What Happens At The State Level Does NOT Stay At The State Level

                    By Ray Lancaster, President, Salt Lake County UAGE District

Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. and his Department of Human Resource Management are considering a big change – the elimination of the merit system for state employees!  This change will affect approximately 24,000 state employees directly.  You ask how?  It will move employees away from a system with a hiring practice designed so the best candidate for the job is hired, a merit system for pay increases to “stay current” with the market and a grievance process designed to give employees a right to due-process.  At-will status will be the result.  That means it isn’t what you know but who you know to get hired, wages will be on a case by case situation and termination of employment can occur at any time without cause or due process.

History has shown that what happens at the state level has a way of trickling down to local government.  That means Salt Lake County could be affected.  Expect to see the same interest in eliminating the merit system in the County one to two years following state enactment.  Are you all ready to become an at-will employee?

Actually it has already begun with the 2008 Legislature’s passage of a measure shifting Salt Lake County division directors hired from now to at-will employees.  The current division directors are “grand-fathered” as merit employees.  However, each one of the current division directors has the choice to become at at-will employee in exchange for a monetary package.  Governor Huntsman did the same thing with dozens of Economic Development employees.  Then he fired them en masse without warning.

In 1996 the state of Georgia’s personnel system was changed to at at-will system because there was little opposition.  The reason the move was successful was because there was no employee organization representing employees and Utah state elected officials wants to mirror their system. 

That is not the case in Utah.  The Utah Alliance of Government Employees (UAGE) is working hard to protect you.  It is time to get involved.  Without the employees banning together in one STRONG voice, neither the Governor, the State Legislature, Salt Lake County’s Mayor or Council will do what’s right for employees.  Remember, each Utah public employee is a constituent of a Senator, Legislative Representative, Mayor and Council member. 

Elected officials are “temporary or at-will employees” because we elected them.  We have the right and responsibility to question their actions.  We have the authority to replace them if the job is not done to our satisfaction.