In Defense of State Employees
Jun 8th, 2009 by Capsun
Last week, I read something on Howard Dicus’ blog that really bothered me. So much, in fact, that I’m still thinking about it almost a week later. Howard is an entertaining journalist whom I respect and admire. I often learn a lot from his on-air reports on KGMB9 (some even via Skype!) and his blog. But this time, I absolutely have to disagree with something he said. What was so bothersome? From his post State workers get a taste of what the rest of us experience:
From a state worker: “Every time there’s a crisis we state employees take it in the shorts.” Wrong. Every time there’s a financial crisis, people talk about reopening state worker contracts, but nothing has happened before now, even though payroll is two thirds of all state spending. [Capsun's emphasis in bold]
I immediately recalled two measures instituted in the 1990s, during Gov. Ben Cayetano’s administration, which Howard may have missed because he didn’t permanently relocate to Hawaii yet. Please note, this is not meant to insult Howard Dicus, just to clarify something I think he missed. He remains a hero, inspiration, and on my Blogroll. First, there were actual layoffs of State employees. I know; some of my family friends lost their jobs. Our public library system (Hawaii State Public Library Sytem or HSPLS) has never recovered from those layoffs.
Second and far more long-lasting, is the paylag that sees State employees paid several weeks after they should have been paid. When I worked at a very large State agency, it took eight weeks – yes, 8 weeks – for me to receive my first paycheck. Try doing that in the private sector. You can’t! Why not? Because it’s illegal. I guess the only “nice” thing about this system is that when you leave State employment for a private sector job, you feel “rich” because you get paychecks from two sources – although this was money that was always owed to you anyway.
And now…
…the new buzzword for the month seems to be furloughs. As in the mandatory three-day furloughs ordered by Gov. Lingle of all State employees that she has purview over in light of the budget crisis. I believe this does not include UH, HHSC, Legislative, Judiciary, DOE, and OHA employees. That is roughly equal to a 15% paycut for affected employees. But wait, there’s more. Because Gov. Lingle refused to cover the increase in health insurance premiums, some employees may see their premiums increase by well over $100 per month. Paired with the furloughs, this results in closer to a 20% paycut, depending on the employee’s salary.
True, government service is more stable than the private sector, but there are trade-offs. It’s just the nature of things. In a recent training at work, a co-worker pointed out (and even Rep. Isaac Choy reiterates) in the private sector, you can do whatever the law does not prohibit, but in government, you can only do what the law allows. That’s a big difference and it can be frustrating for those with long private sector backgrounds to make the transition to Hawaii government service.
In government service, one can almost always expect to be used as the public’s punching bag (perhaps not directly, but definitely indirectly or by association). Where else can you be ridiculed and your every mistake on the front page of the newspaper? A small mistake or oversight by a government employee can lead to nasty public hearings.
And finally, as I Tweeted on Friday, for anyone who thinks government employees are lazy, perhaps you’ve never seen me at work. On Friday, I was at the office at 7 am (my usual start time), but I was there past 6 pm, doing work. I routinely work more than my 40 hour work week. I know this isn’t true of all State employees, but I hope my readers will share this with anyone who thinks ALL State employees are lazy. And I’m not the only one, my fiancee, the teacher, works even longer hours than me. After working 8-9 hours at school, she always brings home 2-3 hours of additional work to do at home. Weekends are even worse, she sometimes is busy all day on Sunday. And I know of many more like us.
So please think of us the next time you say every State employee is lazy and we should all be laid off.
Before you go thinking I’m against the furloughs, remember that I supported that idea back in January of this year. However, this doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about co-workers and fellow State employees who would find a 15-20% paycut an insurmountable burden at quite possibly the worse time.
It could be worse. We could be like California. They are expected to run out of money in just over a week.
Mahalo!
Please note: The views expressed here are mine and mine alone. While I am employed by and affiliated with organizations and individuals, permission has neither been asked nor granted to write on the topics discussed here.
I second Capsun’s statements. I am his coworker at OHA.
I was at home, working on a remote video feed from Washington, D.C., from 4:30 p.m. yesterday (Sunday), to 12:45 a.m., today. I woke at 5:30 a.m., and jumped back on the computer (my own, personal computer), extracted and edited some audio from the video, and uploaded it to my own, personal, web server, then alerted the folks on the Na ‘Oiwi ‘Olino radio show, who downloaded that audio file and put it on the air between 7 and 8 this morning.
I will now be heading in to the office to put in my regular work shift. My regular work hours are 7:45 to 4:30, Monday through Friday. I routinely work nights, weekends on special events and projects. None of my after-hours work makes it onto my timecard or is recorded with anyone. I am not compensated any extra for this work. I do it becaus that is part and parcel of my job. I do it because that is what I do.
