Due to the Great Recession, states across the nation are facing tremendous budget shortages. Executives & legislators of their states, including Texas, have used the crisis to take aim at public employees & their unions, using them as scapegoats for state budget woes. While public employees are a large expense; they are not the sole reason for the budget crisis, especially for the crisis affecting Texas.
In Texas, employees are allowed to unionize, but there are several restrictions placed on unions. Unions are not allowed to prevent a person who is not a union member from working in a certain position or employer. For example, a non-union welder can still work for a union run shop without having to join the union. A union cannot charge excessive fees, dues or fines. A union cannot mass picket or picket a business in which it does not have a direct labor dispute with.
State employees have the option to join the Texas State Employee Union or the Texas Public Employees Association (not a union but performs very similar activities). An employee is not required to join either organization, but both the union and the association fight for each and EVERY employee, union member or not.
Talking points & sound bites tend to demonize state employees as lazy, selfish, worthless, unintelligent oafs soaking up wonderful benefits on the taxpayers dime while not doing any real work or providing any benefit to the state. This is simply untrue.
What many do not realize is that, on average, state employees are underpaid compared to the private sector. The pay disparity certainly increases with education level. It seems the more highly educated the individual is, the more that individual could make in the private sector.
The benefits are no longer the gold standard of the workforce. The state does pay for the employees' medical insurance and half of the dependents coverage for now, the medical insurance has a high deductible, it does not cover x-rays, blood work, certain immunizations, & specialist office procedures. The prescription insurance isn't insurance but a generic discount card. While employees in the private sector are paying $10.00-25.00 co-pays, state employees are paying "discounted" rates of the same medication. For example, my migraine medication costs $189.49 out of pocket; with my state employee plan, my discount would be $87.00; my partner's copayment with private sector insurance for the same medication is $10.00. Sure I get a discount, & it's better than paying full price but it's not the "Cadillac" plan I've been accused of holding.
My retirement pension may not be around by the time I reach retirement age. I'm required to participate in the pension plan and a 401k with a mandatory 1% contribution which I know is next to nothing. However, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. I HAVE to contribute 6% of my upper 20k salary to the pension, but to make the 401k a prudent fail-safe, I also would need to contribute another 6% to the 401k. I am well aware that the intelligent thing is to save for your future and pay yourself first; this is the standard advice that every money smart article will advise. However, this is easier said than done. 12% of your salary is a large amount of money for such a small salary. Not to mention the fact that the administrators of the 401k literally gouge the participants with excessive quarterly and monthly fees. Someone is getting rich off state retirement & it's not public employees!
The only benefit that can compete with the private sector is the holiday time off, but that can be ignored if there is a staff shortage or if legislature is in session. We also receive longevity pay which is a very small retention bonus that an employee is eligible for after two straight years of service. After two years you qualify for an extra $20.00 a month, after 10 years it's $80.00 a month. The dollar amounts do not become significantly larger until you have been with the state past retirement qualification. Raises are dependent on the agency and the legislature; the last raise for my agency was in 2008. Overall, the compensation of a state employee is less than a comparable private sector employee.
The facilities and equipment of the state agency I work for is in as much disarray as the compensation. The computer systems & business functions are completely outdated by decades. Many processes are still completed by manual counting (my line of work is in accounting, scary). Newer technology currently available has not been fully utilized to its fullest capability due to budget restrictions or lack of training. The building is filthy, mold grows in the bathrooms and along baseboards. The walls are in need of painting & the carpet is threadbare & un-padded; tears & runs in the carpet are repaired by ductape. An entire floor has been closed for almost two years for asbestos contamination. There are leaky pipes, broken exhaust fans, lights that do not work, the list goes on and on.
Now I'm sure you are wondering why in the world would you work for the state if it is so terrible? The reality is that I've worked for the private sector with two major banks. I've done the fancy Christmas parties, the team outings, catered luncheons; honestly, there are times I miss the corporate bribery, but working for the state I can actually sleep at night.
I don't stay up all night worrying about what angry jerk is filling my voicemail with death threats, sexual harassment, etc. I don't have to worry about competing against my peers to squeeze out a bonus for a month. I don't have to worry about whether or not I am going to meet this month's metrics & whether or not I'll meet next month's metrics after they raise the new minimum standard again. I won't be losing any sleep over whether the rumors of outsourcing my job to India are true & wondering if my managers are lying to me or are they just as clueless as I am. I certainly don't have to worry about whether I am doing the right thing for society. I won't be asked to lie, to commit fraud or forgery, or be asked to do whatever it took to make the bank come out ahead. I'll never have to choose between doing what's best for a person or doing what's best for the bottom line of a big business again.
That makes all the difference in the world to me.
I don't stay up all night worrying about what angry jerk is filling my voicemail with death threats, sexual harassment, etc. I don't have to worry about competing against my peers to squeeze out a bonus for a month. I don't have to worry about whether or not I am going to meet this month's metrics & whether or not I'll meet next month's metrics after they raise the new minimum standard again. I won't be losing any sleep over whether the rumors of outsourcing my job to India are true & wondering if my managers are lying to me or are they just as clueless as I am. I certainly don't have to worry about whether I am doing the right thing for society. I won't be asked to lie, to commit fraud or forgery, or be asked to do whatever it took to make the bank come out ahead. I'll never have to choose between doing what's best for a person or doing what's best for the bottom line of a big business again.
That makes all the difference in the world to me.
On March 31st, the Texas house approved a budget to cut funding for teachers, state employees, retirement funds, schools, Medicaid. The budget will be balanced by taking from the poor, the hard working public servants, students, and the children of Texas, yet revenue aka taxes will not be increased on the wealthy or big business. A model that robs from the future is just not sustainable, nor will it lead to profitability or economic security for the state or its citizens.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone who still might insist that its unfair that state employees have more "perks" then you in your current job, there's NOTHING stopping YOU from forming your own union or bargaining for your rights.
ReplyDeleteThis is Texas, you're backed by a history of populism. You can have everything state employees have and hopefully more.
Please do not give into the divisive class warfare being waged by The Haves against the Have Not's. Don't try to cut someone else down due to jealousy, instead use the opportunity to find positive ways to improve the situation for the entire middle class.