We must have more state employees and retirees in our union to stop the attacks on public services and public employees
State employees don’t need anyone to tell them that working for the state of Texas is difficult. Low pay, ever-climbing health care costs, the erosion of pension benefits, privatization, impossible workloads, and the overwhelming needs of Texans impacted by the COVID-19 crisis are just some of the major issues that front-line state workers see every day on the job. What every state employee does need to hear is how we’re going to solve these problems: by organizing a strong union of tens of thousands of state workers. TSEU has won major victories over the years, and those were achieved because thousands of state workers and retirees stood together and mobilized with one voice. But the majority of state workers and retirees are still not organized in our union. They remain on the sidelines while TSEU members do the heavy lifting, and that will remain the case until they join the union.
Battles loom in 2021
Elected officials are increasing their threats to state employees and state services, while the services we provide are more important than ever to every Texan. We will have to fight tooth and nail to improve our pay, healthcare and pension benefits, working conditions and justice on the job while elected leaders look to slash state services in response to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis. We can also expect legislators and privateers to exploit the opportunity to push through privatization schemes with empty promises to save the state money. We’re going to need more of our colleagues and fellow retirees signed up in the union if we want to win. That’s how TSEU has won in the past, and that’s what we need to do now.
The fights are winnable
Even though the Texas economy has been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and the oil and gas downturn, Texas isn’t broke. With a growing population and a growing demand for state services, we see the increased need in our communities every day as front line state employees. Texas can and must use its resources to provide a basic social safety net for Texans in need, to protect public health and safety, to provide affordable higher education, and to protect its most vulnerable citizens. State employees are THE central factor in all of these issues. We provide the services. We work year after year with sub-standard pay and unrealistic workloads. We are the ones who can lead the way to improving state services in these unprecedented times.
Individually, all we can do is keep working while we hope for the best. But when we unite, we can move mountains. We – state workers organized into the Texas State Employees Union – have been able to stop legislative attempts to privatize state services. We’ve stopped furloughs and pay cuts. We’ve stopped the attempts to convert our defined benefit pension plans into 401(k)’s.
By organizing majorities at our agencies and universities, we will move beyond fighting desperate battles to save services and jobs. We will go on the help create a new environment in Texas.