Lopsided approval shows SEIU had its way on contract

July 10, 2013

By Chris Reed

The assertion that public employee pay and benefits aren’t excessive compared with the private sector is efficiently demolished when one looks at employee turnover rates. It’s tiny in government ranks compared with the business world. That reflects deep satisfaction with compensation.

Now guess who is demonstrating how thrilled they are with their government pay? The largest state employees union.

“Ninety percent of SEIU Local 1000 voters approved a new contract with Gov. Jerry Brown, the union announced late Tuesday.

“The Legislature ratified the contract last week, and the union says it expects Brown to sign the deal on Wednesday. It includes a 4.5 percent pay raise for SEIU members by 2015. It also bans furloughs for the length of the contract period and increases travel and business reimbursements.

“‘Our new contract delivers on each of the four top priorities identified by our members,’ union president Yvonne R. Walker said in a prepared statement. ‘It protects retirement, preserves our 80/20 health benefit premiums, prohibits new furloughs or PLP days, and includes a wage increase for everyone.’

“The union, which has about 95,000 members, is the largest representing state workers.”

That’s from Jon Ortiz’s The State Worker column in the Bee. Notice how Ortiz doesn’t mention that SEIU members also often get “step” raises just for showing up. It’s 2013, and few in the public understand the “baseline” budget theory that holds government spending must always increase. Maybe if Sacramento reporters routinely mention the automatic raises so many government workers get just for showing up, people would understand state finances better.

But I realize that’s a lot to ask of Sacramento reporters — providing obviously important contest.