Workers rally for better salaries

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- They're the Rodney Dangerfield of state government. They're the people who maintain the state's highways and bridges, keep the state's prisons secure, administer

Monday, February 28th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- They're the Rodney Dangerfield of state government. They're the people who maintain the state's highways and bridges, keep the state's prisons secure, administer medical care to the elderly poor and intervene in the tragedy of child abuse and neglect.

But like the stand-up comic who can't get any respect, Oklahoma's public employees are the lowest paid state workers in the nation. And of all the people who help keep the wheels of state government turning, the role of Oklahoma's 36,000 state employees may be the least understood.

"The problem is that most people don't really understand what it is that state employees do for the state of Oklahoma," said Gary Jones, executive director of the 10,000-worker strong Oklahoma Public Employees Association.

Jones said state workers are frequently taken for granted and only surface in the public's consciousness when there is a problem. "Not only should the bad be talked about, but the good should be stressed just as strongly," he said. "State employees provide great services to the state of Oklahoma."

Changing the public's image of Oklahoma's state employees is one of the goals of the OPEA as it lobbies for a $2,000 across-the-board pay raise for state workers. The public workers union has launched a public relations campaign to remind taxpayers, lawmakers and Gov. Frank Keating about the many contributions of state workers.

"This campaign will remind Oklahomans about the things state employees do to make our state a better place," said OPEA President Ty Todd. "These are activities that state employees perform on a daily basis without recognition and very often with out any praise."

State workers will be looking for respect as well as bigger paychecks on Wednesday, when more than 2,000 public employees are expected to rally at the state Capitol.

Unlike many Oklahoma teachers who were given the day off to attend an education rally on Feb. 16, state workers are taking annual leave to attend the rally, Jones said. Keating is one of several state officials who are expected to address the crowd.

OPEA officials said they'll be pushing for quick passage of a pay raise bill, House Bill 2021 by House Speaker Loyd Benson, D-Frederick. The measure, which has already been passed by the House, expresses legislative intent to raise state worker salaries by $2,000 a year. The pay raise bill would cost about $60 million a year, but it has not been funded.

Jones said state workers are overworked, underpaid and unappreciated. And he has statistics to support his claims. Oklahoma state workers are 50th in the nation in pay with an average annual salary of less than $24,000, according to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Oklahoma state worker pay is $7,428 below the average pay of surrounding states and is more than $4,500 lower than the closest contiguous state, New Mexico, whose average state worker pay is $28,691.

"In our wildest dreams, we never expected to be the top paid state employees," Todd said. "But we never thought we should be the lowest paid, either."

The number of state workers has dwindled in recent years, but their workload has increased, according to the OPEA. In 1999, Oklahoma had the lowest number of state workers in the past dozen years. And the state's workforce has fallen by 3,861 people since 1992. The number of employees in the state Department of Transportation fell 17 percent between 1983 and 1998 even thought he number of miles maintained by the workers increased.

The number of child welfare workers increased 27 percent between 1996 and 1999. During the same period, the number of referrals for child abuse and neglect increased 19 percent, the number of children in foster care increased 73 percent and the number of foster family homes increased 98 percent.

In addition, the Legislature mandated additional visitation requirements by the workers. A study conducted for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services found that the Division of Children and Family Services was 19 per cent, or 194 workers, understaffed.

Low pay and staffing shortages have led to worker burnout in some agencies, according to the OPEA. Out of 33 child welfare workers in Cleveland County, seven have been in their positions fo rmore than two years, 12 for one to two years and 15 less than one year.

To make matters worse, accomplishments by state workers are frequently ignored, Jones said. Oklahoma's welfare system ranks among the top 10 states in transferring clients from welfare to work, even though the amount of money appropriated for the program ranks 45th in the nation.

Keating frequently cites the success of the welfare-to-work program in speeches and columns, but the governor has never given the state workers who administer the program credit for it's efficiency.

"By reading his comments, you'd never know that state employees were involved at all," Jones said. Jones said Keating has indicated he will sign a pay-raise bill for state employees, as long as it is funded. "He's embarrassed to be the governor of a state that has the lowest pay in the U.S.," Jones said.

But even if the $2,000 raise is approved, Jones said Oklahoma will remain 50th in state worker pay nationwide, several hundred dollars less than number 49, Wyoming. State workers will still be the lowest paid in the nation -- and still looking for respect.