Hundreds of state employees from agencies all across the state marched around the Capitol Wednesday in an effort to get more money.
Underpaid and overworked, state workers called on lawmakers for a pay raise, which they said is long overdue.
Coretta Smith-Caldwell has worked for the state for nearly two decades, caring for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at Brenham State Supported Living Center.
“I get up very early every morning to go to the job and they pay me the same little old pay,” Caldwell said, “We need a pay raise now!”
But state lawmakers have said ‘now’ is not the right time as they’ve worked to prioritize funding.
Texas faces a $6 billion budget shortfall this session.
Neither of the budget proposals passed by the House or Senate would increase state employee pay in the next biennium.
Derek Brozowski works in the records management group for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
“I’m fighting for all Texans,” Brozowski said.
State employees looked to convince lawmakers that poor pay equals poor services, from highway improvement projects to healthcare.
Brozowski said he hasn’t seen a pay raise since he started at DFPS in 2015 and he credits the “low pay” as the driving force behind the agency’s high turnover rate.
“Increasing our pay will do a lot to solve the problem,” he said.
The Texas State Employees Union wants lawmakers to use some of the $12 billion in the Rainy Day Fund for raises across the board.
Brozowski said, “I want a $10,000 raise that’s what we in the union have been advocating for.”
Union representatives said pay has lagged behind for 30 years and that the state has “money in the bank,” referring to the Rainy Day Fund.
“Children are dying in care, in the state’s care, and that’s unacceptable,” Brozowski said. “If this isn’t a rainy day, if this isn’t a disaster, if this isn’t a catastrophe, I don’t know what is.”
The last raise for state workers was in 2015, pay increased 2.5% but pension contributions also went up and the amount of money taken out of an employee’s salary by 2.6%.
The State Employees Union also wants Governor Greg Abbott to end the hiring freeze and cuts to state universities, action taken in response to the tight budget.
The author of the House budget, State Rep. John Zerwas, was unavailable to comment on why pay raises for state employees have not been considered this session. The Senate budget author, State Sen. Jane Nelson’s office did not return calls for comment Wednesday.
