The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo

Governor of New York State

State Capitol Building

Albany, NY  12224

The Honorable_______________

New York State Senate

Albany, NY 12247

The Honorable _________

New York State Assembly

Albany, NY 12248

Dear __________:

I am a New York State Management/Confidential (M/C) employee and I am writing to urge you to take action to (1) restore my salary and the salaries of other M/C employees to the levels authorized in the original 2008-11 M/C pay legislation (Chapter 10 of the Laws of 2008) and (2) pass legislation (S.06568/A.9776) establishing an M/C Salary Commission, which would set salaries every four years and whose recommendations shall have the force and effect of law and can only be altered by statute.

When M/C positions were removed from the original Taylor Law, Governor Rockefeller stated that M/C employees would be treated “no less well” than other State employees. Since then, no administration has kept that promise. Under every governor, M/C employees have borne the brunt of budget reductions and salary and benefits withholdings. Thanks to the withholdings of our legislated raises in 2009-10 and 2010-11, we are being paid 7% less than our PEF and CSEA represented counterparts, all of whom got their raises. We also lost our step increases in 2009-10, as well as longevity payments that were due lower-graded M/C employees. And our 2011-12 step increases and longevity payments, due in April 2011, were not paid until December, eight months later.

Enough is enough! Every day, we continue to earn less than our union-represented PEF and CSEA counterparts. And for those of us nearing retirement (many already have retired), our retirement allowance will be correspondingly less—a consequence that will last a lifetime. M/C employees need to be restored to pay parity with union-represented employees.

The Governor has referred to the difficulty in recruiting people to be Commissioners, because of the salary levels where Commissioners are paid less than Deputy Commissioners. Agencies are encountering the same difficulties in recruiting people to fill M/C positions. Creating a rational M/C salary structure, which passage of the M/C Salary Commission legislation can help bring about, will be an important first step toward restoring the State's ability to attract and retain qualified people to manage its workforce.  

Again, I urge you to take support action to restore my salary and the salaries of other M/C employees to the levels authorized in Chapter 10 of the Laws of 2008 and to pass the legislation (S.06568/A.9776) establishing an M/C Salary Commission.

                                                            Sincerely,