Updated Locality Pay Survey
November 14, 2022
Orlando VA-Lake Nona
13800 Veterans Way
Orlando, FL 32827
Dear Representative,
Over the past six years, the City of Orlando has added an average of 138 new residents per day. As the nation’s 5th fastest growing metropolitan area and with a current population of over 2 million citizens, Orlando metro’s great growth warrants a shift in the way the Federal Government views the city’s identity.
The Orlando Veteran’s Health Administration in the novel “Medical City” of Lake Nona is a state-of-the-art medical complex and beacon of hope for the nearly half a million veterans that call metro Orlando home. Unfortunately, because of inadequate review of current criteria and perhaps poor advocacy on our behalf, the premier medical center for veteran healthcare in the south is facing a dilemma. As it stands currently, for the purposes of locality pay, Orlando is lumped in generically with the catch-all pay of nearly 3000 other pay localities. This, despite its rank as the 22nd largest metro area in the Nation according to the US Census Bureau. Because of this, the Orlando VHA is either forced to select from a limited pool of prospective employees or bring in contract workers which come with premiums of up to 50% more than regular employees, plus benefits.
Fortunately, we see an easy solution to the dilemma. We are requesting your support in advocating for Orlando’s inclusion in the General Schedule Locality pay of the MIAMI-FORT LAUDERDALE-PORT ST. LUCIE, FL GS Locality. We strongly believe an updated survey of Orlando, excluding all zones that have ever had special district status, will likely reflect a metropolitan economy which warrants this change. This will change Orlando’s current 16% locality pay, shared by all other rural and less populated areas, to 22%; a 6% difference. A jump in locality pay will help the Orlando VA add to its current arsenal of specialized healthcare providers and give veterans the resources available and necessary to maximize access to world-renown healthcare.
Miami will not be so “south” with the completion of Bright-Line speed train to connect both Miami and Orlando in 2023. Including Orlando with the Miami Area locality group will not only amplify her identify with the neighboring metropolitan cities but will provide the largest healthcare system in the nation with greater resources to recruit skilled employees and medical staff.
Sincerely,
Employees of the Orlando Veteran’s Health Administration and her Veterans.
Updates
January 11, 2023
Hit 100 signatures. Things are starting to move.
Reached 500 supporters
January 10, 2023
Reached 100 supporters
January 9, 2023
January 9, 2023
We need 500 signatures to grab their attention. Send this to your coworkers before the end of the day.
January 8, 2023
We are approaching one hundred signatures. Keep this momentum moving until we hit the goal.
176 Comments
I came from the Baltimore/Washington area where locality pay is over 30% and the cost of living here is just as high as it was there. Please consider our locality request
Locality increase should definitely be considered for the Orlando area to meet the demand of increased Cost of Living. I relocated here in 2020 due to a promotion from a GS-8 to GS-9 and two years later, my net pay still does not equal what I was bringing home as a GS-8 in Miami.
Please include us. It has gotten SO expensive here that I cannot afford to live on my own without a roommate/s and/or getting a 2nd job, because OT is taxed heavily it's pointless, and that is just unacceptable.
Every nurse in the Orlando region, including new graduates, have received significant raises due to increasing cost of living and higher workloads / volumes of patients in central Florida hospitals. However, the VA has not increased our salaries to match the market.
I took a $20,000 pay cut to move from Phoenix, AZ. to Orlando, FL due to family needs. Unfortunately, housing cost, and transportation costs are higher in Orlando than in Phoenix.
Agree and support Orlando
Agree and support Orlando
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Updated Locality Pay Survey
November 14, 2022
Orlando VA-Lake Nona
13800 Veterans Way
Orlando, FL 32827
Dear Representative,
Over the past six years, the City of Orlando has added an average of 138 new residents per day. As the nation’s 5th fastest growing metropolitan area and with a current population of over 2 million citizens, Orlando metro’s great growth warrants a shift in the way the Federal Government views the city’s identity.
The Orlando Veteran’s Health Administration in the novel “Medical City” of Lake Nona is a state-of-the-art medical complex and beacon of hope for the nearly half a million veterans that call metro Orlando home. Unfortunately, because of inadequate review of current criteria and perhaps poor advocacy on our behalf, the premier medical center for veteran healthcare in the south is facing a dilemma. As it stands currently, for the purposes of locality pay, Orlando is lumped in generically with the catch-all pay of nearly 3000 other pay localities. This, despite its rank as the 22nd largest metro area in the Nation according to the US Census Bureau. Because of this, the Orlando VHA is either forced to select from a limited pool of prospective employees or bring in contract workers which come with premiums of up to 50% more than regular employees, plus benefits.
Fortunately, we see an easy solution to the dilemma. We are requesting your support in advocating for Orlando’s inclusion in the General Schedule Locality pay of the MIAMI-FORT LAUDERDALE-PORT ST. LUCIE, FL GS Locality. We strongly believe an updated survey of Orlando, excluding all zones that have ever had special district status, will likely reflect a metropolitan economy which warrants this change. This will change Orlando’s current 16% locality pay, shared by all other rural and less populated areas, to 22%; a 6% difference. A jump in locality pay will help the Orlando VA add to its current arsenal of specialized healthcare providers and give veterans the resources available and necessary to maximize access to world-renown healthcare.
Miami will not be so “south” with the completion of Bright-Line speed train to connect both Miami and Orlando in 2023. Including Orlando with the Miami Area locality group will not only amplify her identify with the neighboring metropolitan cities but will provide the largest healthcare system in the nation with greater resources to recruit skilled employees and medical staff.
Sincerely,
Employees of the Orlando Veteran’s Health Administration and her Veterans.
Updates
January 11, 2023
Hit 100 signatures. Things are starting to move.
Reached 500 supporters
January 10, 2023
Reached 100 supporters
January 9, 2023
January 9, 2023
We need 500 signatures to grab their attention. Send this to your coworkers before the end of the day.
January 8, 2023
We are approaching one hundred signatures. Keep this momentum moving until we hit the goal.
176 Comments
Tampa VA is on the same locality pay as Orlando VA and they get paid more as M.T,'s than us at Orlando and also, they are graded GS-10 and in Orlando we are GS-09. Why the discrimination in pay when we do the same work and we have the same position description?
I came from the Baltimore/Washington area where locality pay is over 30% and the cost of living here is just as high as it was there. Please consider our locality request
Locality increase should definitely be considered for the Orlando area to meet the demand of increased Cost of Living. I relocated here in 2020 due to a promotion from a GS-8 to GS-9 and two years later, my net pay still does not equal what I was bringing home as a GS-8 in Miami.
Please include us. It has gotten SO expensive here that I cannot afford to live on my own without a roommate/s and/or getting a 2nd job, because OT is taxed heavily it's pointless, and that is just unacceptable.
Every nurse in the Orlando region, including new graduates, have received significant raises due to increasing cost of living and higher workloads / volumes of patients in central Florida hospitals. However, the VA has not increased our salaries to match the market.
I took a $20,000 pay cut to move from Phoenix, AZ. to Orlando, FL due to family needs. Unfortunately, housing cost, and transportation costs are higher in Orlando than in Phoenix.
Agree and support Orlando
Agree and support Orlando
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Tampa VA is on the same locality pay as Orlando VA and they get paid more as M.T,'s than us at Orlando and also, they are graded GS-10 and in Orlando we are GS-09. Why the discrimination in pay when we do the same work and we have the same position description?