YOUR COMMENTS

In Ms. Hodgdon's effort to "clarify the facts" she failed to do so. The average part time position paying $74 was for unclassified employees, not classified, as she states, while she is correct the average pay for part time classified employees is approximately $14.00, or actually $13.42.

I am confused as to how she feels the SEA membership chose to layoff employees instead of taking furloughs. As close as she apparently is the governor, she must have read the tentative agreement, which offered furloughs with no protection against layoffs. So the choice was, in reality, layoffs or furloughs with layoffs.

Interesting she would mention it was only AFTER the vote on the tentative agreement, that department heads could be creative to not layoff employees. Funny, that was never mentioned before hand. All I can glean from this was that it was a terrorististic attempt at negotiating the agreement the governor wanted at any cost. Even if it meant lying to the state employees, and the citizens of the state, who would be impacted by such a tremendous loss of staff.

It would seem that not only our elected officials are engaging in treacherous underhanded tactics to get their own way, but that the governors politically appointed commissioners are propagating the information, in an effort to intimidate not only state employees, but all citizens of the state.
- Melissa, Concord

LOL - I am not a supporter of unions, but I give them credit for arguing from the facts - at least somebody is paying attention to the fiscal notes! The real culprit in this mess is Lynch who agreed to the pay raises in the current contract that the iunion members are now protecting under the evergreen clause - also Lynch's problem that this clause exists. Oh yeah - Lynch also handpicked this commissioner Linda H. who just got shut down with this comment.
- Don, Laconia

This administration is all about putting a one sided spin on these things, but after a while people see through it.
- Terry, Pembroke

This op-ed is so disingenuous. For example, Hodgon claims that the SEA says part-timers get paid an average of $74. Not true. The SEA says that unclassified and non-classifieds are getting $74 while the classifieds (ie, union types) get $13. And guess what? It's an undeniable fact admitted to by Hodgdon herself. This isn't a misstatement or misunderstanding by her, but an intentional attempt to distort the truth. She should be ashamed of herself.
- Dwayne, Bedford, NH

This article is a perfect example of why we need unions.

By and by, the people will see who is right and who is wrong. Taft
- Helen, Concord

The numbers for how many part time state employees and what they're paid came straight from Administrative Services (Commissioner Hodgdon) in reporting to the Legislature for the Fiscal Note in HB 662. Follow the below link to look it up for yourself.

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2009/HB0662.html

HB 662 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to paid sick leave for employees.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Department of Labor states this bill will increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. The Department of Administrative Services, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill may increase state, county, and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. This bill will have no fiscal impact on state, county, or local revenues.

METHODOLOGY:

The Department of Labor states this bill requires employers to provide paid sick leave for employees. The Department states a poster, rules, and forms would need to be developed, increasing the Departments costs by an indeterminable amount. The Department currently has a process for filing complaints and holding administrative hearings, including administering civil penalties. However, because the Department has no data to estimate how this activity may increase under this bill, the full fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time.

The Department of Administrative Services states this bill will allow paid sick leave for both full-time and part-time employees. The state does not provide leave accrual for part-time employees at the 40-hour amount identified in this bill. Because the Department cannot estimate the number of employees taking sick leave, or the extent to which additional human resources will be required to cover sick employees, the fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time. However, the Department estimates if every part-time employee took the full sick leave amount and each employee was required to be covered by another employee at the average pay for that position, the cost for a 40-hour week would be as follows:


Type of PT Employee
Number of Employees
Average Hourly Wage
Total

Adjunct Faculty
1,727
$306.80
$21,193,744

Classified Employees
3,628
$13.42
$1,947,510

Judicial Branch
211
$57.71
$487,072

Non-classified Employees
1,473
$74.11
$4,366,561


The New Hampshire Association of Counties states to the extent full and part-time county employees are not already provided 40 hours of paid sick leave each calendar year, or to the extent employees are not currently allowed sick leave for all of the reasons identified as allowable reasons in this bill, county expenditures may increase if other personnel are required to cover the sick days. As the Association cannot estimate the number of employees without sick leave or how many may require coverage by other personnel, the fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time.

The New Hampshire Municipal Association states to the extent full and part-time municipal employees are not already provided 40 hours of paid sick leave each calendar year, or to the extent employees are not currently allowed sick leave for all of the reasons identified as allowable reasons in this bill, local expenditures may increase if other personnel are required to cover the sick days. As the Association cannot estimate the number of employees without sick leave or how many may require coverage by other personnel, the fiscal impact cannot be determined at this time.

