Governor Lynch and State Worker Pay Raises

By Jim on December 11th, 2008

A pay freeze makese sense to me. Yes it sucks for workers but welcome to reality.

It seems no one wants a pay freeze. Gov. John Lynch is at loggerheads with legislative leaders over his push to freeze pay for nonunion state employees. Meanwhile, despite extensive talks with Lynch, the union that represents most state employees has made no move to give up its scheduled pay raises.

All state employees are set to receive a 5.5 percent pay raise Jan. 1. But with the state budget in crisis – 2009 revenue is now expected to fall $250 million behind original projections – Lynch has targeted pay raises as one way to save money.

“We have taken a number of steps, including millions in cuts to state programs and services to help balance our budget, and additional work is needed,” Lynch said in a statement yesterday. “Under the circumstances, I believe it is reasonable and responsible to defer the January 5.5 percent pay increase for state employees.”

Those of us in the private sector are most likely not getting any raises (assuming we’re still employed) so I don’t think it’s too much to ask state workers to do the same.

I disapprove of this just falling on non-unionized workers, however. The unions also need to feel the pinch the rest of us are feeling. They should not be immune.