Management negotiators admit that the state has a hard time both recruiting qualified employees and retaining the services of those who have spend years trying to make government work. When 3 percent raises fall behind the 3.5 percent inflation rate while private-sector workers in New Hampshire received wage hikes averaging 7.5 percent, it doesn't take a genius to understand why civil servants are becoming restless and angry. We need to make constructive use of that anger. We need to stand together and let our elected official know that civil servants are just as important as the other interest groups that make legitimate demands on our state's tax dollars. When someone asks SEA President Tim Decker what the union is going to do about a particular issue, he likes to turn the question around.
Decker is firmly committed to the concept of a member-driven union.
So is our elected board of directors. Neither the president or board members can figure out why Gov. Jeanne Shaheen's risks alienating an important constituency by shortchanging state workers. Our membership must let both the governor and Legislature know that we cannot be taken for granted. If we are to embrace the idea of becoming a truly member-driven union, our members must turn out in force at the Statehouse on April 19. Our elected leaders have been working hard to get the word out.