State Employees

I am writing in regards to the article you posted on salaries of state workers ("Coaches, doctors get top state pay" May 24). The problem with this is I am a state employee who puts my life on the line each and every day that I go to work, and I do not feel as though my full name and date of hire should be posted. I work short staffed everyday and in some very rough conditions that no one else would want to do. I am a correctional officer of 16 years in Jessup, and my job is to protect the public, the detainees, the employees and offenders housed behind the fences and walls that the average person has no knowledge of. My salary of $50,000 is hardly enough when you look at the type of work I do and the risk I take to do it. I am at risk of contracting AIDS, TB, head lice, MERSA, other childhood diseases as well, meningitis, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and melanoma and cancer.

The O'Malley administration has notified state employees in same-sex relationships that they won't be able to include domestic partners in their health insurance anymore. If they want coverage, they'll have to get married. The policy change is the result of the new Maryland law allowing same-sex marriage, which took effect Jan. 1. The thinking is that offering health coverage to an unmarried same-sex partner doesn't make sense anymore, officials said, particularly since an unmarried heterosexual partner doesn't have the same right.

Regarding "Coaches, doctors get top state pay" (May 24), I am concerned by the database included with your article. It is extremely regrettable that The Sun made available the full names of state workers across the board. While this information is public, that does not mean it needs to be, or should be, published in the newspaper. The Sun has put correctional officers, parole and probation agents, police officers, juvenile service employees and state security officers at risk.

In greeting new Secretary of State John Kerry, members of the Foreign Service were welcoming one of their own. They hope his arrival at Foggy Bottom will mark new understanding of - and support for - the work they do around the world. "As the son of a diplomat and as a member of the U.S. Senate deeply involved with American diplomacy over many decades, you bring to this office a unique perspective and understanding of politics and diplomacy and the importance of a professional career Foreign Service as the backbone of U.S. diplomacy and of the Department of State," Susan R. Johnson, president of the American Foreign Service Association, told Kerry last week during a welcoming ceremony.

How blithely you brush over what is essentially an income tax on only state and education employees. It seems that the pension system, supposedly in such desperate straits, can manage without the increased contributions required from state employees for two years; instead they will go into the general fund. This is an income tax and has nothing to do with the pensions of the people being forced to pay it. It places an additional burden on people who have had years of furloughs and cannot remember their last raise.

The O'Malley administration has notified state employees in same-sex relationships that they won't be able to include domestic partners in their health insurance anymore. If they want coverage, they'll have to get married. The policy change is the result of the new Maryland law allowing same-sex marriage, which took effect Jan. 1. The thinking is that offering health coverage to an unmarried same-sex partner doesn't make sense anymore, officials said, particularly since an unmarried heterosexual partner doesn't have the same right.

Siegfried Wolff, a bond-program coordinator in the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene says being a state employee these days is much like being a prisoner condemned to death in revolutionary France."

Having been involved in layoffs several times, I understand the anxiety and financial pain that go with the layoff notices the governor may be sending hundreds of state employees ("Painful cuts for budget balance," Jan. 22). But I worked for the private sector, and the layoffs were the result of downturns in the business of the company I worked for. There is no such downturn in the business of the state of Maryland. In fact, during times of recession, more is demanded from government services.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's decision to furlough most of the state's work force was surely not the happiest moment of his tenure. But in a slack economy, it was probably a necessity - and it might have an upside for him politically. Faced with a widening pothole in the state's operating budget - and a statewide aversion to increasing taxes - Mr. O'Malley's budget-balancing options are limited. Thus, he plans to ask 67,000 state employees to take some days off, unpaid. The numbers had "significant" and "major" and "painful" stamped all over them.

