Save Our States!

By Susan Ellen Holleran

The booming '90s did little to lift state workers and the programs they operate. Now, facing an economic bust, these AFSCME members are struggling to maintain high-quality state services.

OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON

State workers here do not have true collective bargaining rights; they have collective begging on economic issues. Last year, a collective bargaining bill passed by the state Senate and supported by the House was bottled up in committee and never reached the floor. It caused great frustration.

At legislative sessions over the past few years, the 19,000-member Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28 has repeatedly made its case for fair wages, health insurance and full funding of government services. But with each new budget, the state has fallen farther behind in all these areas — destroying worker morale along the way.

State employment has become a revolving door, with rapid turnover. Wages have sunk so far that many workers are eligible for food stamps and the earned-income tax credit.

The final insult came this year. Teachers' and state workers' increases have always been linked. The legislature separated them, after voters passed an initiative guaranteeing teachers a sizable increase. State workers were supposed to be happy with the crumbs that were left. In addition, health care premiums and other out-of-pocket costs went sky high.

Dedicated state employees, who normally would rather do their jobs than make waves, voted to authorize a strike. They said: "We don't want a second-rate government."

A series of rolling strikes — short work stoppages at individual worksites — swept over the state. The session ended; no budget was adopted. The rolling strikes continued when the legislators returned. Workers and their families rallied at more than 100 sites. They also leafleted targeted districts and got residents to sign petitions, while promising to contact their legislators. The religious community spoke out in support of just wages and improved public services.

Feeling the heat, state officials moved a little on wages, but not on health care. AFSCME members continued to mobilize. For many, it seemed to be their last chance to make a difference.

As they struggled, Washington's state employees were buoyed by the enthusiastic support of their sister and brother unionists, including Washington Council 2, Illinois Council 31, Oregon Council 75 and Alaska State Employees Association/Local 52 — and that of their International union, which provided help wherever needed.

Finally, Council 28 pulled out all the stops, setting May 24 as the day for a historic, statewide walkout — "border to border, from Canada to Oregon, from the coast to Idaho."

MAD AS HELL. Iris Peterson battles domestic violence. A community corrections officer in Washington state, she monitors offenders and enrolls them in counseling and substance abuse programs. On the job for 10 years, she is proud of her "success stories" — individual and family situations where she has made a difference.

But doing that job is becoming harder every day; doing it well is almost impossible. "Eighty percent of my time is taken up with paperwork," says Peterson, who is a member of Local 843 (Council 28) and serves on the union/management committee. "We're supposed to change people's lives. How can I do that if I only have 20 minutes a month to meet with an offender?"

For years, the state's community corrections officers have begged for more support staff and upgraded computer systems, so the officers can focus on the adult felons they supervise. But their requests have gone nowhere.Continued frustration led them to take an active role in mobilizing for and implementing job actions.

MAGIC WAND. The struggles facing Peterson and her co-workers are similar to those of many other state employees.

The great economic boom of the late 1990s did not trickle down to state workers. Flush with money from the vigorous economy, many legislatures and governors seemed more interested in making grand gestures than in strengthening infrastructure and mending safety nets.

All across the country, for example, money was funneled into new professional sports arenas and major tax givebacks. Louisiana promised that everyone who graduated from high school could attend a state college. Arizona provided subsidies to help residents buy cars that burned cleaner fuel. Iowa pledged big bucks for teacher bonuses.

In Missouri, a family-friendly program still rages out of control: The state expanded a financial-assistance program for grandparents who become foster parents for their grandchildren. As an unanticipated volume of family members signed up, costs skyrocketed to 10 times the amount projected for this year and 20 times next year's estimate.

STATE OF NEGLECT. State services have suffered. In many places, compensation levels have fallen behind those for private-sector workers — or city and county employees — causing a brain drain as good workers take other jobs.

That's what's been happening at the Port of Vancouver, Wash., says Bob Stamp. He is a state grain inspector with 28 years of experience.

"Our wages are 20 percent behind the feds' facility across the river and the private companies that are starting up," he says. "We've lost some really good grain inspectors. They are now making considerably more money."

A member of Local 313 (Council 28), Stamp has learned that the state sets grain inspectors' wages by comparing them to Mississippi horticulturists. It doesn't make sense, and it is affecting a job that brings money into the state.

Stamp's team walked out on the first day of the rolling strike. "We picketed two gates at the port," he says. "Nobody crossed the picket lines. When the longshoremen stopped, it shut down the port. The solidarity blew my socks off."

