A new “We the People” petition posted on WhiteHouse.gov calls for President Barack Obama to give federal employees “a meaningful pay raise” this year.

“President Obama has pledged to support the middle class, of which feds are members, yet he continues to suggest raises that erode purchasing power,” wrote A.F., who started the petition. “A meaningful raise would help lift workforce morale, retention and recruitment. It would prove that President Obama leads by example in supporting fair wages and the strengthening of the middle class.”

The petition was first posted on Aug. 31, a few days after Obama proposed an across-the-board, 1 percent pay raise for civilian federal employees in 2016. An increase in locality pay would likely bring total increases up to 1.3 percent for civilian feds in November. Military members would receive a 1.3 percent raise next year.

The petition does not call for a specific raise but cites disparities between salaries in the public and private sectors. According to a report the Federal Salary Council released in October 2014, federal employees earn about 35 percent less than their counterparts in the private sector.

As of Sept. 1, at 3 p.m. ET, the petition had 30 signatures. It needs 100,000 signatures by Sept. 30 for the White House to respond.

A separate petition, first posted on Aug. 11 by K.W., calls for a higher cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for the military retirees. It has 885 signatures so far.

“Prices are increasing at a higher rate than military pay,” the author writes.

This isn’t the first time federal employees have taken to “We the People” to lobby for changes to their pay and benefits. In June, a petition called for lifetime identity protection for victims of the OPM cyber breach. It garnered 11,116 signatures, well short of the required 100,000.

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