Published: Tuesday, December 30, 2008
IN OUR VIEW
Governor was prudent in scrapping pay hikes
Now that Gov. Chris Gregoire's budget proposal has put specific spending cuts on the table, reactions are as she predicted. Everyone, it seems, is unhappy.
Not everyone, however, is suing her.
An exception is the largest union for state workers, the Washington Federation of State Employees, which is taking Gregoire and her budget director, Victor Moore, to court for leaving out of the proposal a 2 percent pay raise she negotiated with the union last summer. Union leaders are seeking to force the governor to put their raise in the budget and find another way to balance it. (This is a budget, remember, that must close a shortfall of $5.7 billion, a number that's likely to go even higher.)
We have no problem with the union pursuing what's best for its members. That's what it's supposed to do. But it's not helpful, at least to the union's image, to refuse to make its own share of sacrifice when deep, painful cuts must be made to education, health care and other vital needs.
Indeed, the governor's budget plan suspends voter-approved cost-of-living raises for public school teachers. Layoffs will be unavoidable in state government, as they have been in many local jurisdictions, and throughout the private sector. Gregoire made a prudent choice when she left union pay raises out of her proposal.
The union claims bad faith, arguing that the governor's negotiating team knew of the pending revenue downturn when it agreed to the pay hike. In fact, the union says, that's why it was lowest ever negotiated between the parties. In response, Moore points out that in the two months after the agreement was reached, the state revenue forecast dropped by $1.9 billion. Therefore, he says, the raise is no longer "financially feasible," allowing the governor to scrap it from her proposal.
Under state law, if the governor doesn't propose the pay hike, the Legislature can't enact it. That's another issue in the lawsuit -- the union, joined by Rep. Brendan Williams, D-Olympia, wants the court to allow lawmakers to act independently.
Even if that happens, the only responsible course for the Legislature would be to freeze state workers' pay, sparing some cuts in other, more critical areas for now.
This economic downturn, and the budget problem, are the most serious the state has faced in many years. Everyone is taking their lumps. State workers shouldn't be exempt from that reality.
Not everyone, however, is suing her.
An exception is the largest union for state workers, the Washington Federation of State Employees, which is taking Gregoire and her budget director, Victor Moore, to court for leaving out of the proposal a 2 percent pay raise she negotiated with the union last summer. Union leaders are seeking to force the governor to put their raise in the budget and find another way to balance it. (This is a budget, remember, that must close a shortfall of $5.7 billion, a number that's likely to go even higher.)
We have no problem with the union pursuing what's best for its members. That's what it's supposed to do. But it's not helpful, at least to the union's image, to refuse to make its own share of sacrifice when deep, painful cuts must be made to education, health care and other vital needs.
Indeed, the governor's budget plan suspends voter-approved cost-of-living raises for public school teachers. Layoffs will be unavoidable in state government, as they have been in many local jurisdictions, and throughout the private sector. Gregoire made a prudent choice when she left union pay raises out of her proposal.
The union claims bad faith, arguing that the governor's negotiating team knew of the pending revenue downturn when it agreed to the pay hike. In fact, the union says, that's why it was lowest ever negotiated between the parties. In response, Moore points out that in the two months after the agreement was reached, the state revenue forecast dropped by $1.9 billion. Therefore, he says, the raise is no longer "financially feasible," allowing the governor to scrap it from her proposal.
Under state law, if the governor doesn't propose the pay hike, the Legislature can't enact it. That's another issue in the lawsuit -- the union, joined by Rep. Brendan Williams, D-Olympia, wants the court to allow lawmakers to act independently.
Even if that happens, the only responsible course for the Legislature would be to freeze state workers' pay, sparing some cuts in other, more critical areas for now.
This economic downturn, and the budget problem, are the most serious the state has faced in many years. Everyone is taking their lumps. State workers shouldn't be exempt from that reality.
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