Grade IVb Salary Structure, 1932The basic salary structure was first introduced for the Washington, D.C. workforce by the Classification Act of 1923, whose goal was to rationalize the pay and responsibilities of the federal civil service. The Welch Act of 1930 extended the schedule to the rest of the federal civil service that was not otherwise coved by wage boards (mostly blue-collar workers).
The salary schedule is divided into a number of "services," or basic job groupings. These are each in turn divided into "grades" of increasing responsibility and pay. Finally, within each grade are up to seven "promotional" levels of increasing pay. "Promotions," (raises, actually) were determined solely by employees' efficiency ratings as determined by their supervisors and confirmed by local department heads.
In the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the IVbs consisted of all office workers, management and staff (the CAF service), the scientists and engineers working in the Yards' laboratories (the P service), their helpers and the drafting pool (the SP service), and the Yard's police force (the CU service).
This salary structure remained in place until the Classification Act of 1949, which reduced the number of services to two, and is still the basis of today's federal pay schedule.
CAF = Clerical, Administrative, Fiscal Service
CU = Custodial (includes all mechanical positions in D.C.)
P = Professional/Scientific
SP = Sub-Professional/Sub-Scientific
CAF | CU | S | SP | a | b | c | d | e | f | g |
- | 1 | - | - | 600 | - | 660 | 720 | 780 | - | 840 |
- | - | - | 1 | 1020 | 1080 | 1140 | 1200 | 1260 | 1320 | 1380 |
- | 2 | - | - | 1080 | 1140 | 1200 | 1260 | 1320 | 1380 | - |
- | 3 | - | - | 1200 | 1260 | 1320 | 1380 | 1440 | 1500 | - |
1 | - | - | 2 | 1260 | 1320 | 1380 | 1440 | 1500 | 1560 | 1620 |
- | 4 | - | - | 1320 | 1380 | 1440 | 1500 | 1560 | 1620 | 1680 |
2 | - | - | 3 | 1440 | 1500 | 1560 | 1620 | 1680 | 1740 | 1800 |
- | 5 | - | - | 1500 | 1560 | 1620 | 1680 | 1740 | 1800 | 1860 |
3 | - | - | 4 | 1620 | 1680 | 1740 | 1800 | 1860 | 1920 | 1980 |
- | 6 | - | - | 1680 | 1740 | 1800 | 1860 | 1920 | 1980 | 2040 |
4 | - | - | 5 | 1800 | 1860 | 1920 | 1980 | 2040 | 2100 | 2160 |
- | 7 | - | - | 1860 | 1920 | 1980 | 2040 | 2100 | 2200 | 2300 |
5 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 2000 | 2100 | 2200 | 2300 | 2400 | 2500 | 2600 |
6 | 9 | - | 7 | 2300 | 2400 | 2500 | 2600 | 2700 | 2800 | 2900 |
7 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 2600 | 2700 | 2800 | 2900 | 3000 | 3100 | 3200 |
8 | - | - | - | 2900 | 3000 | 3100 | 3200 | 3300 | 3400 | 3500 |
9 | - | 3 | - | 3200 | 3300 | 3400 | 3500 | 3600 | 3700 | 3800 |
10 | - | - | - | 3500 | 3600 | 3700 | 3800 | 3900 | 4000 | 4100 |
11 | - | 4 | - | 3800 | - | 4000 | 4200 | 4400 | - | 4600 |
12 | - | 5 | - | 4600 | - | 4800 | 5000 | 5200 | - | 5400 |
13 | - | 6 | - | 5600 | - | 5800 | 6000 | 6200 | - | 6400 |
Source: Chart, enclosed in Order No. 52, "Efficiency Rating System for Group 4(b) Employees (per annum)," by Commandant Rear Adm. L.A. Bostwick, U.S. Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 17 March 1932; RG181; NA-NY.For comparison, a mechanic in a maximum rating, at $.92/hour, on a 48-hour week schedule, earned $2296.22 annually. The equivalent salaries above have been bolded.
John R Stobo © June 2004