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Layoff or Day Off?
Washington state released their latest unemployment figures today. Oregon is expected to follow later this week and Oregon's news — much like Washington's — is not expected to be good. More and more people are losing their jobs as the economy continues to slide. What about people who are not being laid off, but whose employers are starting to feel the pinch?
Some companies are cutting salaries by five or ten percent. (That may not sound like much, but if you're living paycheck to paycheck it may mean a present-less birthday party for your daughter or a missed mortgage payment.) Other companies are lapsing on their employees' medical insurance payments. How are you being chipped away at in this economy? How are those small changes changing your life?
In order to avoid layoffs, many companies are asking if their workers want to work fewer days for less pay as a way to reduce company expenses. The state is geting into the act, too: Governor Kulongoski has suggested that teachers work for free in order to make up some of the difference in the education budget this year.
Frank Ahrens wrote a provocative piece for the Washington Post's Economy Watch blog recently that explored the idea of "Furlough Weekends":
Would you like 10 more three-day weekends per year? Would you still take them if the third day was unpaid -- and if your alternative was getting laid off? One of the biggest costs of any employer is payroll. In the ongoing economic crisis, employers are looking for any way to cut costs and many are resorting to layoffs. But many others — from an RV-maker in Oregon to the Gannett newspaper chain in McLean to the state government of California — have turned to involuntary furloughs, or unpaid days off, as a way of cutting payroll costs while avoiding painful layoffs. That got us here at The Ticker thinking: What if employees facing furlough could choose their furlough days?
If you are an employer, what are you offering employees in order to avoid all (or some) layoffs? How do you balance your books with the needs of your employees? If you are an employee, how are you being affected by this downturn? Are your hours or salary or benefits being cut? Have you been offered a voluntary pay cut in return more free time? Have you accepted the offer?
Tagged as: business · employment · labor
Photo credit: Soon. / Flickr / Creative Commons
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I recommend you read "The Disposal American" When and how the American worker became just another piece of equipment to Employers. After I read this book a great deal of modern American history and current labor events made a lot more sense to me.
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Our Governor wants teachers to work without pay during the end of the school year to save money, yet he won't dip into the reserve funds (which have millions upon millions put away for a crisis like this)...he also said that he will take a 5% cut in his pay for the year...well, I did the math and I'll let you be the judge :)
Kulongoski wages: 93,600.00 annually, less 5% that he is willing to shave off (That comes to $4680 less per year) now divide $4680 by 12, that equals a whole whopping $390 per month. OMG!!! What a pay cut! ha ha
Now look at it this way: $93,600 minus $4680 equals $88,920 divide by 12 and you get his monthly salary of $7410.00 (which is double what most teachers bring home) roughly before taxes. And he wants teachers to work a few days for free...
How about he takes days without pay or better yet, why isn't he asking these Superintendents/Principals to take days without pay or a pay cut!!! The average pay of a Superintendent is 100,000+ and a Principal makes 80,000+...an average teacher salary dependent on experience 50,000(+/-) again, you do the math! Why does it always have to be the teachers....why not the upper management of education?WE seriously need to figure out what we are going to do! Schools whether people want to believe it or not are in major crisis. Districts are going to be cutting teachers, programs, special education, ELL programs, etc. Basically, teachers are going to be teaching with probably 30 + kids in one classroom with no help from aids, specialist, etc. Is that how you want your child to learn?
Please write our state legislature, our PRESIDENT (whom in my opinion is not doing what he said he is going to do-regardless of how short he has been in office)---he gave the auto dealers and banks millions upon millions of money that should have went to education, not to mention 50+ millions of dollars towards the digital upgrade coupons. I'm not saying Obama isn't doing his job, but why should education suffer because the CEO's are horrible and greedy people. We shouldn't be bailing them out...again...my opinion!!!Sorry for my rant but I'm very passionate about education. It's probably because I see how it will affect our kids. I don't want our future generations growing up without the proper tools for them to succeed! And unfortunately, they are!
