FMA writes a monthly column, "Hear it from FMA," published on FEDmanager.com. This month's article, published on November 8, 2022, looks at efforts to prevent a future return of Schedule F.

As Congress prepares to come back for the ‘lame duck’ portion of the 117th Congress, FMA urges swift action to protect the civil service for years to come: Passing a legislative block for a future return of Schedule F – or any plan like Schedule F.

A short primer: In October 2020, the Trump Administration created Schedule F for the excepted service via an executive order. Schedule F was a new category of federal positions, ostensibly to expedite the hiring and removal of employees “in confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating positions.” FMA staunchly opposed the E.O. as a harmful assault on the non-partisan civil service, and we celebrated when President Biden revoked the E.O. that created it two days after his inauguration in January 2021. However, right now, there is nothing to prevent any future administration – Democratic or Republican – from bringing it back via another E.O. That is why, with less than two months remaining in the current session of Congress, we continue to call on Congress to protect the merit system, due process, and federal managers, and prevent a return to the patronage spoils system.

FMA contributes to a quarterly column, "FEDforum," published on FEDmanager.com. This quarter's article, published on November 1, 2022, responds to the prompt, "better late than never."

When prompted by the phrase “better late than never,” there is a lot to choose from in regard to the federal workforce. An evergreen topic is funding for federal agencies. Full funding of Fiscal Year 2022 came nearly six months into the year, and we’re staring down that road yet again for FY2023. Federal managers will certainly say “better late than never,” whenever appropriations are completed, but that doesn’t mean it is not maddeningly frustrating to see the negative effects of these delays year after year.

That said, the Federal Managers Association (FMA) would like to spotlight a win for all Department of Defense (DOD) civilian and uniformed military travelers that came in 2018. It took a lot of work and was long overdue, but the win was a textbook example at FMA of “better late than never.”

FMA writes a monthly column, "Hear it from FMA," published on FEDmanager.com. This month's article, published on October 11, 2022, looks at how salary compression impacts retention of federal managers and celebrates Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) for her leadership on the issue.

President Joseph Biden took formal steps at the end of August to advance his proposed 4.6 percent pay raise for federal employees in 2023. Although FMA preferred and advocated for the 5.1 percent raise called for by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), we support the 4.6 percent raise, which marks the largest increase in twenty years.

At the same time, due to the pay cap, we are concerned about salary compression affecting an increasing number of feds -- a very real issue that will only get worse if no action is taken.

FMA contributes to a quarterly "FED Forum" on FedManager.com, responding to different questions and prompts. The prompt for the latest Fed Forum is "Team Morale." We thought we'd consult Ron Gryga, recently awarded as FMA Manager of the Year, and other recent winners of the prestigious award for their wisdom on team morale. Please read on to learn more.