'Real reforms mean all of us, not just public employees'
Tired of defending your job, pay, and benefits from lawmakers in Lansing, most of whom have never stood in your shoes?
We know how hard you work, how many sacrifices you've had to make just to keep doing the same job you've been doing, and how you've continually been asked to so much more with so much less, whether it's driving the bus, serving the lunches in the cafeteria, running the school office, teaching the kids, or making sure buildings and classrooms are safe and clean learning environments for all.
In that spirit, we wanted to make sure you saw this op-ed from Phil Thompson of SEIU Local 517M that appears in today's Detroit News. Print it off and stick it on the fridge, copy and paste into an email, post it on your favorite social network, do whatever you like, but we feel like it's one worth reading, sharing, and repeating across the state.
Rebuttal: Don't just target public workers
Budget reform can't mean "reform everyone but me." But all too often, that's how the game is played by Lansing politicians ("Tough measures," Feb. 14). Whenever Michigan is in a budget hole, Lansing politicians protect themselves and their perks and instead target public employees.
Every year, public employees are on the frontlines, supporting reforms and innovations that save taxpayer dollars. They have taken furlough days without pay, they have accepted wage freezes, and they pay more and more out of pocket for their health care.
Public employees protect our kids, plow our roads, put out fires, keep our neighborhoods safe from crime and care for our parents and grandparents. They're skilled professionals who stand on the frontlines in the fight against diseases like H1N1, inspect our bridges and roads so they're safe and help unemployed families.
From layoffs to furloughs to pay cuts to higher co-pays, state workers and their families have saved Michigan $3.7 billion in cuts between 2001 and 2008. That's billion with a "b." And the size of the state workforce is the smallest in recent history, according to a study by MSU economics professor Charles Ballard.
Singling out public workers is not only unfair to them and their families, it endangers our quality of life, our safety and our ability to attract new businesses. The state has laid off people who do important jobs that affect all of us. At the same time, the Legislature has refused to end lifetime health benefits for current state politicians or investigate the $15 billion in state contracts and $32 billion in tax giveaways doled out each year with little transparency or accountability.
Real reforms mean all of us -- not just public employees.
Phil Thompson , executive vice president,
Service Employees International Union,
Local 517M, Lansing