Governor's proposed bonus falls flat with state employees, who want pay raise

[TexasTowelie]

A one-time bonus proposed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe has fallen flat with representatives of Virginia State Police and other state employees, who say they will look to the General Assembly instead to restore pay raises that were cut to address a revenue shortfall now estimated at $1.26 billion.

McAuliffe included the 1.5 percent bonus in a proposed compensation package totaling $130.6 million, but employee representatives say it doesn’t address the serious pay inequities that the canceled 3 percent raise was aimed at narrowing.

“State employee morale is in the toilet,” said R. Ronald Jordan, executive director of the Virginia Governmental Employees Association. “A bonus sends a signal that we’re not really committed to fixing salary disparities.”

Jordan is a member of a commission led by House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, that this week strongly endorsed restoration of the pay raise for state employees to begin boosting compensation that is lagging the private labor market by an average of 27 percent.

Read more: http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/general-assembly/article_a14c0a21-e423-5e86-a6bd-57f19a2ff849.html

[atreides1]

1. Amazing

It's all about tax revenue and spending! The politicians in Richmond have a choice, they either raise taxes or cut spending...maybe instead of dropping all of this into the governor's lap, those state employees might want to take their concerns to the General Assembly...and see how that works!