Special pay rate approved for 908th aircraft maintainers

Published July 17, 2009
By Lt. Col. Jerry Lobb
908th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Celebrations broke out on July 1 in the buildings occupied by the full time staff of the 908th Maintenance Group at Maxwell, as word spread that special pay rates have been approved for the Reserve unit's Wage Grade pay scale employees.

The unit's Wage Grade employees are Air Reserve Technicians with a civilian condition of employment to also maintain Reserve membership in the unit. The fulltime, civilian job is normally the same as the military position performed on the weekend Unit Training Assembly.

Approximately 84 positions in the unit are affected by the new special pay scale. The rates were effective July 5.

Col. Brett Clark, 908th Airlift Wing commander, said that when he arrived in June of 2008, it was clear one of the biggest problems the wing faced was a shortage of maintenance personnel. The 908th has been regularly losing people to units in areas with higher pay. He said the initiative to get special pay rates is one of the most important things that could be done to improve the wing's ability to meet mission requirements.

Maj. Fred Proulx, 908th Maintenance Squadron commander, spearheaded the effort to obtain the higher pay rates. He started by putting together a package in July of 2008 when approximately 27 of the 84 Wage Grade positions in the unit were vacant. Despite the shortage in people, the unit still maintained one of the highest aircraft mission capable rates in its parent command, the 22nd Air Force.

For a year, Major Proulx frequently called and "pushed" the package as it made its way through 22nd AF, Air Force Reserve Command, Headquarters Air Force, the Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Management Service, or CPMS, and finally the DoD Office of Personnel Management, or OPM.

Major Proulx said it was not until December of 2008 that he began to feel the special pay would be approved. Similar requests from other 22nd AF units were approved, and a contact at 22nd said the 908th's package was the "strongest they had seen."

One of the major hurdles for previous efforts was to find comparable aircraft mechanics in the region to establish a fair prevailing wage rate. Major Proulx said the CPMS gave the effort "a big push" by examining the prevailing wage rates for contracted civilians maintaining helicopters at Fort Rucker in Dothan, Ala.

With those figures to use as a comparison, it was clear the pay scale then used at Maxwell was too low, Major Proulx said. Subsequently, on July 1 Major Proulx received an e-mail from OPM and 22nd AF, stating the special pay rates had been approved and would go into effect July 5.

"I think the news is just sinking in," said Lt. Col. Cauley VonHoffman, commander of the 908th Maintenance Group. She said that many of the long-time employees have heard this was coming for years. Many of them had begun to doubt if it was ever going to happen, she said.

One Wage Grade employee, Rory Lapres, said the increase will allow him and his wife to buy a house in the area. They currently live in Auburn and Atlanta.

Another beneficiary of the increased pay is D'Wayne Guice. "It is almost unbelievable," Mr. Guice said. "Given all the bad economic news, it is hard to believe we are getting a raise. It says a lot about our leadership and the commitment they made to fix this problem." He said this increase will allow him and his wife to complete their degrees and to build college funds for their kids.

Major Proulx said the mere prospect of higher pay has led several employees to accept positions with the 908th that otherwise may have gone elsewhere. After averaging 30 vacancies, the unit is currently down to 13.

"I'd like to thank the long-term employees for their efforts to keep our aircraft flying through all the many challenges. I hope the special pay rates help them and their families. I also hope it helps us recruit a full staff, so we can keep the aircraft flying and spend more time at home," said Colonel Clark.