for an end to this unfair disparity, and this provision will help us win that fight."

"It is time to end the discrimination that blue collar federal workers in this area have endured for too long. I'm confident we are finally making progress on behalf of hourly workers who labor just as hard for less pay. I was proud to work with my colleague Congressman Frank to secure appropriation language on this issue," said Congressman Kennedy.

The two lawmakers, along with Reps. James McGovern (D-MA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI), sponsored separate legislation earlier this year aimed at addressing this issue. The appropriations bill must still be approved by the full House and also make its way through the Senate. But, the inclusion of language calling for equitable treatment for area federal blue collar workers in the committee report represents a significant step toward fairer treatment for those area federal employees who are paid on an hourly basis.

Under current law, federal pay scales can be adjusted upward from the basic nationwide levels that apply to all federal workers to more accurately reflect the higher cost of living in various regions of the country. Salaried or "GS" federal workers in the Narragansett Bay Metropolitan Area, which includes Providence, Fall River and surrounding communities, are included in the Boston metropolitan area for the purpose of calculating their salaries. But, the wages of blue collar or "prevailing rate" federal employees from the same area are not combined with their Boston area colleagues when pay is calculated.

The report language adopted by the committee reads as follows:

The Committee urges OPM working with the appropriate authorizing committees, to consider changes in law to bring Federal prevailing rate employees currently working in the Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Wage Area within the coverage of the Boston, Massachusetts Wage Area. Currently, "white collar" Federal workers in Southeastern Mass and Rhode Island are included in the Boston, Massachusetts Wage Area, while "blue collar" workers are not. There is no reason for different treatment between the two categories of employees.

The Committee is aware of the vacancy at the Federal Prevailing Wage Advisory Committee at OPM. The Committee expects the OPM to report back to Congress within 90 days of enactment of this Act about the progress made on considering a wage change to the Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Wage Area, despite the vacancy at the Committee.

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