SWEB & Staff Update July 23, 2009
submitted by Kathy Jellison, President, SEIU 668 PSSU
The budget impasse is entering its 23rd day. If you think that the state budget impasse just affects state employees, look below to see what the impact of the state budget is having on our members in the counties and other areas where we represent members:
· Allentown is bracing for layoffs of 9 % of its members, while the city’s nonunion employees will go without a pay increase this year. 38 of the 420 SEIU members will be laid off. The layoff warning comes more than a week after SEIU members rejected the mayor’s proposal to save jobs by deferring a large portion of an upcoming 8.9 % in wage increases until 2012. The deficit is $ 9 million.
· Lehigh County is preparing to deal with a projected $ 15 million deficit. One commissioner has floated the idea of limiting pay raises of all employees to save $ 2.5 million per year. The raise would be tied to the lower of either the cost of living increase granted to Social Security recipients or the percentage the county’s tax revenue rises in a given year. Instead of the 4% raise this year, raises would have amounted to 1.1%.
· More than 100 Beaver County workers have been offered an early retirement package as the county continues to pursue cost cutting measures. This is the 4th package offered to workers since 2004 and the 2nd in the last seven months. Beaver County has also begun to review departments and row offices to see where cuts can be made.
· Altoona Area School District could reduce its full day kindergarten in response to state budget cuts. They are looking at a 26% cut in grant monies. Immediate effects are to parents unable to afford $6500 per child in costs for child care and the long term effects are dire; increased high school dropouts, decrease in the number of students going to college, a need for more special education that will in turn cause a rise in public assistance.
· Lancaster County government cannot pay its network of some 400 social service providers. Tens of thousands of normally transferred dollars from the state to the county in drug and alcohol treatment, troubled children and mental health care, just to name a few, have stopped flowing. Human service spending is about 54% of Lancaster County’s $272 million budget for 2009.
· Philadelphia will be delaying payment to thousands of vendors and suppliers and the mayor is looking at ways to privatize city workers. The city gets hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding for all kinds of services and with the budget impasse, those dollars are not flowing. The mayor is looking to raise the sales tax from 7 to 8% and delay contributions to the city’s pension fund. Philly has a $1.4 billion deficit. The Department of Human Services relies on the state budget for 60% of its $600 million budget. The city may be forced to cut back on services to children and youth, at risk youth and programs that protect children from abuse. The city is looking at drastic layoffs, including police and firemen. Libraries and recreation centers will close and trash collection come to a slow down or halt. Any progress that has been made in public safety, education, literacy, health and many other areas will be negated by these drastic service reductions.
This is just a sampling of the devastation hitting Pennsylvanians in every community where we live. The budget will affect every member that we represent all across the state. Add to that the fact that many laid off workers are nearing the end of the extended Unemployment Compensation and that the fund is out of money. Between 2000 and 3000 Pa. citizens exhaust their jobless benefits each week. This loss of spending, in addition to state workers not being paid, will likely force businesses to close and further the economic doldrums. As part of the federal stimulus law, states can offer a 7 week extension of federally funded benefits. The extension would be paid for with federal funds that are part of the Stimulus Bill (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARRA) passed in February and would cost Pennsylvania nothing. HB 1770 passed the state House by a 197-1 vote July 7. 532,000 Pennsylvanians are officially out of work as of May and the state unemployment rate has risen to 8.2%. Please urge your senators to pass this important legislation.
As we wait, without pay, for a budget that will continue to fund our jobs and provide the vital services we provide to the community, the frustration builds. Members are doing an outstanding job of contacting their legislators and targeting those legislators that need a little “nudge”. Members have been emailing, making phone calls, and attending lunchtime rallies. And now, we ask that members converge on the Capitol here in Harrisburg on Tuesday, July 28 (if there is no budget or stop gap passed by July 24), to make some noise. The legislators and the Governor offer sympathy to our plight, but that sympathy does not pay our mortgage, feed our kids or put gas in our car to go to work.
Interestingly enough, polls show that most voters say they will support a tax increase to preserve education, protect healthcare and public services – 62% want a sales tax increase over a personal income tax increase. The reality is that we need to find recurring revenue streams to fully fund public services, be it table games or other means.
Voters also disapprove by 57 to 27% the job the State Legislature is doing. The margin is close to the worst score ever recorded by the poll: 60 to 26% on October 5, 2005. These are figures from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
The budget fight is now in the hands of the Conference Committee. This committee plans to begin deliberation on Monday, July 27. We will post these names as soon as they are made public so that we can bombard these legislators with the same message – to fully fund public services and to pass stop gap legislation so that state workers can be paid for the vital work that each of you does everyday.
Pictures and TV clips have been coming in all week showing our members rallying at the worksite, being interviewed, writing letters to the editor and standing up and speaking out – you are all doing a fantastic job. And, your voices are being heard. The Senate Republicans and some Democrats are calling for state employees to get paid – PLEASE keep the pressure on!
Please continue to check the website for updated questions and answers and the commonwealth website www.OA.state.pa.us/budgetimpasse for more information on expanded financial institutions willing to give loans.
Some members have said we should go on strike. A strike is illegal as we are under a current contract. All of your contractual issued benefits, including the grievance procedure, are in full force. We filed grievances on July 1, July 17, and will file on July 24 and July 31 July 31. These were filed for all bargaining units. Our attorneys have filed every viable lawsuit regarding the use of state employees as annual hostages.
The good news is that when this is over, and unlike many other states that have reduced wages, taken away raises and imposed rolling furloughs, you will get paid back to July 1. Your negotiated 3% raise will be in that pay. So, do not lose your momentum, keep up the fight!!
Welcome new Business Agent Michelle Williard New Business Agent Michelle Williard will service the Northeastern section of Pa. and is replacing Business Agent Adele Snyder who had to resign due to ill health. She will be working out of the Chapter 14 office. Michelle comes to us from the Scranton Unemployment Services Center. She has been working as a temporary Business Agent for several months and has already gotten her feet wet in negotiations, grievances and arbitrations. Please welcome Michelle and wish her the best.
Walmart exposed! According to the Department of Justice, Walmart’s supplier is responsible for introducing potentially “subpotent, or adulterated” drugs into the market. Medications used by millions of Walmart shoppers could have contained active ingredients from unapproved sources, in unapproved blends, and in amounts weaker than FDA-approved doses. The much-touted $4 prescriptions medications come from Ranbaxy, the disgraced Indian drug maker.
PEBTF IssuesIf you are a state employee and were denied your waiver for whatever reason, please immediately file an appeal to the PEBTF and send a copy and contact Sec-Treas. Roni Hamiel. There were some serious communication problems with the Health Risk Assessment and the reporting of participation in programs.