The Time for Sharing is Now

by Gerald W. McEntee

There is a new word that is being used these days in connection with federal, state and local government: surplus.

For years, public employees have negotiated with politicians and government managers for wages and benefits in an environment of fiscal challenges. When the economy takes a downturn, the revenues of cities and states suffer. This brings about “tough times.”

And public employees have been asked and have made personal sacrifices during these tough times. When cities such as New York and Philadelphia have financial crises, public employees have agreed to minimal raises, and many times no raises, to preserve government services.

But now that times are good for most governments, we have not seen politicians and government managers return the favor by coming to the bargaining table with decent and fair raises and benefit offers. In New York City, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is talking about offering public employees zero percent pay increases despite the fact the city is enjoying a $3 billion budget surplus.

Surplus, but not for us. Right now, because of a robust economy, at least 44 states are projected to have surpluses. But instead of being fair with public employees, politicians are looking to pass huge tax cuts. In New York, for example, despite a multi-billion dollar surplus, a 38 percent hike in legislators’ pay, and a $50,000 gubernatorial pay raise, Gov. George Pataki, until recently, has refused to even bargain over pay increases for state employees, and is only proposing inadequate raises.

In Minnesota, Gov. Jesse Ventura is using that state’s budget surplus to his own political advantage by stating that tax dollars should be “returned to their rightful owners” instead of being used for the greater good of the people.

Don’t get me wrong. We have nothing against tax cuts. But we will always oppose any tax cut that is passed at the expense of public employees and public services.

It's time to catch up. Economic forecasters keep telling us that our national economy is strong and our future continues to look bright.

If treasuries are not going to be drying up soon, then why are public employees not reaping the benefits of this economic growth?

In addition to the continued increased flow of tax revenues, 46 states will be enjoying their share of the $200 billion tobacco settlement over the next 25 years.

There is no reason that public service employees should not be sharing in the improved fiscal conditions of jurisdictions all around the country — especially since they have given up so much.

And the gap continues to widen. Over the past three years, private-sector wage gains have outpaced those of the public sector. In fact, in 1997 alone, private-sector workers saw their average incomes increase 5.1 percent as compared to 3.2 percent for the public sector.

Unlocking the golden handcuffs. Several months ago, voters in Iowa rejected two constitutional amendments that would have limited the amount the legislature could spend each year. These constraints would have not only affected public employee salaries and levels of government service, but the state would have been prevented from being able to offer financial help to citizens during times of disaster and other emergencies.

Unfortunately, other states and jurisdictions have passed laws similar to the ones Iowa recently voted down.

So between vote-seeking politicians and well-intentioned but poorly thought-out budget laws, public employees have quite a set of challenges in front of us.

The only way we are going to overcome these challenges is to unite public service employees dedicated to economic and social justice. We must walk the halls of Congress, lobby our state legislators, and talk with our county commissioners, school board members and city council members. This issue of Public Employee includes an article on three AFSCME members who won political office.

As we prepare to move into a new millennium, it is a good time to stop and take a look back at what AFSCME has achieved since its founding. And we have come a long way. We have never backed away from a fight or been afraid to take on a challenge.

It is now time to take up the fight for our own economic justice.