FAQs Bill 180
Q: Who would get the $10,880 pay increase?
A: Every classified employee of the Government of Guam that doesn’t work for an autonomous agency.
Q: Why $10,880?
A: The last pay scale adjustment was in 1989, $10,880 reflects the amount that the lowest paid Public Servant (Pay Grade A, Step 1) has lost to inflation. People in higher pay grades like teachers, Accountants, Nurses, engineers etc have lost more.
Q: Will this be a final pay scale for Public Servants?
A: No, this is a minimum stop gap just to account for wages lost to inflation. There is currently a new Hay study underway which will reset all of the wages much higher eventually.
Q: Why don’t we wait until the next Hay study is done?
A: First we can’t wait. Public Servants have been told to wait for so long they can’t make ends meet. Second, This guarantees a minimum fair wage increase. Third, after the last couple of wage studies done we have seen that the results of the study may not reflect anything more than the marching orders given to the people doing the survey.
Q: Will we need to raise taxes to pay for this or is it an unfunded mandate?
A: No on both counts. The additional revenue will be generated by increasing the wages of private sector workers by a comparable amount via Bill 111. By forcing Large corporations to pay their employees a Living Wage the Public Structure saves millions in subsidies (EITC, GHURA housing, Food Stamps, MIP etc) and generates Millions of more dollars in tax revenues.
Q: Will this cause inflation?
A: No! History proves that the wages of workers on Guam has almost zero effect on our cost of living.
Q: Won’t businesses just use this as an excuse to raise their prices any way?
A: No. Business is competitive by nature, if a business can undercut another and still make a profit it will.
Q: Will this be “Anti-Business”?
A: No. In fact it’s just the opposite. When workers earn an extra dollar they spend it in our economy where it circulates ten times so our economy will grow and local businesses will prosper. Any additional cost that they may incur as a result of pay raises will be made up by the increased volume of business.