Cool response on LI to federal salary freeze

As the Long Island economy continues to struggle to recover from the recession, the announcement Monday that President Barack Obama is proposing to freeze federal workers' salaries wasn't what a local economist wanted to hear.

"While the concept is not bad, I think the timing would be somewhat problematic," said Gary Huth, the State Labor Department's principal economist for Long Island.

For one thing, federal workers, who total 18,054 on Long Island, are some of the Island's better-paid workers. Their salaries averaged $63,767 last year, compared with an average of $50,909 for all workers.

At a time when the federal jobs picture is worsening, signs exist that the private sector is mending. Although the wage picture so far this year is mixed among the 2,200 clients of Advantage Payroll Services in Freeport, for example, it is better than last year. "We haven't seen those cuts that we did the previous year," said Rob Basso, the company's president.

He said that last year managers at some companies had their wages cut as much as 20 percent. But this year he has heard of more wage increases, albeit of 2 percent or less, and fewer wage freezes.

A recent survey by Mercer, a Manhattan human-resources services company, found that more than 98 percent of private-sector companies nationwide plan to award pay increases in 2011. And just 2 percent plan salary freezes next year, compared with 13 percent this year and 31 percent in 2009.

Jon Adler, president of Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, which represents 25,000 federal agents in various federal government agencies, referred to the role those agents play in the war on terror and said of the pay freeze: "It is disheartening. . . . I equate this with taking away the pads of your goalkeeper during a hockey game."

The wage freeze wasn't popular with Long Islanders questioned by Newsday, most of whom thought it would further weaken the economy.

Tom Rizzo of Farmingdale, a superintendent for a construction company, said, "I think it's a bad idea. Everybody is on hard times as it is. Now you want to freeze more wages? The rich get richer and we stay the same. We keep paying more and more taxes. It doesn't seem like anything is getting any better."

Andrew Whitmire of Amityville, who retired from an oil company, said "it's a bad idea because of the way the economy is today. The cost of living is going up."

But Lane Moss of Plainview, who owns his own window-treatment business, said, "I think it's necessary because the government needs money."

With Robert Kessler