If anyone thinks I’m getting rich working at OHA, consider this: I took a massive pay CUT when I left my private-sector job to join OHA. And now, 2 years later, I am being asked to take another massive pay cut.
I am giving OHA no less of the work and passion than I have at any of the other jobs I have held in my lifetime.
The worst part about my job is withstanding the blanket insults and derision leveled at all state employees, even from the Gov., our commander in chief. I am a state employee. I work insanely hard. I do not deserve to be insulted.
I do not deserve to be made to pay for the services that benefit all the citizens of this state. If you guys want the freeways fixed; you want your prisoners guarded well; you want your children educated; and you want to benefit from any of the myriad of services provided by the state, YOU SHOULD NOT EXPECT ME TO PAY FOR IT BY MYSELF.
I will gladly pay my fair share, but so should ALL beneficiaries of services provided by the state pay their fair share for those services.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Blaine
When balanced against the cost of living index, Hawaii is the lowest paying state in the nation for teacher’s salaries. The same is true of their government employees. Do I know how to fix the problem? No, but I’d be willing to vote for someone who does.
When are you going to run for a political office? We need you in there…YIKES I’m saying that to a liberal democrat LOL I think you and Blaine did excellent both with the post and the comment. It is sad that so many people think State Employees are lazy. As in any business, there are the few that spoil it for the mass. In some respects we bus operators get negative and nasty comments also…all you do is drive a bus…my response…you try it sometime. I don’t know if these furlough’s are the right thing to do but I can’t think of any other solution. Tough situation my friend, but as I’ve said before, with people like you and now that I read Blaine’s comment, on the horizon, there is hope for our future
Aloha
Excellent post! I believe by and large most people are hard workers. The grass just always looks greener and easier to mow on the other side. Thank you for speaking up for the hard-working, dedicated, and cash-strapped (even prior to the budget crisis/emergency) state workers.
[...] I don’t doubt Capsun works his tail off at his state government job.Thus in a way I can understand a lot where he is coming from. However on the flip side it is not [...]
Thanks, Capsun, by pointing out those of us state worker who do put in, as you and Blaine say, insane hours. I put in a full day at work teaching and administrating, and then frequently work into the night. If I don’t come into the office on Saturday and/or Sunday, I work from home at least part of the weekend. And no, I don’t get overtime – just a flat salary.
Mahalo, Capsun. Let me just say that I also admire Howard, and respect both you and Blaine for being pioneers in social networking (only slightly behind my friend Burt Lum) that has roped the rest of us in.
When I read Howard’s blog the first time, my takeaway wasn’t that state workers were lazy. As you’ve illustrated, some state workers are hard-working just as some are not. And some in the private sector some are hardworking, just as some are not. The point I took home from Howard’s essay was that government workers may enjoy the security of pension plans, health coverage, flex spend programs, and incrementally increasing salaries just because time passes and their union contract says it’s time for a x% raise; whereas, those that work in the private sector–in my case, non-profit–do not take for granted that we will get raises based on merit, annual evaluations, or any other reason. If money is tight, programs and services are prioritized, and salaries and benefits are not.
And within this economic downturn, layoffs and furloughs began last winter: environmental orgs are are down to skeletal staff; museums are furloughing , one up to one week per month for one; service providers are working alone or double shifts; the tales go on and on. I know you understand the issues.
I guess I can see how state employees might pick up on whatever was said about their industriousness, or perceived lack of; as a non-profit employee whose employer does not provide a retirement plan and who’s enjoyed one raise in 7+ years (and think how much the economy has changed in this time) I related to Howard’s join-the-club sentiments.
Just a different view…
I’m so glad that right now I’m not working for the State.
On the Big Island, we recently had an investigation on county employee’s and their internet use because of a simple question put out by a councilman on way to save county dollars.
http://damontucker.com/2009/06/08/hawaii-corporation-counsel-county-internet-records-not-%E2%80%9Cscandal-%E2%80%9D/
What really bothers me about the furloughs is that nobody has provided an economic basis for them. Here are a few points to consider:
1) How many positions are we talking about? Does DHRD actually have a count and the associated salaries?
2) What would be the actual costs savings to the state?
3) Given that there are over 60,000 state employees, what is he economic impact of taking that amount of money out of circulation?
4) What will be the impact to programs in DHS, DOH, and DLIR when employees find themselves unable to pay their bills and requesting public assistance?
I’ve not seen a single one of my questions addressed. All I see is a political struggle between the Governor, legislature, and the unions. Why hasn’t our legislature even considered tweaking the GET to raise revenue and exempt food and medicine? Are they so short-sighted that they refuse to see a solution right in front of their eyes?
Art…when have you ever known our legislators to see the answer right in front of their eyes? Their sole goal is to make our life as difficult as possible and to waste valuable taxpayer time and money.
Yeah, my bad! What was I thinking?