EASY OUT. In some states, elected officials are abdicating responsibility for services. Privatization is the rule of the day. Florida and Hawaii — where AFSCME has tens of thousands of members — have both enacted sweeping legislation, supporting corporate bidders' attempts to take over public services.

AFSCME poured staff and financial resources into an unsuccessful effort to defeat Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's Service First initiative. The union's coalition effort was at least able to limit the damage.

Bush originally recommended the elimination of the state's civil-service system. All state workers would have become "at will" employees, who could be fired at any time for any reason.

Service First will move some 16,000 state workers out of civil service. Managers must still find "just cause" to fire them, but the program gives a green light to privateers.

"Bush is cutting 25 percent of the workforce and also saying he wants to privatize our positions," says Local 3039 (Council 79) Sec. Caroca Torrence, a public assistance specialist. "It appears he thinks that state employees are slovenly and don't work hard — that people employed by private companies would work harder than we do. It takes a special type of person to do this job, and to stay on it more than a year. Most people cannot put up with it."

IN THE SAME BOAT. After years of treating state workers as respected team members, Hawaii's public officials have proclaimed: No more business as usual. Following a spirited, uphill union struggle, the legislature funded an arbitrated contract. But the state reversed its policy barring privatization.

Life is expensive in Hawaii, and many committed state workers had to take second jobs to make ends meet. They were glad to make a contribution to their community, and valued the security and benefits of their jobs. Now that has changed.

Some of the first positions to be privatized may be those of blue-collar workers represented by United Public Workers/AFSCME Local 646. But the state's white-collar employees are also feeling the pinch.

Take harbor agents. Access to the ocean is central to Hawaiian life. Public harbors provide launching and docking facilities. Agents William Aila and Meghan Statts are represented by Hawaii Government Employees Association/AFSCME Local 152. The new privatization legislation makes that access very difficult, if not impossible, to maintain. The governor has long wanted to lease the two most profitable harbors to a privateer. He says the money could be used to renovate the others.

Aila thinks the plan is unnecessary and in any case unworkable. "We bring in $12 million to 14 million a year just in user fees, and up to $28 million in excise taxes," he says. "It costs about $12 million a year to maintain the existing old facilities." The state could modernize all the harbors with those funds.

Statts agrees. She works at Ala Wai Boat Harbor, which more than pays for itself. She grew up in a family with historic Hawaii roots. Her grandfather, John Burns, was the governor who supported collective bargaining rights for public workers. Statts sees that as a two-way street, allowing workers to provide input that would improve services.

Ala Wai staff have made many recommendations that would bring in additional funds. "Nevertheless, the department has not let us create revenue. Every idea has been shot down," frequently as being — of all things — too commercial. But the privateers would not be similarly restricted.

"Private boat harbors cost three times as much," says Aila. Most Hawaiians would be unable to berth their boats or even get them into the water.

In Washington, the Council 28 mobilization seems to be having an impact. The state Senate has publicly said that it wants to give workers a fair package. As Public Employee went to press, the legislature was going back into session with plans to adopt a new operating budget.

Why I Am On Strike

Nora Strothman is a gardener at the University of Washington/Seattle. Her April 20 plea to the legislature — published in Daily, the University of Washington's student newspaper — expresses many of the state workers' frustrations.

"My colleagues at virtually every other public institution in the Puget Sound area are paid 30 to 40 percent more than I am. And because of that, I keep losing my co-workers to other employers. ... I not only miss my friends, but the campus loses yet another fine caretaker.

"It used to be great working for the state. Decent wages, good benefits. But all that has changed in the last 10 years as the legislature, even during the 'good times,' has eroded our salaries and benefits to balance their budget. It's not so good any more to be a state worker, and that's why so many of us are bailing out.

"I love it here. ... Please don't make me quit my dream job."

No Help From Uncle Sam

In tough times, the states historically have looked to Washington, D.C., for help. That won't be happening this time. In fact, according to a new report published by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), "federal discretionary funding provided to state and local governments will face spending cuts of 6.9 percent in 2002, rising to 11.2 percent by 2011, under the Bush administration's first budget."

Some of the largest cuts will come from these program areas: justice and law enforcement; income security; agriculture and the environment.

The report, released in mid-May, provides a state-by-state analysis of the impact of the Bush budget. For a copy, call EPI at (202) 775-8810, or write to 1660 L St., N.W., Suite 1200, Washington, D.C. 20036. You can also access EPI's Web site.

Clyde Weiss contributed to this article.