State workers in Oregon receive a total compensation package that consists of a salary, a retirement plan (PERS), and a health care plan (PEBB). While public employee wages are just 88% of comparable private sector workers, benefits like health care have been protected to keep the overall compensation package in line with the private sector. This creates a context problem. Viewed out of context, state health care costs seem high. When compared to the now-rare retirement offerings in the private sector, public retirement benefits appear overly generous. But when viewed in the context of total compensation – which is the bottom line of the state budget – state worker earnings are about what you would expect to see.
Oregon’s public employees have been caught in a politically motivated effort to keep corporate taxes low. Every time there are calls for corporations to pay their fair share, the pivot to public employee compensation is not far behind and many in the Legislature fell into this trap again in 2019. There is also a broader context to this issue. Across the country, we have seen a decades-long, race-to-the-bottom approach to worker compensation. Stagnant wages, dwindling retirement plans, and health care with large out-of-pocket costs are the norm. These changes have driven corporate profits up while shrinking the middle class and fueling the rise of income inequality.
Public sector jobs are some of the last remaining jobs that provide a secure retirement and good health care benefits. Tens of thousands of Oregon families are better off as a result. That’s worth fighting for.