The Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS New Hampshire (SSN 778) arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Sept. 3, 2025 for a Depot Modernization Period (DMP). (Photo by Shelby West Norfolk Naval Shipyard) The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Image: DoD
By: FEDweek StaffThe Pentagon has yet to approve 2025 Federal Wage System rates for 87 wage areas after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dissolved its wage committee in March, leaving more than 60,000 employees without their statutory adjustment, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. Officials have not said when—or if—retroactive pay will be issued.
According to the Sept. 3 GAO report, Edwards Air Force Base is likely to be hardest hit because it has no documented, measurable staffing targets for its roughly 1,500 Federal Wage System employees. Without those targets, Edwards lacks a formal yardstick to assess whether recruitment and retention strategies are working, making it harder to manage skilled‑trades staffing needs or gauge the impact of incentives. The GAO recommended that the Secretary of the Air Force require the base to set and track such goals.
By contrast, Tobyhanna Army Depot (about 3,000 FWS employees) and Norfolk Naval Shipyard (about 8,500 FWS employees) have established measurable targets, giving them a clearer framework to monitor progress and adjust strategies. None of the three installations has issued a separate public statement in response to the report.
The hardest hit skilled trades at these three sites:
- Aircraft mechanics and related trades: especially at Edwards AFB, where flight test and maintenance operations depend on specialized airframe, powerplant, and avionics technicians.
- Electronics mechanics and technicians: critical at Tobyhanna Army Depot for repairing and overhauling communications, radar, and control systems.
- Shipfitters, welders, and marine machinery mechanics: essential at Norfolk Naval Shipyard for submarine and surface ship maintenance and overhaul.
- Industrial equipment mechanics and machinists: needed across all three sites to fabricate, repair, and maintain mission‑critical components.
“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.
The DoD has not confirmed whether the more than 60,000 affected FWS employees will receive retroactive pay once 2025 rates are approved, or when any such payments would be issued. Without a formal commitment, employees and unions remain uncertain about the timing and method of any adjustment.
No contingency plan has been announced should the wage committee be unable to reconvene promptly. The committee is the sole mechanism authorized to approve local FWS rates, and its absence continues to halt pay adjustments for tens of thousands of workers. No alternative process has been announced to meet the department’s statutory prevailing‑rate obligations in the event of further delay.
It is likewise unclear whether the department has sought or received legal guidance on whether the pay‑raise delay complies with appropriations law or the current continuing resolution should no budget be reached by midnight September 30. Although the AFGE has publicly argued that the delay constitutes an unlawful administrative pay freeze, the DoD has not released any legal analysis or opinion addressing that claim.
The DoD has also said the delay is temporary and tied to the process of reconstituting the committee, but has not provided a date for when it will meet or when employees will see the increase in their paychecks. Until those questions are answered, the department faces not only a compliance gap but also growing frustration among the skilled trades workforce it says is critical to readiness.
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