This article originally provided by The Daily Mail

March 5, 2008

Rank-and-file state workers may get bigger pay raises under legislative proposal

by Jake Stump
Daily Mail Capitol Reporter

With much focus given to teacher pay and police and firefighter pensions this legislative session, some lawmakers don't want rank-and-file state employees left out in the cold.

Gov. Joe Manchin has proposed a 3 percent raise for all state workers this year, but Sen. Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, says that might not be enough.

Helmick, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said lawmakers are working to give those largely forgotten employees a little more in their paycheck. His committee is currently tinkering with the governor's budget bill and hopes to come to a consensus over state worker pay by the end of the session Saturday night.

"We're looking to bump up that amount, even though it would be very small," Helmick said about the governor's 3 percent proposal.

"Those are the people who are on the low-end. They have good benefits, but at the end of the day, they don't make a lot of money. We're looking at their salary schedules to see what we can do to help them out."

Most workers should get at least a one-time 3 percent hike, though employees making the least might receive a more significant increase under the Legislature's current plans. There are more than 34,000 employees on the state payroll.

"We want to bump up the employees on the bottom end who are barely making it," Helmick said. "The folks that are in the teens (making under $20,000)."

Ed Hartman, state director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said his union would be content with a 3 percent hike, but obviously favors a greater increase.

Hartman said workers desire at least a 3.5 or 4 percent pay raise, or at least an additional $800 for each state employee.

The union tends to frown upon across-the-board raises, however, because the lowest-paid workers would remain at the bottom, Hartman said.

Since Gov. Manchin took office in January 2005, he has awarded state employees two pay raises, according to the Department of Administration.

In November 2005, state employees received a $900 pay raise while targeted groups, such as teachers, got $1,350. That was the first pay raise public employees had received since 2002, when they got $500.

Last July, the following pay raises were implemented: 3.5 percent for teachers, state employees, school service personnel and Coal Mine Health & Safety workers; $2,004 for Division of Corrections, Regional Jail and Juvenile Services, Protective Services, and 26 classifications of Child Support and Social Service workers.

The Legislature approved a cap for those pay raises - employees earning less than $17,143 a year would not receive more than $600, while those making at least $34,286 annually got up to $1,200. Everyone in between was given a 3.5 percent increase.

Pay equity increases and other salary adjustments have also been given to specific groups including correctional officers, State Police and Higher Education employees in recent years.

"The governor has his own agenda, and it doesn't always mesh with state employees," Hartman said about Manchin's addressing of state worker pay. "We find him to be fair. He talks to us and does what he says. He sticks to his guns."

Hartman applauded the governor's efforts in other areas, such as developing a "meet and consult" pilot project involving regional jails, General Services and the divisions of Purchasing and Highways. That project allows workers to relay concerns about workplace conditions and personnel matters, which are sent to the governor's office.

But pay remains a top focus, especially since West Virginia ranks 50th in state government employee earnings according to 2006 data cited by Hartman. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that the average West Virginia government employee earns $3,092 a month, the lowest in the country. The U.S. average is $4,098.

Hartman said a 3.5 percent raise every year over the next few years could bring the state out of that position.

"You can't let years go by when there's nothing done," Hartman said. "That's what keeps you at the bottom."

AFSCME represents more than 3,000 public employees in West Virginia.