Thursday, January 11, 2007
The case for raising state workers' pay
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William P. Elwood
Elwood is executive director of the Virginia Governmental Employees Association in Richmond.
The Virginia Governmental Employees Association recently made news by asking the General Assembly to improve on the 3 percent salary increase scheduled for state employees this coming November. In response, The Roanoke Times offered a skeptical opinion ("State workers must make a better case," Nov. 28), urging state lawmakers to wait for "better evidence before they hand out more money."
On behalf of state employees, I can say emphatically that legislators already have the evidence they need to justify additional funding beyond the amount currently set aside in the state budget. In fact, the current amount was never intended to be the last action on state employee salary increases for 2007. When state legislators designated 3 percent for salary increases in the second year of the budget during the 2006 session, it was clearly stated the legislative intent was for this to be "seed money" or a "down payment," with a clear goal of adding more funding during the 2007 session.
Why? Because the General Assembly is very well aware that ground needs to be made up in state employee compensation, as quickly as possible, especially when a budget surplus exists. Should they fail to act, the exodus of highly educated, highly trained and highly competent state employees with marketable and sought-after skills by the private sector will continue, and state services will suffer.
To better understand the situation, a short history lesson is needed. In late 2005, a Senate Finance Committee report showed, on average, a 17 percent gap had emerged between salaries of state employees and their private-sector counterparts. Little has been done to address this gap in a meaningful way. In fact, the most recent figures provided by the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management in November show that the gap actually widened to 18.5 percent during 2006.
During recessions in each of the last three decades, state employees had to endure salary freezes and even layoffs, in some cases for several years in a row. Following those recessions, when surpluses emerged (just as they have now) the General Assembly acted aggressively to make up lost ground. In the '80s and '90s, several years of wage freezes were countered by subsequent salary increases ranging from 6.79 percent to 9 percent.
However, following the most recent recession, the salary freezes of fiscal years 2002 and 2003 have not been addressed as aggressively. The salary progression since then has been more modest and as a result, the current 18.5 percent gap emerged. VGEA's efforts to obtain the most recent 4 percent increase effective in November 2006 were just the first step. It will take several years of consistent increases in the 6 percent range, as we are requesting for 2007, to get where we should be. So, when we seek salary increases, we keep one eye on current needs, with another closely on making up lost ground from previous salary freezes. We feel we have done this, and are continuing to do this, in a responsible and realistic manner, following the historical trend during times of budget surpluses.
The Roanoke Times editorial insists that across-the-board salary increases are a "poor correction for pay discrepancies." While we acknowledge the potential benefits of a system that includes performance-based compensation components, until the growing salary gap with the private sector can be effectively addressed, all state employees who meet their job expectations need to be aggressively and quickly moved up the pay scale.
The Times also suggests it would be "foolhardy" to act before the findings are known from a proposed JLARC study of state employee compensation. The only problem with this approach is that JLARC is not scheduled to complete its study until October 2008, with the earliest possible legislative action during the 2009 session, which would subsequently put off any significant compensation enhancements until November 2009. Certainly state employees should not have to wait three years for action on a need most in state government already acknowledge exists.
State employees deserve better. They are your friends, neighbors and community leaders. They work hard to make Virginia consistently rated as one of the best managed states in the country. But they also work with the knowledge they are only the next recession or "downsizing" away from an extended pay freeze or even layoff, just like the rest of the private work force, only they do it for less pay.
