Add this to the list of issues vexing California's state government: It's getting a reputation as a lousy boss.
Certainly the pay and benefits are pretty good if you can stick with it long enough. Civil service can be a noble calling. Where would we be without state-employed firefighters this summer?
But recent talk of whacking 200,000 state workers' pay to the federal minimum only diminishes California's standing as an employer. And this from the same governor pushing the state as an "employer of choice" to counter a coming brain drain of boomers about to retire.
This year's budget impasse already had delayed contracts for workers whose deals expired June 30. Then came Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's threat to cut workers' pay starting Friday until legislators agree on a budget. He's supposed to sign the order today.
State employees have rent payments, mortgages and bills. About 95,000 of the workers whose pay would go down to $6.55 per hour under the governor's plan now make $24 an hour or less. Some make a lot less.
A few banks and credit unions say they'll offer no-interest loans if the state trims pay, but those deals usually come with caveats that limit who qualifies. Everyone else would face a de facto pay cut, forking out interest for loans on money that they've earned but can't touch.
Many don't think the governor can slice employee pay, but that's not the point. "We're being used like pawns in a game," corrections worker Vicki Rhodes said last week when the news broke.
"(Schwarzenegger's) not showing us any respect," said Janis Rose, another corrections worker.
"I've had 601 paychecks. Never been late," said 76-year-old Gene Pixley, a Red Bluff resident who has worked as a state scientist since 1958. "At least until now ..."
Now consider that California is on the cusp of what is likely to be a fierce battle with the private sector for workers. More than a third of state employees – about 35 percent – will reach the state retirement age of 55 within five years. Half of its managers and supervisors can retire by 2013.
Put that against this statistic: About half of all state workers hired at age 30 or younger leave within 10 years, according to state estimates.
The promise of a state retirement doesn't hold them. They don't think defined pensions will be around in 30 years, says Billie Blair, head of Leading and Learning Inc., which helps businesses recruit and retain talent. "Health benefits aren't a big deal either at that age. They think that they're invincible."
It's also a group that defines "employers of choice" as flexible and plugged into cool new technology in cutting-edge workplaces.
Does that sound like state work to you?
An alarmed Schwarzenegger administration last year kicked off a plan to modernize hiring and retention practices. The governor then set about to polish California's image as an employer.
Then this.
Call The Bee's Jon Ortiz, (916) 321-1043. Read his blog, The State Worker, at www.sacbee.com/blogs.
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