May 2018 Scoop

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Friday, May 4, 2018

Early Voting ends Saturday, Election Day is Tuesday!

If you haven’t made your voting plan for the May 8 primary, now is the time to do so!

Early voting ends Saturday, May 5, and so far only 3 percent of North Carolina’s registered voters have turned out to cast their ballots. This means that your vote will make the difference in getting EMPAC’s endorsed candidates across the finish line.

If you haven’t voted yet, there’s still time. Find your early voting site here or find where to vote on Election Day here. Whether you vote during early voting or on Election Day, just make sure to vote.

Too much is at stake for state employees and retirees to sit this one out. If you would like to volunteer for one of our phonebanking efforts or Election Day activities, email Amanda Finelli or call at 1-800-222-2758.

Some employees to get raises thanks to new compensation plan The Office of State Human Resources announced this week that some employees will get raises as a result of an overhaul of the state’s job classification system currently underway.

The state is in the process of updating job classifications and job titles as mandated by the General Assembly. Around 3,000 employees will see a pay increase because they currently make less than the minimum for their new job classification.

The changes pertain only to employees covered by the State Human Resources Act. Employees should be notified of the changes with this month’s paycheck.

Also this week, The State Treasurer’s office announced that the state retirement system will lower its investment assumption from 7.2 percent to 7 percent. The fund has not met the higher rate in the last 20 years.

“Lowering this assumption will provide the best opportunity to meet the state’s long-term obligations as well as maintain its AAA bond rating,” State Treasurer Dale Folwell said in a statement.

The Charlotte Observer detailed how a string of escape attempts at area prisons can be attributed to understaffing, among other reasons.

The grounds of the Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women are surprisingly gorgeous thanks to inmates and officers.

Law enforcement officers and state officials including Attorney General Josh Stein honored fallen officers at the North Carolina Peace Officers Memorial Day observance Thursday in Wilson. Among those remembered were correctional personnel Meggan Callahan, Justin Smith, Veronica Darden, Geoffrey Howe and Wendy Shannon, who were killed by inmates in 2017.

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A tasty adventure awaits at Busch Gardens!

A tasty adventure awaits culinary explorers during Busch Gardens® Food & Wine Festival May 25 – July 1. Individual tasting portions from around the world make exploring all that the Food & Wine Festival has to offer an easy task.

The hardest decision for visitors will be deciding what to eat first.

The Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival offers park guests the opportunity to sample a variety of food and beverages not normally served in the park. Visitors can enjoy authentic tastes from around the world at 16 themed kiosks while strolling through the world's most beautiful theme park. Throughout the event, festivalgoers also will have the opportunity to get up close and personal as chefs lead interactive and informative cooking demonstrations.

You can purchase your tickets from now until Sept. 28 at any State Employees’ Credit Union branch. Visit www.ncsecu.org to find pricing and a location near you.

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2018

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Friday, May 11, 2018

Gov. Cooper calls for largest state employee raises in a decade On Thursday, Gov. Roy Cooper announced his budget proposal for the upcoming session that included the largest pay increase for state employees in a decade. It also included a 1-percent cost-of-living adjustment for retirees.

Stories in the News & Observer and on WRAL-TV focused attention on the state employee raises. SEANC Executive Director Rob Broome was quoted by both saying, “The governor's decisive action is a significant and long overdue step toward lifting many public employees out of poverty wages, especially those who serve our most vulnerable citizens or protect us from harm.”

SEANC's leaders and lobbyists have made pay raises for state employees a top priority throughout our discussions with Governor Cooper and his administration over the past few months. This budget shows that SEANC had an impact.

But there’s a lot more work ahead. The budget must now gain support in the legislature in order to pass. That’s where you come in. If you haven’t already, please click here to send a short message to your legislator telling them you need a pay raise or COLA!

Contact your legislators

EMPAC has strong showing in primary EMPAC, the political arm of SEANC, backed a bipartisan group of legislators in this week’s primary election. Our success rate was 78%!

