Area Wage Determination Increases - Not Enough!

Many of you got the great news this past week from Maximus that you would be receiving a raise! Why did this raise happen?

Your area wage determination rates - the prevailing wages that federal service contractors and subcontractors must pay employees based on where you work - have gone up in some locations. The table at the bottom of this post details the current rates of pay and what they were prior to this increase.

Why is this happening now?

• The Biden Administration has heard our voices, and the Department of Labor changed its methodology for setting wage determinations for CSRs under the Service Contract Act. This has resulted in pay increases at more of our work locations than in past years, and larger wage increases than previous years at some locations.
• Like the new $15 Executive Order issued by President Biden, we helped achieve these raises by raising our voices about our unfair pay, and demanding better wages.

In addition to advocating for better wage determinations, CWA has also helped us hold Maximus and its predecessor GDIT accountable by filing complaints regarding wage and job misclassifications. Some of which resulted in backpay totaling $31,404 to 110 employees.  

But this is not enough. We need to keep organizing to get an immediate $15 minimum wage, and to make Maximus stop trying to prevent us from building a union.

We have achieved so much through political organizing and legal action, but can do more if we can bring Maximus management to the table to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement. Under the same law that says Maximus has to pay us at least as much as the prevailing wage set by the DOL - the Service Contract Act - there is a path to win even higher wage increases. We can win regular raises if we come together in a union and successfully negotiate with Maximus. These pay increases wouldn’t even come out of the company’s pocket! The extra money would simply get budgeted by the government.

To win union recognition and get to the step of negotiating a first contract, we need more coworkers like you to get involved. Maximus management talks out of both sides of their mouth. They tell us that our wages are set by DOL, but the truth is that they have already raised pay in some locations in the past above the minimum set by the federal government. Forming a union will give us the opportunity to bring Maximus to the table and bargain for better pay and working conditions. Let’s come together and make it happen!  

Get in touch, sign and share our Bill of Rights http://cwa.org/billofrights so we can win the pay, affordable healthcare, and respect we deserve!

In solidarity,

Tonya Jackson, Hattiesburg, MS
Sheree Collier, Hattiesburg, MS
Sylvia Walker, Bogalusa, LA
Cynora Hartwell, Hattiesburg, MS
Lanycha Hall, Hattiesburg, MS
Victor Valdez, Phoenix, AZ
Cassie Ludwig, London, KY
Annie Fletcher, Winchester, KY
Malaya Harries, Winchester, KY
Darrion Johnson, Lawrence, KS
Kristen Runk, Lawrence, KS
Rose Tedford, Lawrence, KS
Amber Krugjohn, Lawrence, KS
Nathaniel Krugjohn, Lawrence, KS
Cynthia Johnson, Hattiesburg, MS

New Base Rates at Maximus CMS Call Centers Starting May 31, 2021

May 31st marked the ""anniversary date"" of Maximus' CMS call center contract, which is when the company is required to begin paying, at a minimum, the most recent wage determination established by the U.S. Department of Labor under the Service Contract Act.The new base rates are shown in the table below. Wages for workers who are paid a premium, such as bilingual CSRs, are set based on these base rates.

If you are working from home due to the pandemic, your base pay rate may vary from the rate in the table below if you live in a county with a different SCA wage determination than the county where the call center is located.

* The Department of Labor's increased the wage determinations for CSRs in Lawrence, but these are still lower than the "grandfathered" General Clerk rates paid to Lawrence Tier 1 and Tier 2 CSRs

** Base rates in Hattiesburg did not increase on May 31st because Maximus implemented the increased wage determinations for Tier 1 and Tier 2 CSRs in Hattiesburg several months before being required to under the Service Contract Act. This means that Hattiesburg workers received their raises several months early.

† This assumes Brownsville Tier 1 CSRs are receiving the current federal contract minimum wage of $10.95