Legislative Quick Update - week 3

January 25, 2008

The AFSMCE Legislative Team continues to talk to members of the West Virginia Legislature to improve pay for State Employees. We are approaching members of the House and Senate with a three-pronged solution to increase pay for state employees. Our approach includes: 1) Increase the Governor’s proposed 3% salary increase to a higher number; 2) Put a floor of $1,000 on the salary increase, so that our lowest paid members will receive a reasonable salary increase; and 3) Pass the increment bill to increase the increment amount from $50 to $100, and remove the 3-year waiting period for employees to receive any increment pay.

Our increment bill (HB 2995) was introduced on January 9, 2008, the first day of the Session. However, it has not yet made it to the House Finance Committee for consideration. Your help is needed to get this bill moving by getting it placed on the House Finance Committee agenda. We encourage all members to contact Harry Keith White, House Finance Committee Chairman, by calling his office at (304) 340-3230, and tell him to put House Bill 2995, a bill to increase the amount of incremental salary increases for eligible state employees, on the House Finance Committee agenda as soon as possible. Please tell Chairman White that passage of this bill is essential to moving State Employees forward.

We are also working on a bill to allow state employees to serve as poll workers. This bill would exclude working as a poll worker from being a prohibited political activity. This bill will be introduced soon. Stay tuned for updates on this bill.

Additionally, we are working on a bill that allows the PEIA Finance Board to offer Dental and Optical Insurance coverage as part of employees’ regular benefits, rather than as a cafeteria plan. As a cafeteria plan, the participants have to pay 100% of the cost. However, by offering dental and optical as regular benefits, employees would only have to pay 20% of the premiums. This bill has been drafted and is awaiting introduction. Please stay tuned for updates on this bill as well.

We are holding meetings with Legislative members to discuss our three-pronged approach, as well as other ways of moving state employees forward. The AFSCME Legislative Team has met with Speaker Thompson, and the leaders of the House Finance Committee. We will be meeting with the leadership in the Senate in the coming days to discuss the same issues. In addition to those meetings, we have kept Labor endorsed members of both houses up to date on our proposals and progress at the weekly AFL-CIO Labor Caucus Luncheons. 

Also, remember that our Lobby Day is quickly approaching. It will be held on February 18, 2008, at the State Capitol. Please make plans now to attend, to show our elected officials and our fellow citizens how serious we are about being treated fairly by the State for which we work so hard. 

Please check back often for continued updates on our progress.