As the state’s economic troubles deepen, there has been an increase in proposals suggesting that state employees take salary cuts and/or pay more for their health care. There are even talks of substantial layoffs within the state workforce.

But now is the time to make our views known and fight this attack on our jobs. State workers must educate the public. Each time there is a news item that suggest we, as state workers, make more sacrifices, we need to respond.

 There are several ways to do that;

• Respond to call in shows. Do not be afraid to let the public know you views.
• Most newspapers with web pages have sections where a reader can respond to an article with comments. We need to respond. Widely read sites are the Detroit Free Press (www.freep.com), the Detroit News (www.detroitnews.com), Lansing State Journal (www.lsj.com) and one of the most widely read Mlive (www.mlive.com). Local newspapers with on line editions have similar ways of responding to news stories and public opinion pieces.

           Often you must register before placing a comment. Make sure you do not use

            your work email address and you can make up any user name you wish.

            Many sites have blogs where you can post a longer response or make comments   

             on a current issue. Blogs are a great place to get our message out to the public.

 Often time the real sacrifices that state workers make go unnoticed. For example:

1. Several years ago, state workers gave over 200 million dollars in concessions including, mandatory days off and working with out pay.
2. This year we actually took a pay cut. No raises scheduled for this fiscal year and we agreed to pay more for our health care, including increased drug co-pays, and deductibles.
3. All state workers have seen their workloads dramatically increate. ( you can probably give examples from your own work site e.g. long lines, time for services etc.)
4. A recent study by the House Fiscal Agency found that state workers make less than their counter parts in the private sector. (you can find the complete report at.  www.house.mi.gov.hfa/date.asp )

Don’t be shy!! Stand up for your rights and hard earned benefits.