King County is still $60 million in the hole for 2010, and that’s after $150 million worth of cuts in ’08 and ‘09. Addressing a budget deficit of this size will be painful, but some groups will undoubtedly be hit harder than others. The question is, who takes the bullet?
According to Republican King County Council member Kathy Lambert the answer is simple, if not easy: public sector unions.
Lambert proposed a policy yesterday (which is actually a reissue of a 2009 policy) that would curb public employee benefits and wages in recessionary times.
“With a very large percentage of our general fund being salaries, we’re going to have to make cuts there,” says Lambert, emphasizing that 80 percent of the county’s employees are unionized. “But rather than lay off people and contribute to the unemployment rate, let’s look at some of the easier things, like not doing cost-of-living raises because there is no cost-of-living increase during a recession, so that won’t hurt anyone.”
To save money only “during periods of flat or declining revenues,” Lambert’s proposed legislation would:
• Eliminate the minimum annual cost-of-living adjustment for public employee salaries. The annual adjustment—currently two to six percent—is meant to keep public employee pay in-line with inflation, but Lambert argues that inflation does not occur during recessions, so the adjustments are unnecessary.
• Require all “new labor contracts to include a reopener clause” in any bad fiscal year. Basically, if economic seers predict flat or negative revenue in the upcoming year, unions will be forced back to the negotiating table, mid-contract.
• Include suggestions for further action, like eliminating the cost-of-living adjustment during a recession, cutting back salaries, increasing employee contributions to health care costs, and more unpaid furlough days.
Although Lambert’s position is theoretically non-partisan (since voters passed I-26 in 2008), her background is undoubtedly conservative and her past party affiliation was Republican. Despite this fact, her language in both the press releases and our interview was not antagonistic to organized labor, in marked contrast to many of her counterparts, who deem public sector unions an evil, roughly equivalent to Hezbollah.
There are elements of Lambert’s plan that will probably be necessary: more unpaid furlough days, alteration (preferably temporary) of the cost-of-living adjustment, and even wage cuts (again, preferably temporary). Her point about inflation during this recession is a good one—there isn’t any, which makes the cost-of-living adjustments temporarily superfluous. But the sweeping nature of her legislation poses risks, the predominant one being that it automatically sets organized labor up for the fall in all future downturns. With this law on the books, public sector unions will not only take the bullet this time, but every other time, too. Instead of looking at other options, like ending unnecessary tax breaks or addressing our regressive tax policies, we will just stick public employees with the bill, taking away the stability that draws many people to these jobs. Without that stability, fewer competent, high-skilled workers will want to work for King County.
Which isn’t to say that Lambert’s proposal should just be thrown out. Her non-confrontational position is to her credit, and her attempts to deal with this problem without mass layoffs is commendable. If progressive council members can compromise with her, especially on cost-of-living adjustments (which are unneeded right now) and more unpaid furloughs they could put the brakes on the deficit, without throwing public sector workers under the bus.
I have calls in with King Co. Exec.’s office, King County labor Council, SEIU, and the Teamsters.
…her background is undoubtedly conservative and her past party affiliation was Republican. Despite this fact, her language in both the press releases and our interview was not antagonistic to organized labor, in marked contrast to many of her counterparts…
By the reasoning of her own party, if she consorts with terrorists then she also is a terrorist, even if she doesn’t throw the bomb herself.
Unless and until she has publically repudiated the Republican Party, she’s still a Republican, through-and-through.
If they won’t take the cuts, fire ’em.
i’m assuming that similar proposals will also apply to county contracts with businesses. during recessionary times, contracts should be cancelled and renegotiated, and all companies that the county has contracts with should eliminate all executive raises and bonuses (if not, they should not be eligible to bid).
@ 4 Great idea!! lets see a non-partisan, former republican propose that!
These proposals are a start, but they don’t go nearly far enough. In stark contrast to private sector cost-cutting measures, hardly any public sector union employees have been actually let go, or had their jobs outsourced to cheaper suppliers, or hat their benefits severly curtailed or eliminated. The fact that they are still getting a 2% “COLA” when inflation is zero just adds insult to injury.
Leftists need to decide their approach to government. Is government there to help us, providing maximum service to at minimum cost? Or is it to set an example of a workers paradise?
King county’s schools? Pretty sure they don’t run any.
Can we reduce the amount of the county budget that goes for jails, police, and courts that protect the GOP areas?
After all, that’s the largest chunk of taxes the county uses.
When cutting, always start with the biggest portion – in the area where people say they want taxes cut the most – e.g. police and jails for rich people’s areas who hate taxes.
@4 ftw
Unions should agree to renegotiate away their COLA raises during a recession, only if the county would agree to renegotiate the COLA upwards in times of greater inflation.
COLA raises have generally fallen way behind the curve during inflationary times. It is only in slow years like this that they begin to catch up a bit.
Inflation still exists in recessionary times, particularly when more money is pumped into the economy. It may not be as high as during a boom time, but inflation still impacts the pocketbooks of consumers, including those public employees everyone seems hell bent on penalizing for the bad decisions of politicians. You can argue that government staff, and especially those represented by labor unions, should take temporary benefit cuts to help alleviate budget shortfalls, but you can’t argue that the families of public employees don’t need all the income they can get during hard times. They’re hurting just like you and me, and even a modest 2% COLA doesn’t really keep up with the real cost of living in the area. Besides, that 2% addition to payroll eventually gets spent and stimulates the economy. Which keeps more private sector employees in work, which… well you get the picture, I’m sure.
If the County does away with the COLA floor (2%), the should also do away with the COLA ceiling (usually around 6%).
If public sector employees help burden the down times, they should reap the rewards during good times.
@12: If the COLA floor is 2 percent, that’s not a COLA, it’s a step increase.
@4: Do you know what a contract is? Canceling (which government can’t do) and renegotiating are two different things.
I never read about public unions renegotiating their contracts out of schedule during boom times because they want more money. Did Lambert forget to budget for lean years? How very Republican.
#7 is correct County does not do schools.
#4 Contracts for services usually do not go on for three to six years so more opportunities to renegotiate prices. County services are not partisan. Jails, courts, sheriff, buses are services both parties agree need to be provided.
#2 “Republican party should be repudiated” – sounds/smells like discrimination…
Don’t see any ideas here on how to cut costs. Did anyone hear that about 10% of us are unemployed?
So no income for me and I should pay more taxes for raises for people who have jobs…did anyone hear we are in a recession?
@ 7&15: Schools, nixed. Thanks for the polite nudges.