Another labor union has jumped into the ring to organize Maryland state workers, prompting a cry of foul by one competing union and renewing calls from labor officials for a collective bargaining law to resolve the confusion.The new union, sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers, is aimed at organizing some 6,000 state correctional workers, and opens the door for raiding members of three other state employee unions.Heading the organizing drive for the new Maryland Correctional Employees Union (MCU)

Maryland state workers - and their family members - could win a college scholarship for fall 2013 offered by the State Employees Credit Union. The credit union typically awards $15,000 to $20,000 in scholarships annually. Last year, it awarded nine scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $2,500, said spokesman Ray Weiss. The deadline to apply is April 12 th . Here's more info about the qualificaitons. Applicants must write an essay. This year's assignment: “Recent innovations and new technology, like “EMV chip” credit cards, Google Wallet, PayPal, Amazon 1-Click smart phone card readers, and Near Field Communications, make it easier than ever before to purchase items.

Wages provided as they would appear on an IRS W-2 form. 1. Mark Turgeon $2,185,975.97 2. Randy Edsall $1,596,935.46 3. Ralph Friedgen $1,062,516.75 4. Stephen Bartlett $938,997.13 5. Brenda Frese $864,146.17 6. Edward Reece $775,524.59 7. Jay Perman $771,222.10 8. Bartley Griffith $760,667.41 9. Bruce Jarrell $659,764.11 10. Jonathan Bromberg $647,999.59 Source: Office of the Maryland Comptroller ...

I was reading about some American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees getting retroactive raises back to July 1. How nice. By way of this letter, you're welcome. I say this because Gov. Martin O'Malley and AFSCME thought it would be more fair if non-union members were forced to pay union dues. I don't belong to any union, yet because of the Fair Share Act, $13.80 is deducted from my paycheck as union dues. The reasoning is that non-union members benefit regardless of membership.

State media keep talking about the fiscal cliff as if it will obliterate Maryland's wealth if Congress does not reach a compromise on debt talks. The truth is, cuts are far down the road if they happen, and Maryland will continue to thrive as an extension of Washington's bureaucratic complex. There is an imminent financial crisis in Maryland, however: state debt. According to the nonpartisan nonprofit State Budget Solutions, the total debt of Maryland is almost $82 billion. (www.statebudgetsolutions.org/publications/detail/state-budget-solutions-third-annual-state-debt-report-shows-total-state-debt-over-4-trillion)

Recently I spent 90 minutes on the metal benches at the DMV in Glen Burnie waiting to renew my driver's license on a day a lot of my fellow Marylanders had the same idea. While waiting - especially without a book to read - can be difficult, I left with a smile on my face. The DMV employees I dealt with - getting my number, answering questions and finally getting my license - could not have been more pleasant, helpful or friendly. Bravo Maryland state employees! Want a shorter wait?

For the second time in his six years in office, Gov.Martin O'Malleyfinds it necessary to call a special session of the legislature to raise taxes and fees ("Deal set to raise taxes," May 10). Mr. O'Malley says it's necessary to raise the taxes on those making over $100,000 to prevent cuts on education, health programs and state employees and to prevent cuts in state aid to Baltimore City and Prince George's and Montgomery counties. These three subdivisions already receive, through the Thornton funding formula, an unfair share of state aid for schools compared to the other subdivisions based on the revenue they send to the state.

A union representing state employees began mapping strategy last night to fight the layoffs scheduled in February for 33 workers at the Rosewood Center, home to 470 people who are severely mentally retarded.Although the state maintains that the work force reduction was necessitated by the reduction of Rosewood's population by 105 residents over the past year, officials of Council 92 of the American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees called it "the direct result of budget cuts" and warned that jobs in other institutions could be in jeopardy.

ANNAPOLIS -- State employees derisively call it "Schaefer time," the extra 4 1/2 hours a week two-thirds of them will have to begin working without extra pay starting Wednesday.Demoralized by the absence of a pay raise this year, a cut in the state's health insurance subsidy and now this, many of them say they may "put in" the extra hours Gov. William Donald Schaefer has ordered, but they may not work them."It'll be like a work stoppage -- 10 minutes to answer the phone. It takes longer when you're on 'Schaefer time,' " said Connie Powell, an angry State Highway Administration employee.