Unshackle Upstate Salary Comparison Unfair

(Democrat & Chronicle)

Unshackle Upstate salary comparison unfair

Kenneth Brynien • Guest essayist • September 26, 2009

Unshackle Upstate's recent report, "New York's Double Standard," claims public employee salaries are too high, and blames them for upstate New York's economic woes. In fact, public employees often earn less than comparable private sector workers.

The report supports its claim that public workers get paid more by using two separate sources — one for private sector workers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, another for public sector workers from the Census Bureau, picking only those figures that support Unshackle's pre-determined claim.

According to official labor bureau statistics for 2008, the average annual pay for private sector workers in New York was $62,085, while the average annual pay for all governmental employees in New York was $51,255. Public sector wages are 17 percent lower.

Because the public and private sectors include different mixes of occupations, with different levels of education and experience required, the only accurate salary comparisons are those that compare the same level of work in the same occupation. When the New York State Public Employees Federation compared private sector salaries to salaries of its state employees in the same occupations, we found that private sector salaries were generally higher. This is particularly true for nurses, engineers and information technology employees — the occupations with the most federation members. For example, a private sector engineer in the Rochester metro area makes $38.77 an hour, while state employee engineers in the same area make $34.45 an hour.

Another favorite target by Unshackle Upstate is defined benefit pension plans. It is unfortunate that an organization funded by multimillionaires feels the need to reduce state and local government retirees' pensions, which average $17,000 a year. Not so long ago, the same bankers who fund Unshackle Upstate were selling 401(k) plans to private employers, telling their workers that the stock market would make them rich. It made the investment bankers rich, but left many workers with pitiful retirement funds when the market crashed. Nebraska tried the 401(k) approach and found it did not save any money and resulted in inadequate pensions for retirees.

If Unshackle Upstate wants to responsibly address the business climate in New York state, it should join the federation in calling for procurement reform to reduce waste in state contracting. It could also advocate replacing property taxes with progressive income taxes, since New York families that make $600,000 a year or more only pay about 6 percent of their income in state and local taxes, when the middle class pays between 10 percent and 12 percent.

Most public servants work hard and deserve fair compensation. Attacking them, or their benefits, will not solve economic problems.