"Double Standard" Report Describes Widening Pay & Benefit Gap Between Public Employees in NY & Private Sector

ROCHESTER, NY (09/17/2009)(readMedia)-- The rising pay and benefits of public employees in New York state guarantees that New Yorkers—who already pay the highest local tax rates in the nation—will continue to pay more, Unshackle Upstate leaders said today in a report designed to spur a community lobbying effort on the issue and change state laws.

The report is titled, "New York's Double Standard: How public employee pay and benefits have outpaced the private sector—and unique state laws are widening the gap." It examines differences in pay and benefits between private- and public-sector employees, and how two state laws guarantee that public workers get increases even when they fail to ratify a contract.

"We respect and appreciate the work that public employees do in our state, but we cannot afford unique laws that create a financially unsustainable double standard," said Brian Sampson, executive director of Unshackle Upstate. "Like public employers in other states, and private-sector organizations, New York governments need the ability to bring compensation standards in line with financial realities."

Among the report's findings:

• Across Upstate New York, salaries for state and local government employees are 10 percent higher than the private-sector average. The report provides a comparison of public and private salaries in nine regions of the state.

• New York leads the nation in per-capita contributions to public-employee retirement, at $486 per taxpayer for the 2006-2007 fiscal year.

• An average 10-year employee in the private sector receives about 39 days of paid time off per year; an analysis of 94 public-employee union contracts in Monroe County showed median time-off allocations ranging from 20 to 60 percent higher.

• Monroe County taxpayers would save more than $40 million annually if schools and local governments matched the national average of employer contributions for health care insurance. Across the 57 counties of Upstate New York, the projected savings would be measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

The report takes issue with two state laws. In other states, employee pay and benefits are frozen in place if a contract expires before a new one is negotiated. In New York, because of a 1982 law called the Triborough Amendment, employee pay and benefits increase indefinitely under the terms of an expired contract. The Taylor Law, enacted in 1967, guarantees that fringe benefits can't be changed unless both sides agree.

Unshackle Upstate officials cite two changes that could eliminate the double standard and help to save state finances:

1. Fix the Taylor Law and Triborough Amendment by freezing salary and benefit levels to the last in-contract year for public employees who are working without contracts.

2. Create a new Tier 5 in the retirement system for newly hired employees, shifting from the current defined-benefit pension system to a defined-contribution approach—similar to a 401(k) plan.

Paper and electronic copies of the report are being distributed today to media outlets, state legislators and their staff members, and the governor and his staff. Throughout the state, copies will be distributed to business and community leaders who are members of the Unshackle Upstate coalition.

Sampson emphasized that the report's intent is not to criticize public safety workers, teachers, or other government workers. "Public employees deserve the fairest compensation that our state can afford," he said. "Our problem is with one small group of public employees – the state legislators of both parties who refuse to fix a double standard that is financially unsustainable."

Unshackle Upstate leaders urged New York residents to show their support for the effort by contacting their state assembly members and senators. New Yorkers also can log onto the organization's web site to have letters sent to state lawmakers at www.UnshackleUpstate.com.

About Unshackle Upstate

Unshackle Upstate is a bi-partisan coalition of 75 business and trade organizations representing upwards of 45,000 companies and employing about 1.5 million people. The organization works across Upstate New York with one goal: To achieve reforms in Albany that make Upstate a stronger place to do business.

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