By DAN SECRISTWe Need 6% for All Why are Democrats treating state workers unfairly? Santa Fe, New Mexico: Yesterday the the State House of Representatives passed their budget proposal for FY 2020. Educators, Judges, and a few others, are getting 6%. Most state workers are only getting 4%.
We seriously question the priorities of the Democratic leadership of the state. To say we are deeply disappointed is an understatement. Setting a double standard on pay is wrong.
We have nothing against other workers being properly compensated, but treating us differently, again, is simply not just. Especially when they’re talking about giving between $150-$300 million to a handful of Hollywood producers. An unnecessary early payoff that they are getting from the state anyways.
That’s enough money to give every worker in the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches an 8% raise, and pay for it for two to four years!
Why is the Governor, and the Legislature, who we have strongly supported, in spite of the strains on our resources, in such a hurry to ship tens of millions of dollars out of state? Are there are not more pressing issues here at home?
It would cost less than $60M to give all State workers a 6%, across the board, raise. Less than a quarter of the Governor’s $300M request. Money which would stay in the local economy.
About CWA
The Communications Workers of America is a strong international union actively representing over 700,000 men and women in both private and public sectors. There are more than 1,200 chartered CWA Locals throughout the US and Canada, representing members who live in over 10,000 communities.
Among major employers of CWA members are AT&T, GTE, the Regional Bell telephone companies, Lucent Technologies/Bell Labs, General Electric, NBC and ABC television networks, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., major papers such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, US Airways, the University of California system, and the state of New Jersey.
