The Fleecing of State Employees 8/09

When faced with budget shortfalls of his own creation, Governor O’Malley turns first to reductions in state employee salaries to bail him out and plug the holes.

This must come as a shock to the state employee unions that endorsed the O’Malley candidacy in 2006.  The union leadership told the rank and file that O’Malley would be much better than Governor Ehrlich and - with a few exceptions - union endorsements, campaign contributions and get-out-the-vote efforts went to the Democrat, O’Malley, instead of the Republican incumbent, Ehrlich.

That’s gratitude for you.  Under the Ehrlich Administration, state employees were recognized for their hard work and dedication.  Even in tough economic times (such as inheriting the Glendening $1.6 billion dollar deficit – unlike O’Malley who inherited a billion dollar surplus), Ehrlich placed a high priority on rewarding the state work force.

In his first full year in office, Ehrlich restored pay increments and provided for a $752 flat general salary increase as a way to begin rebuilding employee compensation that had crashed under the Glendening deficit.  In FY06, Ehrlich provided a 1.5% general salary increase, merit increases and restoration of $400 for the deferred compensation match that had been lost under Glendening.  With a focus on those at the lower end of the state pay scale, Ehrlich in FY07 provided a general salary increase of $900 or 2%, whichever was greater, with a ceiling of $1,400 per employee.  He also revised the personnel pay scales to insure that no state employee would earn less than $20,000 per year, effectively eliminating the first four pay grades of the salary schedule.  Employees also received increments and the full $600 deferred compensation match in Ehrlich’s last budget.  Moreover, funds were provided for targeted salary enhancements for correctional officers and other critical positions.

So the employee unions bought and paid for O’Malley and what do the employees get in return?  A litany of abuse:

      1)    FY08 – $22 million taken from state employee overpayments into their health benefits fund used as a budget-balancing reversion instead of being returned to the employees

      2)    FY09 – Furloughs Round 1 - costing state employees over $34 million

      3)    FY10 – No cost-of-living increases

      4)    FY10 – No step increases

      5)    FY10 – No state contribution to match employee deferred compensation

      6)    FY10 – No state pre-funding of employee health care (OPEB) liability

      7)    2009 Session:  net pay reduced due to O’Malley bill requiring all employees to pay union dues

Today, the state employees learned the initial details about O’Malley’s latest plan that doubles the pain for Maryland's working families that include state employees - a furlough cut of $75 million as compared to last year's $34 million in salary reductions.  O'Malley also announced layoffs of 205 filled positions. 

Click here to listen to WJZ's coverage of Gov. O'malley's furloughs and layoffs.

Expect the state employee unions to lie down like lambs when O’Malley pulls out the shears at tomorrow's BPW meeting and points them at the state employees once again.