A state savings of about $6 million to help lessen the state budget deficit. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Gov. Tom Corbett is now asking state workers to take a 4 percent pay cut in the first year of their next contract after rejecting a union offer for a pay freeze just months ago.
“Do we know we’re going to have to make some sacrifices in this budget? Of course we do,” AFSCME Executive Director David Fillman said. “But for a lot of folks 4 percent would be devastating.”
The cut would affect 45,000 of the lowest paid state workers.
The report indicated that AFSCME represents about 55 percent of state workers including Department of Transportation drivers, nursing assistants in state institutions, clerical workers, custodians and state park employees.
6 Responses
Let’s cut the legislature while we are at it; it’s a part-time job in Texas, why not here, too?
Remember when the turnpike collectors went “on strike?” It was over the Thanksgiving holiday–best time I’ve ever had driving on the turnpike, because we didn’t have to pay anyone for what is basically a minimum-wage skills job. Cashiers should get market value, not premium government wages and huge benefits.
Forget 4%. Start cutting jobs in Harrisburg and these bloated state agencies. Ship these bureaucrats up to New York or Massachusetts and let ’em live off the nanny-state there.
All these politicians chanting “fiscal responsibility” and “shared sacrifice” might appear more believable if they actually participated in some of this “shared sacrifice”. Hypocrisy is not an estimable quality.
Why doesn’t Fillman and the other corrupt union heads chip in some of their high salaries to members so as to redistribute the wealth?
Corbett cutting salaries by 4% is a good start; cutting government workers by at least this amount would be better. Disbanding government workers’ unions entirely would be the ideal and this is something taxpayers who pay their salaries must demand.
Sounds good to me. Why not hit the highest paid bureaucrats too? A reduction all across the board. Let’s hit the surplus and the WAMs the most.
He wants to save $6 million here while never asking the legislature to give up its $188.5 million surplus or reduce its costs as recommended by his own Grand Jury. What exactly is he afraid of?
Here we go folks! Welcome to WisconsinIII.
TAX THE EXTRACTION OF OUR NATURAL GAS!
TAX CORPORATIONS THAT RELY ON OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND USE LOOPHOLES TO EVADE THEIR TAXES NOW
Thanks all of you who couldn’t be bothered to vote last year for saddling us with this corporate shill for four long and disastrous years