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Well said! I completely agree! Why are teachers considered greedy to keep their work days and we aren't asking corporations (perhaps Exxon--they are profitable) to make a donation?
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Talking with some PPS teachers, it seems that their major concern is not working for a couple days with out pay. Their worry is that on the days they work gratis, they do not recieve any government provided health coverage. So the educators either have to get outside insurance for those days or take the risk.
Also, from what I understand, other public employees are being asked for the same thing as the teachers are. Police and Firefighters for example.
Teachers, Police, and Firefighters forced to work without health insurance coverage. Anybody else think that's a bit messed up?
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The last place any one should ask for working without pay is teaching! Haven't we nickle and dimed the education system to death already?
At least put the choice of pay cut or days without pay to the teachers and let them choose.
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Sporadic unpaid days off, particularly when they are slected at management's whim, are the worst possible scenario for employees, short of layoff. Everyone enjoys extra time away from work, but it is virtually impossible to do any remunerative work or draw public assistance for one or two scattered days each month. For example, if the Governor were to lay off employees for 24 consecutive work days, employees could qualify for unemployment. Obviously that undercuts the savings to the state, but intermittent unpaid days off impose too heavy a burden on employees.
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My husband is a state manager, so he has lost the raise he was expecting this year and will lose money from the mandated furlough days. Obviously, we're not thrilled at adding these losses to the loss of our savings in the stock market drop. However, we are still in much better shape than people who lose all their income through a job or business loss. It makes sense to try to spread the hurt around.
Much of our current problems stem from greed and people maximizing their individual well being at the expense of the community. If we learn how to cooperate better, some good will come out of our current economic crisis.
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Taking pay cuts is bad. You NEVER get it back. When I was a teacher in Seattle, we took a paycut to prevent layoffs. Guess what, there were still layoffs.
What is broken in Oregon is a rediculous tax system--high income tax and property tax and NO user (sales) tax. So what you get when people are laid off is an immediate drop in revenues. Yet no one is willing to step forward--not the Democrats or the Republicans to try to fix this glaring fault.
So, we'll limp forward with paycuts and reduced services.
On another topic: Gary Locke was an excellent governor. It's a feather in the cap of all Northwesterners that he will be there in a position that is a great fit for us and for the nation--as well as a great step for Asian Americans.
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How embarrassing--as a former teacher--misspelling "ridiculous". I guess my passion overtook me before I pressed "submit."
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I must commend Emily and her staff for another important discussion. Unfortunately, I must also say to millions of workers, to join the party. My job of 20 years was eliminated 9 years ago, then along with 60,000 other employees when Consolidated Freightways Shipping declared bankruptcy in 2002. We had already been experiencing work hours and all overtime cut then.
When I heard the question prior to the talk today, would you work for free? Since 2000 I have already performed thousands of hours of community service work in providing sidewalk astronomy for the public and schools. I initiated to continue this in my spare time even after the job loss and especially for schools. I took a 10,000 solo road trip to provide it across the continent and then overseas to Fiji in the South Pacific for several months.
Think of the Charles Kuralt On the Road reports on CBS many years ago. Think of today when people speak of networking on a computer. Imagine talking to thousands of people on road trips that you initiated. We can all do more in voluntary work or return to school while unemployed. President Obama has just announced this in last night’s statement to the Congress. I wasn’t aware that I was already doing this for the past ten years -
While this may be an "unprecedented economic situation," we need to start thinking about long term solutions. We need to make a committment to education and not to tax cuts or rebate checks. What's a better stimulus package than healthy, well educated children? Even if you do not have children, your future depends on today's children becoming working adults who pay Social Security and make the economy grow. We may be in a crisis now, but education always seems to be in one. This is a crisis of priorities, not merely of economics.
