At a time when the State of Tennessee is forced to be concerned with cutting many excess and unnecessary expenditures, the Tennessee State Employees Association has revealed that it plans to ask candidates for election to State office to agree to a 7% pay increase as part of next year's budget, according to The Tennessean.
“It is time for state employees to come first when the budget is written,” [Tennessee State Employees Association Executive Director Robert O'Connell] said. “All that 7 percent does is keep us even.”
For clarity's sake, one must think that this needs to be understood. Tennesseans who do not have State jobs-and the vast majority of the citizenry do not-will likely be asked to forgo a long-standing promise of a cut in the State sales tax, specifically in the tax on groceries, in order for the State to be able to balance the budget as constitutionally required. Some Tennesseans will lose their health care coverage, either in all or in part, as a part of long-term cuts to TennCare that are and have been needed to keep the State financially solvent. Over the last three election cycles in Tennessee, candidates in both parties have made it clear that a nearly sacrificial level of fiscal discipline is needed in the years ahead in order to keep Tennessee out of the worst of the economic danger zone-and the voters have agreed to support the needed reforms to the role of the State to some degree or other, often going to the ballot box knowing that the cuts might eventually impact their families.
The Tennessee State Employees Association doesn't think that the humble and dignified sacrifices of their fellow citizens to help give the next generation of our people a good fiscal legacy should apply to them. The rest of us should keep paying ever higher sales and property taxes so that State employees, a group whose work benefits are often far better than many of their neighbors in the private sector, can get a higher raise in one year than many members of the general public have gotten in the last five years.
The Tennessee State Employees Association: "We work for the government, so you owe us a better living than you make."
Comments
Does Knoxville still have a mandated YEARLY 2.5% raise for its employees? How about picking on them for awhile.
I am a former state employee and I can tell you that we had better than most when it came to a wage and benefit package. I have often been told you create your life around your means and that means we all need to tighten the belt.
Give them the 7% but cut out the benefits that they receive.
I think that you really need to do your research on state employees and what benefits they do receive. I have been a state employee for the last 6 1/2 yrs. I have not received a raise in the last 4 years and my insurance has went up every month. This year our insurance has completely changed and our benefits are not as great as everyone thinks. I currently have a Master's Degree and cannot even make 30000 a year in my current job with the Dept of Human Services!
That should have said it went up every year not month. Sorry for that typo.
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