June 30, 2006
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol
Sacramento, Calif. 95814
Dear Gov. Schwarzenegger:
I am writing you this letter today wearing two hats. I’m a career state employee and have worked my way up from rank-and-file to supervisor to manager in the Department of Developmental Services at the Porterville Developmental Center. I am also the President of the Association of California State Supervisors (ACSS), a corporation that represents "Excluded Employees" – that is state supervisors, managers and confidential /exempt employees who are excluded from collective bargaining.
We met at your first Sacramento Press Club presentation soon after you were elected. You called on me in the audience and elicited applause for me as a representative of "your management team"! You announced in front of all those in attendance that you would not forget your management team, adding that as a businessman you understood how important it was to provide adequate compensation for us.
It is almost three years later … and your state management team for the most part has not had a salary increase during your tenure or in the previous three years. That means it has been six long years without a pay increase for your employees who direct state programs and personnel, and plan for this great state’s future.
I have testified in front of the Little Hoover Commission, as well as your own California Performance Review Commission as it traveled all over the state in an effort at restructuring the state system and educating the public about your vision for change. Even though everyone agrees that state Excluded Employees in every department are 20%-35% behind in compensation, your Department of Personnel Administration has done nothing to fix this problem. In fact, Excluded Employees in over 1,000 state classifications are earning the same pay or LESS than those they supervise. There has been no succession planning as recommended by the Little Hoover Commission and by DPA, and many Excluded Employees have now demoted or retired because they can earn more money elsewhere.
I have written you numerous letters about this situation, offering full explanations, specific incidences of upside-down salary situations and providing detailed solutions that I can provide or that my organization and its members are eager to present. Yet, to date you have not responded to any of these personal or organizational communications or requests. California needs qualified leaders in top-level, mid-level and entry-level management who accept the responsibility for overseeing state programs and personnel while implementing the state’s laws and regulations. Yet these same leaders are not being treated with the respect that I’m sure you know is vital in any private business in order for it to be successful.
ACSS has led the way on behalf of the State of California in providing information about the inequities that have been identified above. I spent two years serving on a committee chaired by a high-level DPA manager working to solve these problems. The State Excluded and Exempt Employees Salary-Setting Task Force published a report that was sent to you, Governor Schwarzenegger, and to every member of the Legislature. This in-depth "Task Force Report" and its carefully crafted recommendations has been ignored by you, the Legislature and DPA.
I was encouraged to read that you and the constitutional officers of California received an 18% salary raise, and that the legislators were granted an additional 2%. Governor, now is the time for you to acknowledge the value of managers and supervisors in state service and pass on that same 18% to members of your management team. This increase would begin to solve many of the inequities that have been created by the past three administrations, and provide you the opportunity to recognize and reward your management team for a job well done.
I am requesting an appointment with you to discuss your vision for the state and how members of your "Management Team" can accomplish your goals.
Sincerely,
Tim Behrens
President, ACSS