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Tens of thousands of federal employees are still waiting for their 2025 pay increase after the Defense Department suspended operations of its advisory committees earlier this year.
Typically, blue-collar workers hired under the Federal Wage System receive wage adjustments based on survey data reviewed and approved by the Department of Defense Wage Committee. The panel consists of three agency officials and two union leaders and implements wage updates across 248 local wage areas.
In March, however, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed a 45-day pause across all Defense advisory committees, followed by a full dismissal of panel members and a call for new nominations. The Pentagon stated the review was necessary to ensure advisory work aligned with “pressing strategic priorities.”
The directive has disrupted the pay process for about 60,000 workers across 87 wage areas. With the committee inactive, no votes can take place to finalize 2025 pay updates.
“They’ve essentially imposed a pay freeze on this segment of the federal workforce, and they’ve done it administratively and in contravention of what is in the continuing resolution and in appropriations law,” said Jacque Simon, public policy director at the American Federation of Government Employees.
Skilled workers across agencies impacted
Although the wage panel resides within the Defense Department, its decisions apply government-wide. Office of Personnel Management data show that more than 30% of the 170,000 blue-collar federal workers operate outside of the Pentagon or military branches. This includes 33,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs and nearly 5,000 within the National Park Service.
In response to criticism, a Defense official acknowledged the issue. “We paused the committee as part of the Department’s directive to relook all committees,” the statement said. “We are currently going through the process of getting our slate of members and the charter approved so we can recommence the committee and the work they do. The committee is required by statute and a necessary item to approve all the federal wage employees’ salaries.”
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Very scarce skills
Ron Sanders, a fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration and former chair of the Federal Salary Council, warned that the delay could have longer-term effects.
“This isn’t the Ford Motor Company or GM. These are skilled blue-collar workers,” Sanders said. “The best example I can think of is that these are the people who do the welding and pipe fitting around nuclear reactors for naval propulsion systems. That’s a very scarce skill, and people ought to be worried about what DOD’s strategic workforce plan is for those people.”
He added: “If it’s a gimmick to reap some additional savings and that pay raise eventually goes into effect, I’d lose less sleep than if this was a more permanent freeze, which could cause DOD to continue to hemorrhage blue-collar workers.”
