navywifebeth

Recently I wrote an article for Army Times Publishing Company regarding enlisted pay. My premise was that though I once felt the financial struggles experienced by many enlisted was due to financial mismanagement I now realized they were just plain underpaid. I received an amazing amount of feedback from that article - mostly from officers who felt I misrepresented the entire pay package or felt it truly was a financial mismanagement issue. Down the line each officer who wrote mentioned, what high school graduate makes that much money?”

With the recent discussions regarding bailing out the big three auto makers, and the revelation of the pay structure for union worker I am even more convinced my premise was valid. 

Let me go back to the ‘high school education’ argument. I went to the HR website for the various auto makers. Guess what, they do not even require a high school education (or equivalent), the military does. Now, brace yourselves…did you hear? The average pay and benefits package for union workers is $78.77 per hour. Enlisted military average pay per hour? The average enlisted makes roughly $14 per hour depending upon location and special pays. The average American worker makes $26 per hour. Even foreign auto makers manufacturing cars in the US make over $40 per hour in pay and benefits.

So, let me rant a moment…one of the major arguments offered in why the Auto Makers should be bailed out is that they are vital to our ‘national security’. (They can convert their facilites from manufacturing cars to the manufacture of tanks relatively easy). Hmmmm….those assembling autos are vital to our national security. As such they are worth almost $80 per hour in pay and benefits.

Then how about those who are taking bullets in the interest of national security? I do not believe that military should become millionaires from their service. Nor do I think the exhorbitant union wages paid to auto workers is commensurate with the job they perform. But if we’re going to bail out the Big Three, maintaining these salaries…then our military is absolutely deserving of a significant raise, especially our enlisted.

Before you rant on about financial mismanagement and high school education, our enlisted go through tremendous education programs before being sent to the fleet/force…that is far more than a high school education. Financial mismanagement? Of course there are those who are careless in their spending…but try raising a family on their salary…then give me a call.

Bottom line…service members, both officer and enlisted, deserve better from those whose lives they protect. But our enlisted families are struggling…let’s do the right thing by them…

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