The numbers were compiled from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) November 2008 Federal Employment Statistics database and the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment, 2007. They are also broken out by federal agencies. State and congressional district data can be found using the FEW Interactive map ( http://www.eyeonwashington.com/few_map_2008/). Previous years' maps are also available on the site.
"We are always asked by lawmakers and their staffs how many federal workers and retirees live and work in their state and district," said Cecelia Davis, FEW's Vice President for Congressional Relations. "Additionally, we are very pleased to be able to compile and include all relevant federal employment statistics this year which truly displays how many Americans are or were employed by the federal government," Davis added.
Nationwide, the federal government employs 1.929 million workers and 761,041 postal employees. There are also 1.845 million federal retirees living in the United States. "There is not one congressional district in the United States where no federal workers are employed or where no federal retirees currently live. Therefore, federal worker issues should be of interest and concern to all elected officials," Janet Kopenhaver, FEW's Washington Representative asserted.
"Whenever FEW members or our Washington Representative visit Hill offices," Davis explained, "We bring the respective summary sheets with us. They portray the large number of constituents in each district that care about the issues that FEW is working on."
Among FEW's top legislative goals for this year include the enactment of a Paid Parental Leave Act, repeal of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), and enactment of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Sick Leave Equity Act. The organization's members have already started contacting their legislators in writing about the importance of these legislative goals. "We hope that Members of Congress consider these employment totals as they decide whether to support the issues of these federally employed women," Kopenhaver advised.
FEW is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1968 after Executive Order 11375 was issued that added sex discrimination to the list of prohibited discrimination in the federal government. FEW has grown into a proactive organization serving more than one million federally employed women -- both in the military and civilian workforce.
