On Saturday, May 25th, TSEU learned that the 2.8% pay raise for state agency employees, the additional funding for the ERS pension, and the targeted pay raises for SSLC’s and state hospitals were stripped out of the proposed House budget by the Budget Conference Committee. Likely, the funds set aside for state workers were used to pay for property tax cuts – which will mostly benefit the wealthiest Texans and big businesses. Targeted raises for APS, SWI, Parole officers, TJJD JCO’s, and Case Managers were left intact but reduced.
TSEU members immediately mobilized a phone call campaign and a lobbying blitz at the capitol (pictured below). Dozens of TSEU members met at the capitol on Sunday the 26th to deliver a letter from TSEU President Judy Lugo to all 181 State Representative and Senators.
The letter detailed how furious state employees and retirees were at this betrayal, especially given that lawmakers themselves had just gotten a $4,300 pay increase earlier this year. TSEU also put legislators on notice that we expected them to call on the Legislative Budget Board to provide an emergency pay raise for all state workers and additional funding for ERS even after the budget is passed. The TSEU members in attendance at the capitol reinforced the letter by personally expressing outrage at the hypocrisy of lawmakers leaving state workers and retirees behind when the state has the money to do better.
What about TRS, university workers?
Despite continued mobilization and TSEU pressure on lawmakers to include university workers in any across-the-board raise, university employees were never included in the proposed 2.8% raise. TSEU has already begun a campaign to pressure university system regents and campus administrators to provide across-the-board raises for staff, faculty, and graduate workers on every campus.
The TRS pension fund represents a partial victory for TSEU and our allies in public education. With the passage of Senate Bill 12 into law, the TRS pension fund is now on a path to full funding, and all TRS retirees who retired before December 31st, 2018 will receive a 13th annuity check capped at $2,000. This is a major step forward. However, TRS will be able to provide the 13th check because the state and employee contributions will increase gradually until they reach 8.25% in 2023. Any time employee contributions are increased, take home pay is decreased.
TSEU’s position is always that the state’s pension contributions should be increased while employees’ contributions should not. On the plus side, university employees will not see our pension contributions increased until September 1st, 2021, giving us more time to win pay increases to offset the contribution increase.
What about other legislation?
TSEU is still examining the hundreds of bills passed this legislative session for their impact on state workers and retirees. A full, detailed analysis will be coming in the next issue of the TSEU Update.
What’s next? The pay raise/pension push continues!
Although the legislative session is over and the state’s budget already finalized, the Legislative Budget Board has the power to provide emergency raises and ERS funding at any time. The crisis levels of turnover in all state agencies and the fact that ERS retirees have received no cost of living increases since 2001 means this is an emergency!
TSEU members will be organizing and mobilizing in the coming weeks and months to pressure every state representative and senator to publicly call on the Legislative Budget Board to find the money for our pay raise and pensions. This will be a tough fight, but we can win it if we don’t give up and keep organizing! We will do what it takes to win as soon as possible. State employees and retirees can’t afford to wait another two years for the Legislature to (maybe) take action. We will fight now for what we need!
WHAT TO DO NOW:
-
Call your state representative and state senator and ask them to contact the Legislative Budget Board for an emergency pay raise for all state workers and increased ERS funding. You can look up your state representative and senator at https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home.
-
Ask your coworkers and fellow retirees to join the union! We need more state workers and retirees standing together in the union in order to win what we need.
-
Contact your organizer or local TSEU office to find out how you can get involved in the emergency pay raise/pension push. If you don’t know who to call, contact the Austin TSEU office at 512-448-4225.