A look at public employee salaries across America by the Lansing State Journal shows that Michigan's 48,500 state employees earn above the average in most job categories.
Figures in a front-page article by Scott Davis are from a Public Employees State Employee Compensation Survey compiled last year by the American Federation of Teachers.
The AFT survey — which state union officials say is misleading — ranks the salary of 14,000 Michigan state workers in about 45 job categories, representing about a third of all state workers. It showed state workers in Michigan gained significant ground in salaries when compared to other state workers since 2008. That year, Michigan ranked squarely in the middle of the pack nationwide. . . .
Of the Michigan jobs studied, all but five ranked above the national average in 2012 pay.
These are among examples Davis presents:
- Michigan state-employed foresters earn an average $58,401. In Minnesota, they earn $34,264.
- State transportation engineers in Michigan earn more than in most other states. In Michigan, they make an average wage of $66,252; in neighboring Ohio, it’s $46,821.
- Michigan employees in 16 job categories received salaries more than 10 percent higher than the national average. Those highest ranking jobs included agricultural scientist, earning $58,568, or 28 percent higher than the national average.
Competitive salaries help recruitment, the Journal quotes state and union officials as noting.
“Michigan wages and benefits are competitive, which is important in order to attract talent,” said Kurt Weiss, spokesman for the Office of the State Employer. . . .
State employee union officials contend the AFT salary survey is misleading because it doesn’t account for the higher salaries paid for comparable positions in Michigan’s private sector.
In response to budget pressures, state employee unions last year agreed to double workers' health premiums to 20 percent. Unpaid furlough days also have hit some public workers.
New contract negotiations with state employee unions are due to begin this summer, Davis writes.
State officials aren’t expected to seek major concessions in health care benefits because employees took a large hit in 2012, and union officials are declining to say whether they will push for raises.
Unionized state employees — about 34,300 of the state workforce of 48,500 — received a 1-percent base pay raise and a 1-percent lump sum increase for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, and they will receive a 1-percent lump sum increase the following fiscal year.
