Government salaries' circular logic

By Martha M. Ireland

The Washington Federation of State Employees declared a strike April 18 over perceived shortcomings in pay and benefits and has been conducting a series of rallies, pickets and one-day "rolling walkouts" at state offices.

In Jefferson and Clallam, county government salaries also are an issue.

When Clallam County employees demanded a salary study in 1999, the commissioners agreed to learn whether salaries were comparable from department to department, and how county wages compared to the earnings of local taxpayers.

Released this year, the study compared Clallam salaries to the same government entities that look at Clallam when researching wages. This practice continually justifies inflating salaries.

But what if we compared salaries paid by the county with the average local wages?

The average annual wage is $22,786 in Clallam County, $21,386 in Jefferson County, according to the most recent data available from the counties' economic development councils.

That means average hourly wages are $10.95 in Clallam, $10.28 in Jefferson.

Compare that to a starting hourly wage of $12.78 for an entry-level staff assistant at the Clallam County courthouse, versus $9.93 as the lowest starting wage for a secretary-receptionist in the Jefferson courthouse.

Jefferson County recently did a salary study covering only department heads.

That generated a few calls to county commissioners and some talk around town, but no internal dissension among employees.

But they would not have done the study if salaries hadn't been an issue.

The Sacramento-based survey firm that conducted Clallam's salary study dismissed comparisons between overall local wages and government pay.

Says the Johnson and Johnson Associates' report: "The county has a number of specialized jobs that cannot be found in any other organization ..."

Having worked in both the private sector and the courthouse, I find this insulting to private-sector workers.

Public-sector jobs are not more demanding, stressful, or responsible than those in the private sector, and qualifications are comparable.

The biggest difference is that public employees have a much higher level of job security, better benefit packages, and less pressure to produce a profit--advantages that could be used to justify paying lower wages to civil servants.

Instead, they get guaranteed step-increases and annual cost-of-living raises that are rare in private business.

How could the pay system be changed?

"Ultimately, the decision to establish a pay plan that emphasizes either market equity or internal equity needs to consider the pay policies and philosophies of managers, employees, and board members," Johnson's report states.

Conducting a salary survey was a topic of discussion throughout my term of office. Dorothy Duncan, having served during the first such survey, quailed at the thought of doing a second.

The other commissioners I served with--Phil Kitchel, Carole Boardman and Mike Doherty--all contended that the county salary structure needed an overhaul to reflect the local economy.

With elected policy-setters in total agreement, why was no change made?

Eight labor unions represent roughly 400 of Clallam's 420 employees. Unrepresented are elected officials, personnel department staff, and department managers.

Managers have threatened to form a bargaining unit and state law guarantees their right to do so. (On-call employees are not included in these numbers.)

What did the Clallam County salary study accomplish?

It generated unaffordable conclusions that breed discontent.

Real world comparisons paint a different picture.

Unfortunately, state law and politics likely make it impossible to force public sector employees and unions to face the real world.