Wishing you and yours a safe, happy, and healthy Independence Day! Enjoy your long weekend!
This week, PMA's National Board of Directors met to plan our year, update our bylaws, and approve our operating budget. In prior years, PMA's board elections were held in December with new directors beginning their terms in January. Going forward, PMA will hold elections in May so that new directors can attend our annual meeting each June. This change allows the Board to overlap outgoing and incoming directors so we can ensure continuity - terms will end on June 30th and new directors will be seated on July 1st. This aligns with our fiscal year and simplifies our annual reporting and tax filings. We are excited to host an election at a time of the year when more of our members can participate, rather than during the holiday season. To accommodate this change, our current board terms were extended by six months. Be sure to keep an eye out next spring for our next election.
Don't miss our FEDforum piece in FEDmanager. FEDmanager is published by our legal partner Shaw Bransford & Roth and provides an opportunity for workers across the government to learn a little bit more about the challenges we face as IRS leaders.
We shared our concerns about the draft FY22 budget with you last week and made a public statement on Monday. On Wednesday, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins released her FY22 Objectives Report. The report is generating a lot of discussion in Washington about the IRS, its current burdens, and its future. Our members are probably not surprised to read that our agency is struggling to accomplish its mission. We are underfunded, understaffed, and the pandemic increased our workload exponentially. While we are feeling more confident that help is on the way, it's also true that we have difficulty filling vacancies timely. The IRS workforce decline by nearly a quarter since 2010 and almost a third of the workforce could separate or retire in the next year.
Be sure to take a look at our blog for a few upcoming events. We hope you can all attend WAEPA's presentation on July 20th at 3PM Eastern - click here to register for this free event. We encourage you to attend using a personal device for the best experience.
Workforce issues aren't limited to the IRS. The Federal government is struggling to recruit and retain young people. Workers under 30 years old represent only 7% of the Federal workforce - at the same time, more than 20% of the American workforce is under 30. The hiring process is very challenging for external candidates and our hiring timelines take far too long. Many entry-level Federal jobs aren't competitive on pay - for example, a new IRS phone assister in DC will earn less than $4/hour over minimum wage. Couple that with a mandatory FERS contribution and student debt and it's no wonder young people aren't coming into the government. We will continue to work with the Administration to enhance the Civil Service's recruitment and retention efforts.
To their credit, some Members of Congress are pushing for a more generous pay increase for Federal workers in FY22. We are grateful to longtime friend of PMA, Representative Gerry Connolly (VA-11), for his efforts advocating a 3.2% pay increase (2.2% across the board, 1% locality) for our members in the next budget year. At this time, a 2.7% increase is expected. We will keep you updated as we join Rep. Connolly in pressing for a more appropriate increase.
