Apr 1, 2009 10:51 pm US/Central
Reality Check: State Worker Pay Freezes, Furloughs
ST. PAUL (WCCO) ―
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is asking public workers to take a 2-year pay freeze to solve the state's budget problems. It's a controversial idea by itself but the governor also wants state employees to take up to 24 days of unpaid furlough every year.
Minnesota is not the first or the largest state to ask workers to take days off without pay.
California was among the first state last January when it ordered 2-day furloughs every month for its 238,000 state employees.
IN FACT...
At least
13 states are already forcing public workers to stay home to save money or proposing time off without pay.
Those states include California, Arizona, Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina and Utah.
In Minnesota, the
governor's asking union workers for up to 24 days a year of unpaid leave for each of the next 2 years.
The governor said he's asking everyone for sacrifice.
Here's what you NEED TO KNOW.
Minnesota's 30,000 public employees include janitors and park workers to lab technicians and psychologists.
On average, members of the two largest unions, the American Federation of State County and Municipal Workers (AFSCME) and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE)
earn $47,500.
Giving up 24 days without pay amounts to a
pay cut of about 10 percent.
ONE MORE THING.
Despite calls for public sacrifice, nobody appears to be demanding a pay cut or unpaid furlough from Minnesota's highest ranking state workers. That includes the legislature, the governor, any constitutional officer or department head.
That's Reality Check.
To check the resources for this Reality Check click on the links below.
La Times: California Is Told To Furlough Employees
Actions & Proposals to Balance the Budget: Employee Actions, Layoffs and Furloughs
Star Tribune: Could State Furloughs Prevent Layoffs?
Public Employment in Minnesota Falls Below National Average
2007 Census of Governments Counts 16 Million State and Local Employees
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