n Open Letter to the People of Wisconsin

[cali]

February 15, 2011 sethzlotocha

The following is an open letter to the people of Wisconsin, written by a group of concerned Academic Staff members at UW-Milwaukee:

An Open Letter to the People of the State of Wisconsin from Concerned Employees of the State of Wisconsin/University of Wisconsin-System:

The last six months, candidates for public office and elected officials have made statements defining State employees as overpaid and overcompensated in their benefits (including retirement plans), thus making State employees the scapegoat for the economic crisis the State of Wisconsin currently faces. A small group of State employees who have dedicated their careers to providing quality service to the citizens of Wisconsin feel it is time to clarify the facts and provide perspective.

Governor Walker has an interesting perspective on his dedicated band of state employees. “You are not going to hear me degrade state and local employees in the public sector,” Walker said. “But we can no longer live in a society where the public employees are the haves and taxpayers who foot the bills are the have-nots.” (Walker looks at showdown with state employee unions, Lee Bergquist and Jason Stein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/7/10)

Let’s talk about what we HAVE done:

1. All State employees HAVE paid taxes. We pay sales tax, income tax, property tax, all the same taxes everyone else pays. We help to ‘foot the bills’.
2. We HAVE gone without a cost of living increase as long as most state employees can remember (including one person who has worked with the state in a clerical position for nearly 40 years).
3. We HAVE an annual salary that is approximately 5% less than what we would receive in the private sector (8-12% for University of Wisconsin-System non-classified staff and faculty).
4. We HAVE given up salary increases in the past in trade for not contributing to our pension, a fact we have never seen mentioned in any coverage regarding our retirement system.
5. We HAVE taken 8 furlough days per year equivalent to a three percent pay reduction for the past two years.
6. We HAVE given up a 2% legislatively approved salary increase from the 2007-2009 biennia, which has not been restored.
7. A large number of us HAVE been asked to provide services at an increased rate – additional duties, overload, expectation of working more than 40 hours per week, coverage for other staff during furlough days – with no additional remuneration.
8. After adding the reductions to benefits directed by the currently proposed Budget Repair Bill for Fiscal Year 2011, State employees will HAVE endured an approximate 15% reduction in income.

But what is most important is that we HAVE given good service to the State of Wisconsin! Here is a short list of some of the services we HAVE provided:

We educate your children at all levels including universities
We clean your buildings at all state-run facilities
We maintain those same buildings to protect your tax dollar investment
We maintain the infrastructure of our highways and places of public domain
We offer people with disabilities a chance at full employment
We provide health care for many who would have no other options
We insure the health and safety of our citizens
We uphold the laws governing Wisconsin
We plan for the future
We provide valuable research addressing great concerns

To provide these services, we HAVE had to make many countless, undocumented sacrifices that are seldom reported. We HAVE kept our doors open while we stagger furlough days so there is no noticeable interruption in the service we provide. Many, many state employees HAVE to work more than one job to make ends meet. Our colleagues HAVE had to retire before they had planned as they watch their annual salaries shrink. Many State employees HAVE had to sell their homes to make ends meet. We are just like YOU.

The future does not look much better. There are many who will HAVE to leave public service when these new cuts come into place. There are thousands that will stay and HAVE to take on another job – in some cases, another 20-30 hours per week – in order to continue providing the service they see as vital to the welfare of the people. There is real concern that our entry level classified staff will HAVE an annual salary dangerously close to the poverty line.

We are dedicated to the people of this state, welcoming its visitors and promoting the great way of life Wisconsin has to offer. Please consider how state workers HAVE contributed to the high quality of life in this state that has kept our doors “open for business”.

This open letter is being distributed to media outlets across the state in the coming days.


http://uwmasls.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/an-open-letter-to-the-people-of-wisconsin/