STATE OF MINNESOTA

Office of Governor Mark Dayton

116 Veterans Service Building 20 West 12th Street Saint Paul, MN 55155

November 9, 2015

The Honorable David Hann

Senate Minority Leader
Room 147, State Office Building 1
St. Paul, MN 55155

The Honorable Kurt Daudt

Speaker of the House
Room 463, State Office Building
St. Paul, Minnesota 55155
Dear Speaker Daudt and Minority Leader Hann:

I respectfully request that you engage with the members of your caucuses, who serve
on the Legislative Coordinating Commission Subcommittee on Employee Relations, with the
goal of reaching agreement on the updated Commissioner's and Managerial compensation
plans that were submitted to the Subcommittee for consideration. The Subcommittee's refusal
to approve these plans is unwarranted, unfair, and irresponsible.
The state employees covered by these two plans are not agency commissioners, but
rather career employees, who are not covered by collective bargaining agreements. As you
are aware, the members of the Subcommittee failed to approve the AFSCME, MAPE, and
MMA collective bargaining agreements; yet they will go into effect in thirty days under
existing statute.
By contrast, the refusal to approve the Commissioner's and Managerial compensation
plans leaves these professional employees without any salary increases unless and until the
legislature acts next year. Employees covered by these plans include State Patrol Lieutenants
and Captains, Human Resource professionals, Information Technology experts,
administrative office staff, attorneys, dentists, pharmacists, financial and budget experts,
veterinarians, and many other critical positions.
Specific examples of these employees include:

An Office Assistant for the Department of Natural Resources who currently earns
$31,000/year (works in greater Minnesota).
An Accounting Clerk with the Department of Administration who currently earns
$32,000/year.
An Office Assistant for the Depar Intent of Veterans Affairs who currently earns
$36,000/ year (works in greater Minnesota).
A Human Resources Technician with the Department of Veterans Affairs who
currently earns $33,000/year (works in greater Minnesota).
A Management Analyst in the Department of Corrections who currently earns
$55,000/ year.
An Investigation Specialist with the Department of Corrections who currently earns
$57,000/ year.

Voice: (651) 201-3400 or (800) 657-3717

Website: http://mn.gov/governor/

Fax: (651) 797-1850

MN Relay (800) 627-3529

An Equal Opportunity Employer

Printed on recycled paper containing 15% post consumer material and state government printed

Speaker Daudt & Minority Leader Hann

November 9, 2015
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An attorney at the Office of Administrative Hearings who currently earns $58,000/

year.
A State Patrol Lieutenant who currently earns $74,000/year (works in greater
Minnesota).

Of the approximately 2,300 employees covered by these plans, over 400 currently
earn less than the average state employee salary of $58,000. They deserve the legislature to
respect their career professionalism, rather than play politics with their livelihoods.
Indeed, at the same time the Subcommittee failed to approve these compensation
plans, it approved changes to employee insurance benefits that will result in more out of
pocket costs. These changes were carefully balanced against the modest pay raises included
in the new plans. Adopting the changes to the insurance plans without approving the
corresponding compensation changes, effectively delivers pay reductions to these employees.
During this time of budget surpluses, those pay cuts are affronts to employees who work hard
every day on behalf of the people of Minnesota. When the state was facing more difficult
budget circumstances, many of them did not receive salary adjustments at all. They received
a zero percent increase to their salaries during five of those eleven years.
Some have suggested that government salaries have outpaced the private
marketplace. This is simply incorrect. A recent study by the Center for State and Local
Government Excellent found that when salary and benefits are included, state employees
make 6.8% less than their counterparts in the private sector. Furthermore, the Price of
Government in Minnesota is down from 17.9% in 1994 to 15.5% today. According to the
federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, private sector wages are already up 2.3% so far in 2015
from a year earlier. According to the Bureau of Economics, Federal, State and Local tax
burdens is the lowest it has been since 1958.
I ask you to work with your members of the Subcommittee on Employee Relations to
approve the proposed changes to the Commissioners and Managers compensation plan.
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