Jul 10 2009
State workers are taking another hit
The Governor is showing his true roots - he doesn’t like the workers he has to deal with. What other, possible, reason could there be for making state workers take another cut? The Governor’s newest budget proposal has state workers taking three furlough days (15% cut) plus another 5% cut. That means state workers are going to take a 20% pay cut.
These are the same state workers who help local businesses by eating out and spending money downtown where they work, or in whatever location they work. These are the same state workers who have mortgages and car payments that they have been making because state workers used to have a steady paycheck. These are the same state workers who don’t have any control over the amount of work they have to do - regardless of the furlough days. State workers have to get their work done. The added furlough days means more overtime pay, it is not simply a 20% pay cut, but it is a 20% pay cut in the base salary and then overtime.
A Republican legislative staffer has been quoted saying that the Democrats won’t go for the pay cut because the state workers “are their (the Democrats) constituents.” The staffer probably means that the state workers are in unions, which fund the Democrats - so in order to keep the funding the Democrats won’t cut the state worker pay.
Ok. So there won’t be a 5% pay cut. The Governor will just add a fourth furlough day.
How can he simply add furlough days? He declares a fiscal emergency. A state court has ruled that when the Governor declares a fiscal emergency he has broad executive power - which includes the right to furlough workers. The same state court found that the Governor could order furloughs to the civil service employees of constitutional officers (the Lt. Governor, Controller, and Secretary of State to name a few). The state workers for teh cosntitutional officers still have not had to deal with furlough days becuase their bosses say they don’t want to furlough them. This means the savings levels are even lower because of the lack of furloughs for workers at the constitutional officers offices.
In the meantime, everyone else is going to have to take another hit when the Governor orders a 4th furlough day. This is simply bullying. The Governor is pushing around those who are politically expedient. He’s not solving the budget problem. In fact, he’s creating another one because these are the same state workers who won’t spend money.
Maybe, instead of putting time and effort into determining savings from furloughs and fighting court battles, the Governor should put the energy into solving the mess that got him into this predicament - the budget hole.
