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Dallas Morning News
May 7, 2005
Don't cut our raise
Re: "For Texans' Health – Find the funds in budget for critical services," April 29 Editorials.
Your "rob Peter to pay Paul" approach to health care for the poor and elderly by reducing state employees' proposed pay raise would only exacerbate the problem.
State employees have not received a raise in four years, leaving wages 17 percent lower than for comparable private and public sector work. This fuels a 15 percent turnover rate, which costs the state $345 million a year in lost productivity, recruitment and retraining.
Unless state employee pay is raised and health care benefits stabilized, Texas taxpayers – and those who depend on state programs – can expect public service gaps as state agency ranks are depleted and agencies lose experienced workers, the Child Protective Services horror stories being the extreme.
Gary W. Anderson, executive director, Texas Public Employees Association, Austin