Topeka Capital Journal-9/4/10

By Ann Marie Bush

Susan Simmons, a full-time employee who served the state for 35 years, was called into a staff meeting Aug. 24, 2009, and told she and seven other workers could face layoffs because the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services was planning to consolidate its eight protection and abuse report centers into two offices.

The move was expected to save more than $1 million over two years.

It also was a move that added a lot of stress to Simmons' already stressful job.

SRS later announced its decision to consolidate its centers, eliminating 15 staff positions. Thirty-nine other SRS employees had to decide whether to relocate to other offices or lose their jobs, according to previous Topeka Capital-Journal articles.

The plan called for closing offices in Iola, Garden City, Hays, Hutchinson, Lawrence and a Topeka SRS office at 500 S.W. Van Buren, the one where Simmons worked.

"It hit management just as hard as it hit us," she said. "It was hitting every single level. There was a lot of tears and a lot of hurt. They really did not want to lose anybody."

She survived the layoffs, but it meant employees were asked to do "double and triple" their usual duties, Simmons said. The stress of answering telephone calls about child and adult abuse and neglect finally got to her. She retired in January 2010 and took a full-time volunteer position at the Kansas Organization of State Employees, a union for executive branch state employees.

KOSE was formed in March 2007 and is the largest union of state employees in Kansas. All nonsupervisory, nonconfidential, classified employees in the executive branch of state government are eligible to join, according to www.koseunion.org.

Simmons was a member of KOSE and decided she wanted to volunteer her time to help other state employees.

"I get to help out in a different situation," she said.

KOSE represents 11,000 state workers, said executive director Jane Carter.

Employers, such as the state, and employees are facing difficult times right now, especially with the continuing economic downturn. It is key that the two work together to understand what the other is dealing with, said Bruce Tunnell, executive vice president of the Kansas American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

But not all employers comprehend what their employees are facing, Tunnell said.

"I don't think employers, for the most part, understand," he said. "There are examples of that everywhere."

Some businesses treat their employees like a commodity, Tunnell said.

"When there is an overabundance, we should be able to cut benefits," Tunnell said some businesses think. "Just because the economy is bad, we should be able to cut wages and take away benefits. When employers are talking like that, that is just greed. I think a lot of employers are taking advantage of employees because of the economy. Do the companies worry when they lay people off? No. Middle class is getting squeezed out."

The average KOSE member earns $21,000 annually, and more than 70 percent have a second or third job, Carter said. Most state workers haven't received a raise in the past seven years, she said, and the state went through a hiring freeze for three years straight.

"On average in every agency, there is one employee doing the work of three," Carter said. "On top of that, you have low pay and poor benefits."

Some are trying to remedy the situation, she said, including legislators and the governor.

"I think in a lot of ways, the governor the past five years has attempted to resolve it," Carter said. "We have had some very courageous legislators who have stood up and voted to support state workers and bring our pay up to a comparable market."

Security Benefit Corp. understands that the past two and a half years have been a challenge for many organizations, said spokeswoman Michel' Cole. During that time, Security Benefit experienced associate layoffs but is back in a select hiring mode and filling some key positions.

"When any organization faces associate downsizing and doesn't have an opportunity to rehire, it creates strain — for both the associate and the company," Cole said. "We believe it's important that companies help associates prioritize workloads and also recognize the efforts of associates who may be faced with working extra hours to help fill in the gaps and thank them."

It also is important for companies to take the opportunity to rationalize how the work is being completed to determine the best way to rehire if and when the opportunity arises, she said.

Mary Beth Chambers, manager of corporate communications for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, said Blue Cross hasn't had any recent layoffs and isn't in a hiring freeze.

"We have 1,436 employees," she said. "We are holding pretty steady."

While employees may be concerned about the economy, most are concerned about the future of the company with the new health care reform law, Chambers said. For 70 years, Blue Cross has had a business to business model. In 2014, that business model may change to business to consumer.

No matter what the future holds, Chambers, who has worked at Blue Cross for 12 years, said she feels the company will do its best to keep employees apprised of the situation. Blue Cross has a very tenured group, she said.

"That longevity to me means Blue Cross is a good employer," she said. "It has been a good company to work for."

Despite the threat of layoffs and the stress levels at SRS, Simmons said the organization offered a good work environment and did its best to keep employees apprised of budget cuts.

But Simmons won't look back, and she is happy making sure state employees have a voice on the job.

The Wichita Eagle Aug. 31, 2010

What makes a recession so challenging for state and federal budgets is that tax revenue declines at the same time demand for services increases. It's a double whammy.

The same problem occurs for many of those providing government-supported services: Their funding drops while the recession causes needs to rise.

For example, the Sunday Eagle reported how Kansas' three state mental hospitals were over capacity at least one-third of the time during the past fiscal year. And twice this summer the institutions were forced to close their doors to voluntary admissions due to overcrowded facilities.

Much of the increase in mental illnesses is precipitated by economic stress — a job loss, home foreclosure, mounting debt or loss of insurance. But at the same time more people were needing help, the state reduced funding, causing great strain on the mental-health system. Even a planned expansion of Osawatomie State Hospital, which would have added needed capacity to the system, was shelved due to budget cuts.

A commentary at the bottom of this page describes a similar strain on the state's court system. Last fiscal year, the judicial branch's budget was reduced by almost 14 percent, yet the down economy is resulting in more bankruptcies, foreclosures, collections cases and domestic disputes.

Though they don't face quite the same problems, many school districts have seen increases in enrollment — perhaps partly because some families can no longer afford to send their children to private schools. The schools also may have to deal with the effects of recession-related family stress on students. And while state funding was cut last fiscal year and held flat this year, the achievement demands of the federal No Child Left Behind law have kept increasing.

The Kansas Health Policy Authority also is struggling due to the combination of budget cuts and increased demand. The federal government warned it recently to clear a backlog of more than 32,000 unprocessed applications for health care for the poor. Nearly 21,000 of those applications are more than 45 days old, which is out of compliance with federal processing requirements.

There are many other social services, both publicly and privately funded, that are facing similar challenges of having to do more with less. Unfortunately, they're unlikely to get much relief until the economy improves and the double whammy starts working in reverse.

For the editorial board, Phillip Brownlee

The Kansas AFL-CIO is proud to endorse Tom Holland for Kansas Governor in the 2010 Election.  The Holland / Kultala ticket is the sensible choice for the working families of Kansas.

Holland and Kultala understand that if the economy is to improve, Kansans will need leadership that understands the struggles of living paycheck to paycheck.  The economy will only rebound when working Kansans can support their families.  The two State Senators can be the only choice, because only they have the record and foresight to reinvest in the people of Kansas by creating jobs.  Both Holland and Kultala were instrumental in guiding the State through the most challenging of legislative sessions in 2010.

In addition to Holland and Kultala for Governor / Lt. Governor, Stephene Moore for the U.S. Congressional 3rd District, Steve Six for State Attorney General and Dennis McKinney for State Treasurer have all been endorsed by the Kansas AFL-CIO.

KOSE is a proud affiliate of the Kansas AFL-CIO and Sen. Tom Holland is an at-large KOSE member.

The Kansas AFL-CIO is the State Federation of Labor representing over 95,000 members of 250 Unions throughout Kansas.