by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez - Sept. 17, 2012 10:05 PM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Nearly 5,300 state employees have volunteered to lose certain job protections in exchange for earning an extra 3.65 percent more for one year, according to data obtained by The Arizona Republic.
About 40 percent of eligible workers signed up for the program, a cornerstone of Gov. Jan Brewer's legislative priorities last session, proving the program was far more popular than critics imagined. Arizona is one of several states to make major changes to their personnel systems in recent years.
The vast majority of the 5,276 employees who signed up were lower-wage workers. The average salary of the employees was $32,800; 629 employees made more than $40,000, and 50 earned more than $60,000.
The Governor's Office and the state Department of Administration, which oversees payroll, could not say Monday how much money the state will pay in raises to those workers. Employees had two weeks to opt into the program, and the deadline was Friday. Officials are still calculating the costs.
Based on salary data the Department of Administration provided, the pay-raise program will cost $6.3 million. That's an average of $1,200 per employee for the year, before taxes.
By opting into the program, the employees made it easier for their supervisors to terminate and discipline them -- but they also set themselves up for potential pay raises and other perks if they perform well.
"It's an exceptional number, and I think we've exceeded even our own estimates in terms of how many individuals would choose to go uncovered," said Matthew Benson, the governor's spokesman. "The fact that more than 5,000 state employees decided to voluntarily decide to go uncovered is the biggest possible endorsement of the governor's personnel plan."
Brewer and supporters of the personnel changes have said that Arizona's current system takes too long to hire workers and that it's too difficult to reward top performers and discipline or terminate poor workers. The governor has also said the new system will make executive-branch state government more responsive and efficient.
Matthew Gainey, 29, is a program specialist in the Department of Health Service's Office of Newborn Screening, where he earns $31,329 annually. He and his fiancee recently bought a home in central Phoenix and the extra $1,145 will go a long way, he said.
"I knew it was only for one year, but really, having just made this purchase, anything was going to help," he said.
Gainey said he's not concerned that it will be easier for the state to terminate him.
"The way that I understand it, it's just going to make more people accountable for the work that they do," he said. "I'm proud of the work that I do -- and I see that it gets noticed -- and that's not going to change."
Across the nation, other states have tried to add flexibility to their personnel systems over the past decade, said Leslie Scott, executive director of the National Association of State Personnel Executives.
She said Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are among the states that have made changes in hopes of improving retention and attracting top talent.
"States, like any other organization dealing with limited revenues, are doing business differently, and it's very important they have the best folks there to do the work," she said.
The Department of Economic Security and the Department of Transportation had the most employees opt out of job protections. The DES had 43 percent of the employees who decided to go uncovered. Transportation workers represented 27 percent. The remaining workers were spread over nearly 100other state departments, boards and commissions.
Under Brewer's sweeping personnel overhaul, 6,616 additional employees will automatically transition to uncovered status on Sept. 29, said Kathy Peckardt, the state's human-resources director. Certain supervisors, IT staff and attorneys were not given an option.
State officials bill the pay raise as a 5 percent increase based on a calculation of base pay. However, the raise will apply to only 19 pay periods instead of the full 26, dropping the bonus pay to 3.65 percent.
Critics say the governor and GOP lawmakers are making it easier to hire and favor allies.
Roman Ulman, executive director of Arizona American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, said the union is considering suing Brewer and the state over the personnel changes that became law earlier this year.
Ulman accused the governor of unfairly applying the changes by giving exceptions to certain law-enforcement and Corrections officers. Ulman said moving workers to an "at will" status is "morally wrong."
"She doesn't want to tell the taxpayers what's going on in her government, and that's why she wants all state employees to be at will -- so she can get rid of them if they go against her," said Ulman, whose union represents about 5,000 people.
18 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/2012/09/17/20120917thousands-state-employees-opt-raises-over-protections.html
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