The Pentagon has yet to approve 2025 Federal Wage System rates for 87 wage areas after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disbanded its wage committee in March, leaving more than 60,000 employees without statutory adjustments, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. Officials have not said when or if retroactive pay will be issued.
According to the GAO report released on September 3, Edwards Air Force Base is likely to be hit the hardest because it lacks documented, measurable staffing targets for its approximately 1,500 Federal Wage System employees. Edwards lacks formal targets to assess recruitment and retention strategies, making it difficult 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 establish and monitor such goals.
In contrast, Tobyhanna Army Depot (approximately 3,000 FWS employees) and Norfolk Naval Shipyard (approximately 8,500 FWS employees) have set measurable goals, providing a clearer framework for monitoring progress and adjusting strategies. None of the three installations has released a separate public statement in response to the report.
The hardest hit skilled trades at these three sites:
- Aircraft mechanics and related trades:Â especially at Edwards AFB, where flight test and maintenance operations depend on specialized airframe, powerplant, and avionics technicians.
- Electronics mechanics and technicians:Â critical at Tobyhanna Army Depot for repairing and overhauling communications, radar, and control systems.
- Shipfitters, welders, and marine machinery mechanics:Â 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 effectively imposed a pay freeze on this segment of the federal workforce, and they’ve done so administratively and in violation of the continuing resolution and 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 such payments will be made. Without a formal commitment, employees and unions are unsure when and how any adjustment will be implemented.
There is no contingency plan in place in the event that the wage committee is unable to reconvene promptly. The committee is the only body authorized to approve local FWS rates, and its absence continues to halt pay increases for tens of thousands of employees. The department has not announced an alternative process to meet its statutory prevailing-rate obligations in case of further delay.
It is unclear if the department sought or received legal guidance on whether the pay-raise delay complies with appropriations law or the current continuing resolution in case no budget is reached by September 30. Although the AFGE has publicly argued that the delay constitutes an illegal administrative pay freeze, the DoD has not issued any legal analysis or opinion on the matter.
The DoD has also stated that the delay is temporary and related to the process of reconstituting the committee, but has not provided a date for when it will meet or when employees will see an increase in their pay. Until those questions are answered, the department will face not only a compliance gap, but also growing dissatisfaction among the skilled trades workforce that it claims is essential to readiness.
