Administration Continues to Pick-Pocket State Employees 3-10-09

A one percent across-the-board decrease in salaries was a topic of discussion during a briefing of personnel issues before the Senate Budget and Tax Committee.

Eloise Foster, Secretary of Budget and Management (DBM), noted that the anticipated Board of Revenue Estimates write-down at their meeting tomorrow "will be significantly more than we anticipated just a month ago."  When questioned about the potential 1% salary decrease for all state employees, Secretary Foster responded that the Administration does not support it "at this time."

Under Governor O'Malley's tenure, state employees have faced a four-day furlough, elimination of cost-of-living increases, higher costs for benefits, higher co-pays under their health insurance plan and likely elimination of the state match for deferred compensation. 

To add insult to injury, O'Malley transferred $22 million of state employee overpayments into their health benefit program and used these funds to balance last year's budget instead of returning the surplus funds to the employees.

Where were the state unions when the budget was balanced on the backs of state employees?  Their opposition voice was muted - O'Malley is their chosen candidate so they can't squawk too much.

Besides, the unions are bought off by Administration support that will fill the union's coffers. 

As part of the O'Malley legislative package, Senate Bill 264 - State Employees - Collective Bargaining - Negotiations - "The Fair Share Act" was introduced to require mandatory union dues be paid by every state employee represented by a union bargaining agent.  This would eliminate personal choice about belonging to a union for over 30,000 state employees.

So in addition to their losses in salary and benefits, these employees would be required to pay union dues whether or not they believe that the union stood up for them against the Administration.  The fiscal note to Senate Bill 264 states that these employee fees to the state employee unions range from $243 per year to in excess of $513 per year.