Published: Tuesday, July 13, 2010
State workers protest furlough
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Dan Bates / The Herald
Judith Jaramillo peeks through the locked door at the state Department of Social and Health Services building in Smokey Point on Monday. The offices were closed as 35,000 state workers took a furlough day. The sign was left after some workers held a protest of the mandatory day off without pay.
EVERETT — People showed up as they do every day looking for help, but the door was locked.
The Everett office of the state Department of Social and Health Services was closed on Monday, the first of 10 unpaid days in the coming year for about 35,000 state employees — roughly a third of the state’s work force.
Five DSHS workers from the Everett and Alderwood offices picketed along Broadway at noon, while others at the Smokey Point office in Arlington also waved homemade signs criticizing the mandatory furlough.
It’s a financial plan that’s not good for anybody, said Randy Kurtz, president of Local No. 948 of the Washington Federation of State Employees.
“The state says it will save money with the furloughs, but we’re going to lose even more in matching federal funds because we are not serving people on those days,” Kurtz said. “Then, in order to catch up with the workload, DSHS employees will have to work overtime and that will eat up some of the expected savings.”
Spokesmen for the department in Olympia were not available for comment Monday because they, too, took the day off without pay.
Kurtz said he talked to nearly 100 people who stopped by the DSHS office during the day. There was no sign on the door explaining the closure.
“I saw a lot of people, those in wheelchairs and newborn babies, who needed emergency help,” said Kurtz.
That did not surprise Chris James, 56, a 25-year veteran social worker who also was protesting. “On any given day we have people lined up out the door,” James said. “These are families who need help today with food, rent and medical assistance.”
For James, a single mother with two kids in college, the furlough days mean a loss of $3,000 in gross salary, equal to 10 car payments or four mortgage payments. However, James didn’t go into social work hoping to make a lot of money, she said.
“I was willing to take some unpaid days off to help out, but not like this,” James said. “If we all took different days off, the people we serve would still get help. A closure like this really hurts the community.”
Sitting outside the office in her van, Jennifer Rocha, 34, of Everett, agreed.
Rocha, a mother of six, is attempting to move to South Dakota to be near family members.
“I need some help,” Rocha said. “I called (DSHS) this morning and there was no recording. It just hung up on me. That’s not good for anybody.”
Around the state, the mandatory unpaid furlough day meant closed doors or scaled back operations in some 50 agencies, from the Office of the Governor to the departments of commerce, ecology and licensing.
State troopers, child protection workers, community corrections officers and emergency public health and patient safety workers are not subject to furlough.
Worker furloughs are part of the state’s plan to deal with a $2.8 billion budget hole.
The Legislature ordered agencies to come up with ways to cut spending on personnel including use of mandatory furlough. The Office of Financial Management estimates the unpaid days off will save the state $35 million.
The Washington Federation of State Employees tried unsuccessfully to obtain a court order to block the furloughs. A Thurston County Superior Court judge turned down the request but the lawsuit, which challenges the legality of the furloughs, is still pending.
“There were other options the state could have taken,” Kurtz said.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield contributed to this report.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
The Everett office of the state Department of Social and Health Services was closed on Monday, the first of 10 unpaid days in the coming year for about 35,000 state employees — roughly a third of the state’s work force.
Five DSHS workers from the Everett and Alderwood offices picketed along Broadway at noon, while others at the Smokey Point office in Arlington also waved homemade signs criticizing the mandatory furlough.
It’s a financial plan that’s not good for anybody, said Randy Kurtz, president of Local No. 948 of the Washington Federation of State Employees.
“The state says it will save money with the furloughs, but we’re going to lose even more in matching federal funds because we are not serving people on those days,” Kurtz said. “Then, in order to catch up with the workload, DSHS employees will have to work overtime and that will eat up some of the expected savings.”
Spokesmen for the department in Olympia were not available for comment Monday because they, too, took the day off without pay.
Kurtz said he talked to nearly 100 people who stopped by the DSHS office during the day. There was no sign on the door explaining the closure.
“I saw a lot of people, those in wheelchairs and newborn babies, who needed emergency help,” said Kurtz.
That did not surprise Chris James, 56, a 25-year veteran social worker who also was protesting. “On any given day we have people lined up out the door,” James said. “These are families who need help today with food, rent and medical assistance.”
For James, a single mother with two kids in college, the furlough days mean a loss of $3,000 in gross salary, equal to 10 car payments or four mortgage payments. However, James didn’t go into social work hoping to make a lot of money, she said.
“I was willing to take some unpaid days off to help out, but not like this,” James said. “If we all took different days off, the people we serve would still get help. A closure like this really hurts the community.”
Sitting outside the office in her van, Jennifer Rocha, 34, of Everett, agreed.
Rocha, a mother of six, is attempting to move to South Dakota to be near family members.
“I need some help,” Rocha said. “I called (DSHS) this morning and there was no recording. It just hung up on me. That’s not good for anybody.”
Around the state, the mandatory unpaid furlough day meant closed doors or scaled back operations in some 50 agencies, from the Office of the Governor to the departments of commerce, ecology and licensing.
State troopers, child protection workers, community corrections officers and emergency public health and patient safety workers are not subject to furlough.
Worker furloughs are part of the state’s plan to deal with a $2.8 billion budget hole.
The Legislature ordered agencies to come up with ways to cut spending on personnel including use of mandatory furlough. The Office of Financial Management estimates the unpaid days off will save the state $35 million.
The Washington Federation of State Employees tried unsuccessfully to obtain a court order to block the furloughs. A Thurston County Superior Court judge turned down the request but the lawsuit, which challenges the legality of the furloughs, is still pending.
“There were other options the state could have taken,” Kurtz said.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield contributed to this report.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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