This bill does not include an appropriation or establish positions.
- Gary Smith, Concord NH

How mean-spirited many "comments" writers are toward the author of this opinion letter. And how inaccurate. Like or not like her position on the contract negotiations, the Commissioner of Administrative Services works very hard and fairly thanklessly in a difficult job. I apprreciate someone trying to counter the over-the-top SEA rhetoric around this whole process.
- Lisa, Deerfield

Will you print a response from the SEA or just be a PR out let for the administrations misinformation?
- peppergas, Exeter

I am a retired State employee I have been a member of the union for years & years, They have always been there for me in my time of need as they say. But I know that they were hiring PT RN's out side the State's employment for years. & the practice is still going on. Any PT RN filling into a State postion is making alot more that the RN that is empolyed by the State of NH . The exact amount I am no sure. I has alway been a known fact. The only thing that I feel is wrong is that the RETIRED workers are forgotten. Pushed aside. I feel is not fair in any way ,shape ,or form. The reason I went to work for the State of NH & stayed as long as I did was the insurance,retirement. I ended up getting hurt due to lack of staffing. No back up as they say. I had no-one to call went a resident attacted me. The is want personal cut equal too. Lack of staff, injured employees, mandatory OT, tired & sick employees. It nice to sit in a big old chair and tell the lower group of emplyees what to do. But the really work comes from the empolyee with the smaller paycheck. I think if they really look hard & long they could find cuts /savings in alot of places that they really DO NOT want to look at
- Aurea, Suncook, NH

The 750 announced layoffs are actually 370? If these guys were as slick as the ones in Washington, they would have announced 7,500 layoffs (over ten years).

Melvin, not only have unions outlived their usefulness, they never had any. Productive, hustling, good-attitude employees have always been able to negotiate for themselves and find better jobs. State employees don't need union "protection"; they have the wise and all-knowing legislature overseeing their work conditions. The SEU exists to make life safe for complacent workers--know any?--and to lobby with ACORN and SEIU for even greater dominance and power over America's achievers.

Commissioner, you shouldn't make Johnny of Nashua nautious [sic]. He might do something nauty.
- Spike, Brentwood NH

Reading an article in Time Magazine on the proposed cadilac-health plan-tax NH state employees were noted as receiving some of the most expensive health care benefits of all states. The article stated that NH state employees receive an average of $20,400 in insurance benefits for a contribution of $60 per month. If this is true, what is so wrong with asking state employees to contribute at least double that amount?
I would love to see an article in reference to average pay for how many hours, vacation days per years of service, number of paid holidays, sick days and personal days. It would also be interesting to know how much union members contribute to their retirement.That would give the taxpayer a much clearer idea of where money could be saved by our state.
Are these stats published anywhere?
- Cathie S., Chester

This OP-ED is self-serving and done so by a political appointee. At her rate of pay, I have to wonder what this OP-ED piece cost us taxpayers.
What she did not address are the 1,359 VACANT but fully funded positions and why they were not counted towards the personnel cost reduction. She only spoke of the low-paid classified, part-time worker who average wage is $14 per hour. (Part-time workers do not earn benefits). What is the rate of pay for part-time, non-classified and unclassified employees? She only spoke that the out-sourced costs were reported in a "more transparent way"; she did not deny that the costs are HALF a BILLION dollars. More transparent or not, that is still too much money being sent to the private (for profit and greed) sector without accountability!!
Another way to sum up her OP-ED is by calling it total TRASH with a spin from the government. In addition, there is no new news to consider.
- Gary L. Kerr, Chichester

More than once I have challenged the commissioner’s credibility which constantly needs scrutiny. Let’s start with the beginning of her statements about the legislature mandating 25 million in savings. The fact is the governor requested that and was given that by the legislature. He has been hiding behind it ever sense. Turn around John, you requested it, you got it and you have been hiding behind it ever sense. The pay for consultants really isn’t as high as people say, we just record that differently. That is a bureaucratic answer for “yes it is but don’t believe it”. The governor makes false statements (750 layoffs when they only needed 250, then credits his department heads for saving jobs so to cover his misinformation). The fact is the democrats screwed this process up to a fair thee well and are trying to win to save their reputations before the next election. They will say and do anything to this end. There are no winners in this and the losers are the taxpayers, voters and people who need services. I have a good idea let’s raise the budget another billion dollars and “spend” our way out of this, it’s working on a federal level, at least that is what the liberals are saying. MMM MMM MMM
- peppergas, Exeter

Like most outrageously compensated Department Commissioners, I don't really blame you for bowing to his majesty, but is there any chance you could do it a bit less transparent?

I actually became nautious reading your self-serving statement. You are the problem. Another "Administrator" who cares nothing about the people who actually do the work, only maintaining her do-nothing six figure compensation package.

Commissioner positions are political payoffs, that is COMMON KNOWLEDGE my dear.

Please do not insult the intelligence of the people of this State.
- Johnny, Nashua

Every state employee who is either a member of the SEA or paying partial dues because they are forced to under a SEA sponsored law, should drop out of the union. Then all of those employees who are not in the union can save their money and stop the flow of hard earned dollars to the far left causes supported nationally by their local dues.

Unions have outlived their usefulness.
- Melvin, Keene

Who cares? Please, let's move on to real news. No group of employees facing layoffs, in this state, has gotten more air-play and print than these folks. I'm tired of it.
- Phil, Concord

Funny, there's no mention of the $69 million in contracts that didn't go out to bid the first six months of 2009.

Also no mention of the 3589 vacancies totaling $50 million is personnel savings.

The governor didn't want to let on that department heads could be resourceful before the vote.

Don't expect any applause from me.
- Tim, Hooksett