Politics & Government

Winkler Critical of Plan to Lower State Wages

The St. Louis Park representative said unfair comparisons are being made.

Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-District 44B), who represents St. Louis Park and Golden Valley, said he thinks a Republican bill that would lower the wages of state employees is based upon unfair comparisons.

The bill, proposed by Rep. Keith Downey of Edina, calls for an immediate pay freeze for state workers. Downey then wants a compensation study to be done by next March, which would compare the pay of state workers with private sector workers in similar fields. This would be the basis for future state employee wages.

During a Wednesday meeting of the House State Government Finance Committee, Winkler said he doesn't think this would be a fair analysis to undertake.

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"(Downey) is only interested in comparing to the private sector when the private sector is down. (He's) not interested in comparing to the private sector when the private sector is up," Winkler said. "This would be like tying all future compensation of public employees to public compensation in the midst of the Great Depression."

Downey dismissed the Great Depression comparison and argued that the bill wouldn't set state wages permanently, but would rather act as a one-time "reset."

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"We've got a disconnect right now between what's happening in the public sector and everybody else's experience," he said. "So, let's reset it, and then existing processes can perpetuate."


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