American Press, Lake Charles, La., on state’s academic employees left out when raises go out:

Oct. 7

American Press, Lake Charles, La., on state’s academic employees left out when raises go out:

Some state employees in Louisiana will be receiving a boost in their paycheck in the coming weeks.

That’s good news for those employees that, in most cases because of downsizing of the state workforce, have been doing more for the same amount of money.

The bad news? Other state employees are still stuck at the same pay rate they’ve maintained for six years.

Late last week, it was announced that about 1,200 LSU non-academic classified employees at the Baton Rouge campus will receive a 4 percent pay raise today. In July, LSU’s faculty and staff at the main campus received a pay raise.

Last month, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s Commissioner of Administration, Kristy Nichols, announced that about 1,100 employees in the Division of Administration and 331 at the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness would receive pay raises.

Pay hikes beginning today are expected for employees in the state Department of Transportation and Development, the Department of Children and Family Services, the state Department of Environmental Quality and the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

Meanwhile, University of Louisiana institution presidents are trying to keep faculty and staff mollified since most cannot wring a 4 percent pay raise out of their gutted budgets. The same holds true for employees in the state department of Health and Hospitals, the state Department of Corrections, the Office of Elderly Affairs , the offices of the lieutenant governor and state treasurer, the Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, the Department of Revenue and the Office of Juvenile Justice.

Nichols told The Advocate of Baton Rouge the pay raises are the result of streamlining government, i.e. layoffs and vacant positions that have not been filled, and “new opportunities to realize direct savings for Louisiana.” ...

No one should begrudge these raises.

But if there is a better example of management doing more with less, it’s presidents of higher education institutions in this state who have seen their funding from the state reduced by about $700 million over the last six years.

And while each one is compensated handsomely, the same can’t be said for their employees who have been steadily losing buying power over the last six years.

Online:

http://www.americanpress.com

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