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What kind of example does this set? What does it say about how we value teachers? Teachers should NOT be working without pay. We can't keep taking and taking from teachers. I expect my children's teachers will be paid and would never expect them to work for free. Look a little higher up in the food chain for where to cut pay.
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I'm surprised more businesses don't create rainy day funds for their employess. How about saving three years of wages and health care benefits for each employee so companies and employees can get through economic down cycles?
I would like to see a reduction in exhorbitant managment pay. Managers and executives who make 5-1000 times more than their employees need to be paid less. How much is an executive or manager truly worth?
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The teacher guest commented that she thought everyone should step up to solve the school budget shortfall. I am a parent and I am ready to make a sacrifice for education of children in Oregon. Why is there not discussion of increasing taxes or a special tax levy. It seems that spreading the shortfall across the whole population of Oregon is much less of a burden than focusing the sacrifice specifically on the teachers. Perhaps those Oregonians who have lost their job are exempt from the taxes as they currently have no income for the unforseeable future.
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As the parent of a 2 elementary school age kids, I am mystified about why Oregonians accept an inadequate, income-tax dependent structure for funding public education. I understand most citizens resent paying taxes, and certainly the current economic climate is not favorable for raising taxes -- but if there is a recurring lack of resources to provide a quality education for all children, why can't the Governor and Legislature focus on creatively shoring up the revenue side of our state budget?
Why can't they frame the discussion about human services & school funding in a way that builds a revenue stream solution through either raising corporate income tax rates, or a 1% sales tax?? They are woefully lacking in leadership skills on this revenue generating issue, and that's what I find so frustrating every school year....
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Why always attack the workers?
Lets's look at the people who have derived the most over decades by attacking workers. Let's fully tax corporations as the legally defined "persons" they are. What other actual human "person" gets away with only paying a ten dollar minimum tax on their millions of dollars in earnings each year? Corporations fought very hard to get recognized as "persons", let's completely give them what they worked for and fully tax them as the "persons" they are.
Let's go back to taxing investment "earnings" at progressive rates.
Let's make the playing field more fair, let's turn back decades of the Conservative economics of giving more wealth to the already wealthy through legislation and make them pay a more fair share of the costs of running our nation and state.
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Tom, this country was established by the weathy and for the weathy. Initially only those who owned property could vote. And yet, a great many people without property gave their lives to found this country. The poor whites in the south were without jobs because of slavery. And yet, a great many poor whites gave their life in defense of a system that kept them poor and uneducated. During the 1800s the captains of industry gave legal life and personhood to their corporations. Corporations continue to pay large sums of money to both major political parties and attorneys/judges to maintain this myth of legal personhood. The Oregon minimum tax has been around a very long time through numerous public financial crisis. Where is the anger of the Oregon voters? Just as poor white defended a system that created their condition, so poor and not so poor Oregonians also defend a tax which contributes to deficit tax revenues for the public good. Go figure.
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I think a concern that has not been addressed. IF teachers took cuts, will they ever make up that time and money? Or will that be the new base?
I can see leaders always having an "emergency" and once a new presidence is created who determines when the time is "fixed."
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I was a parent volunteer in the highschool, and I have volunteered all through the years my daughter was growing up. At first I thought the teachers should take a few days w/0 pay, but after reading the comments, I think the administrators are the ones that get too much $, and they should be thinking about pay cuts. I see the long lunch breaks the city employees take, and I'm paying for it. I don't get any paid lunch break. I think someone should examine all these "salaries" our public employees are getting. Plus, I donated my $762 kicker, to provide for lean times, and now they are making me pay tax on it. If I donate my kicker, it doesn't really do much, unless everyone does it together. Let's work together here!
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It depresses me that, in an era of supposed "change," government seems to come up with the same old, tired, ineffective solutions to constantly-shifting, persistent problems. Without resorting to the same old "black-and-white" philosophies regarding teachers and their pay, I still think it's reprehensible that teachers are the ones expected to shoulder the burden of this budget crisis.
aims555 raises an impeccably logical point--what about all government employees who make more than $60,000 per year? Why aren't people asking them to work for free?
