State Employee Pay Raises

Your Sept. 15 editorial includes “state employee pay raises” among the Legislature’s accomplishments. If true it would be a great accomplishment, since employees have been working without a contract for more than two years and haven’t had a raise in almost three years. Unfortunately, there was no such legislation. The Legislature agreed to earmark enough money for a 3% to 6% pay raise for state workers from the state reserve in 1998, and Gov. Pete Wilson “promised” to negotiate a contract with state employees that would include a raise.

This is an important distinction. Wilson has refused to negotiate in good faith with state workers for more than two years. He still insists that employees accept a “pay for performance” formula that eliminates cost-of-living raises and gives supervisors the right to decide who gets a raise and who gets the shaft. Despite his public comments that state employees deserve a raise, Wilson has never offered them a dime at the bargaining table.

Now he promises to negotiate in good faith. We’ll see. I only hope the Legislature and The Times follow the negotiations as they develop (if they do), and hold Wilson accountable if he breaks his word.

MARK A. KLEIN

Los Angeles

Re “In Dramatic Move, Legislature Approves $931-Million Tax Cut,” Sept. 14:

I don’t get it. We have a financial crisis in our schools, libraries are barely open, we pay trash collectors more than teachers, we’ve cut health care to the bone, and now we have money for a tax cut! History will not look kindly at this.

BARRY GREENFIELD

West Hollywood