The Service Contract Act, or SCA is a Federal law that governs the compensation of employees covered under the Act. Employees covered by the SCA are paid wages and fringe benefits pre-determined by the U.S. Department of Labor in what is known as an Area Wage Determination or AWD. Your employer receives a contract award (cash) for winning the contract, and all of their labor costs are passed through to the government. Your employer does not pay your wages, the Government does. The Government doesn't always update the AWD on a regular basis, it's not unheard of to go 5 years or more without a wage increase. You may have already experienced this if you've been doing this job for a few years.

The only way to guarantee an annual compensation increase is to join a union. When a union negotiates a collective bargaining agreement, the wages and fringe benefits set forth in that agreement, become your new AWD.  Your employer can pass the new wages and benefit costs on to the Government.

In short if you want an increase in pay, benefits, etc; you should consider joining the IAM.

The IAM's mission is to "...strive for a higher standard of living for people who work".    

The IAM specializes in workers covered by the Service Contract Act, we have a dedicated department that provides training and other resources to our field representatives, so that we can negotiate the best possible contracts.

We have servicing representatives working in Washington, Idaho and Alaska who represent workers covered under the Service Contract Act.  They can represent your worksite and help you negotiate the collective bargaining agreement that works for you.