Recently, Governor Leon Guerrero approved a 22% increase in the General Pay Plan and has since introduced a bill into the Guam Legislature to implement this pay raise in the beginning of April. This pay raise is crucial to ensure that the foremost instrument of the people is able to function effectively on their behalf. Every service provided to the people of Guam by their government is ultimately delivered by the GovGuam workforce. Underpaying GovGuam workers is simply not an option if our community wants high quality public services. Substandard pay will yield substandard service. The wages of GovGuam workers are not fair and their families have suffered, as a result.
The Department of Administration has provided a persuasive presentation that demonstrates that salaries under the GovGuam are not competitive on a national basis. In fact, this is supported by a simple fact that since the General Pay Plan was last increased in 2014, the wages of the U.S. workforce rose 35% and even private sector wages in Guam, which I believe are generally too low, have risen 26% in those 9 years.
Pay equity within GovGuam has suffered, as well, as autonomous agencies have adopted pay raises and the Guam Legislature has provided more competitive pay to law enforcement, nurses and medical professionals, teachers, and attorneys at the Office of the Attorney General. By no means should these workers be deprived of fair wages. They deserve their pay and probably even more.
Since the last update to the General Pay Plan, the cost of living has reduced the purchasing power of its salaries by 26%. This has undermined the quality of life that a GovGuam workers’ household could expect from their government service. The wages and salaries offered by the private and public sector on Guam should be competitive and offer good quality of life for workers and their families.
We have seen that continuing to pay uncompetitive wages affects the ability of our government and private sector to attract and retain a quality workforce. Unfortunately, there are a few politicians who have already stated that they are against paying GovGuam workers competitively. Senator Chris Duenas even called it selfish for GovGuam workers to be given their pay raises. It seems to me that it is far more selfish for a politician to hold ordinary workers’ livelihoods hostage.
There is nothing selfish about GovGuam workers accepting a pay raise that gives them more competitive salaries for the work they do for the people of Guam. The raise is fully justified by the need for competitive wages to attract and retain workers. Furthermore, the need for a pay raise is shown by the significant rise in the cost of living since the last raise. Existing revenue sources are more than adequate to sustain these higher salaries.
The people of Guam should stand together for fair wages for our working people. Our working people are those we have to thank for where we are and where we will go together. They deserve a raise!
GuamMinimumWage.org 