The truth of the matter is that Kulongoski et.al. are trying to play the Washington (D.C.) game like the pros they are--force the working classes to bend as far as they can, then just print money when they can't bend anymore. I wish they realized everyone's at the breaking point.
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Is there a way people can be compensated for their sacrifices? For example, college graduates who do volunteer service receive credit towards their student loans.
If teachers (or other public servants) take extra time off, can they receive tax deductions as a form of compensation? Or something that acknowledges their sacrifice is appreciated in a financial way.
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I was at a community meeting held by the Beaverton School District on Feb.13. The discussion was around how the school district can save funds. A maintenance employee stood up and referred to several instances were the Maintenance department had wasted away thousands of dollars with on ramifications. At the end of the day, everyone needs to be held responsible for their actions, regardless of them being a privet or public employee. This worker had also mentioned that employees are running personal businesses on district time…what is going on at the Beaverton School District?
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Why is it that only the workers are always asked to "give back"? How about asking Corporations to "give back" some of the tax breaks they have wangled over the years? How about asking the investment class to "give back" some of the stunningly advantageous tax breaks they have been given over the years?
Why are the workers always asked to do the sacrificing while the rest keep their unearned and undeserved benefits?
The workers did not cause this crisis and they should not be asked to bear the burden alone.
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Most Americans, for whatever reason, have a strong sense for "fairness". Its a strong gut feeling for fairness and justice. This sense is heavily influenced and tainted by our perspective and definition of fairness and justice. Hence the problem. I believe, within certain limits, employees should be willing to shoulder some of the financial burden through reduced salary and benefits during difficult economic times. Especially if such reductions will eliminate or significantly reduce layoffs and help some people keep their job. Employers should also be as quick to restore and reward these employees as economic times improve.
Unfortunately, both private and public employers are slow to restore the salaries and benefits without a fight. Some employers then view employees leaving as opportunities to increase their profits and save money by hiring replacements at a lower salary. Its like the price of a barrel of oil goes up two dollars and the same day the price of gasoline goes up 25 cents. Then the price of a barrel of oil goes down two dollars and the price of gasoline remains the same or takes several days to go down 10 cents. Americans as a group have a strong sense of for fairness and justice. Absent this they will resist shouldering additional burdens regardless of how logical and reasonable.
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I substitute teach for 6 local districts. Many of us are single people w/o no one else to rely on economically. Since the start of the year subbing hours have dropped 20-40%. We get no health insurance, nor any other benefits. We do not get unemployment insurance (though we have the honor of paying unemployment taxes). Many laid off teachers have come to Oregon from California to sub (locally, over 200 in one consolidated district as of August, w/ more coming). Local, well paid executives (who don't need the money to live) sub for community service time.
The school districts have nearly eliminated workshops, seminars and training, something that are a subs bread and butter. Teachers are told to not take time off unless they are very sick. Personal days have been taken away. Teachers don't take days off because they are afraid it will be used against them when the lay-off axe comes, especially new teachers.
As the pie has gotten smaller, the supply of subs has risen and the jobs per sub have fallen. Subs have already taken a large pay cut, and it is likely to get worse.
I absolutely love serving the kids and their teachers, but for me, it has reached the point that I may have to move to another state where there may be more opportunity. But, where is that? Public ed are not hiring teachers, they are laying them off. Ashland has already started.
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Comments are now closed.
When you consider the costs to find an employee and train them to do your business your way, it seems like you would do everything possible to retain them. Talk to them about your business problems and ask them what they would rather cut back on just to keep them and your business going. And most employees have gone through a lot just to get their job, their education and training, jobhunting, writing and sending out resumes, the whole shebang.
The economy will eventually come back and we all need to help each other out to get there, business owners, workers, and consumers need each other and cannot get along without each other.