State Workers: Pay Cuts Amount to Income Tax

By Bill Cotterell of the Florida Capital News

Chanting "enough is enough," scores of state employees gathered at the Florida Capitol Friday to denounce planned pay cuts as a form of income tax that only state government workers would have to pay.

"You've been privatized, you've been criticized and now we are trying to starve you out," Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, told members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "We're basically looking to put, with furloughs and pay cuts, an income tax on state workers."

Neither the House nor Senate version of the $65 billion budget mandates furloughs, although some agencies and universities have proposed them as preferable to severe cuts in payroll. Layoffs are also likely when the House and Senate reach a compromise on the budget.

The Senate version of the budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 proposes only a 1-percent pay cut for employees making more than $100,000. The House version includes 4-percent reductions for everyone making over $26,400 and 5-percent cuts for those earning over $80,000.

The full story may be found here.