Now it’s time to shift our focus to the General Election in November. Get to know where your legislators stand on SEANC issues, like the governor’s proposed pay raise for employees and COLA for retirees. Invest in EMPAC now and make your voice heard at the ballot box in November.

Invest in EMPAC

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Water Parks will be opening soon!

See how much fun you can have at Ocean Breeze You can purchase discounted tickets to theme and water parks in four states by visiting a State Employees' Credit Union branch now through Sept. 28.

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2018

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Friday, May 18, 2018

After Gov. Roy Cooper released his budget last week with the largest state employee pay increases in a decade, House and Senate leaders have yet to release their cards close on their own proposal. SEANC’s Government Relations team has all the details on opening week in this week’s Legislative Update.

The state is taking notice of SEANC members’ efforts to contact legislators on pay raises and COLAs. As of Friday, more than 2,200 messages have been sent to legislators, and as SEANC Executive Director Robert Broome said, “We’re just getting started.” We need you to keep sending messages, especially as the budget dance heats up in the next few weeks. The Senate will likely release its budget soon, and the process will move quickly from there.

Click here or below to send your legislators a message. You can use the prewritten message if you want, or write your own. Also, if you are active on social media, click here to send a message on Twitter or Facebook.

Contact your legislators

For a deeper look at the different topics discussed today follow the links below:

Audit Committee seeking members The SEANC Audit Committee is seeking members to fill open positions immediately, as well as candidates for election to a 3-year term. Candidates shall have financial experience that includes accounting principles, serving as the treasurer for SEANC or other organizations, business operations/reimbursement and compliance officer responsibilities, or similar related experience.

Candidates must submit a resume of relevant experience to be screened by the Audit Committee with a report made to the Board of Governors. Please email resumes to Audit Committee Chairman Keith Renner at vrkeithr@yahoo.com or send to the SEANC Central Office.

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Water Parks will be opening soon!

See how much fun you can have at Wet'n Wild!

You can purchase discounted tickets to theme and water parks in four states by visiting a State Employees' Credit Union branch now through Sept. 28.

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2018

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Friday, May 25, 2018

Raises, retiree bonuses in legislators' plan Legislative leaders painted a grim picture for state employees earlier this year, telling SEANC to expect a modest bonus instead of a base pay increase. There was no mention of anything for retirees, either. At SEANC’s urging, Gov. Roy Cooper used his budget proposal to call for the largest investment in state employees and retirees in a decade.

The governor’s proposal, coupled with grassroots action by SEANC members through emails, phone calls, and inperson meetings at the General Assembly, led House and Senate leaders to change their tune and invite SEANC to the table to discuss our members’ priorities.

On Thursday, House and Senate budget writers invited SEANC to join them in unveiling a plan that raises pay for every state employee, puts more money in retirees’ pockets, addresses critical pay issues for everyone working in a correctional institution, and establishes a $15/hour minimum wage for state workers. Key provisions include: Increasing the minimum salary to $31,200 ($15/hour) for all employees covered by the State Human Resources Act, estimated to be at least 12 percent of the state’s workforce.

Raising pay for all employees by at least 2-percent across-the-board.

Increasing pay for correctional personnel by 4-percent and providing differential pay for working in custody levels higher than their current classification.

Providing retirees with a 1-percent nonrecurring supplemental bonus and fully funding the retirement system’s actuarial required contribution.

Doubling the line-of-duty death benefit for correctional personnel from $50,000 to $100,000, with a retroactive provision to include the five officers and staff killed last year.

Awarding five bonus days of vacation for all employees.

The full budget is expected to be released on Tuesday, and votes could come as early as next Thursday.

Thank you to the thousands of SEANC members who wrote, called or met with their lawmakers! Your voice was heard. Without you, these negotiations would not have gone from a one-time bonus to a real wage increase for everyone.

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Make plans now to visit Dollywood!

You can purchase discounted tickets to theme and water parks in four states by visiting a State Employees' Credit Union branch now through Sept. 28.

www.seanc.org | The State Employees Association of North Carolina | © 2018

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