The
state engineers' union seeks the governor's signature on a bill
that drives up salaries from 2 percent to 12 percent.
The
union has already convinced lawmakers that key transportation
projects will suffer unless the state stanches the steady exodus
of its engineers to higher-paying jobs in local government.
The
Legislature approved AB2853 by Assemblyman Manny Diaz, D-San
Jose and a former engineer, in late August. It landed on Gov.
Gray Davis' desk Sept. 13.
It
requires the state to pay its 10,000 engineers, most of them at
Caltrans, wages comparable to their counterparts in larger
cities, counties and regional agencies. The state's pay scale
lags 20 to 30 percent behind most local agencies.
The bill
would increase the average mid-level state engineer's salary by
almost $8,000, from $64,740 to $72,508 a year.
It
spreads the raises over three years starting July 1, 2003, at a
cost of $6.8 million to $81.6 million annually, according to
legislative analysts.
"We hear
stories of folks leaving at the senior (engineer) level every
day," said Ted Toppin, spokesman for the Professional Engineers
in California Government. "If we are going to deliver the
transportation projects that Californians expect, we have to
keep trained, experienced professionals. And to do that, we have
to pay competitive wages."
The
trend has hit Caltrans District 4 in the Bay Area especially
hard.
Caltrans
has been unable to find a permanent District 4 director for more
than a year, reportedly due to the relatively low salary and
high Bay Area housing costs.
District
4 has lost its premier bridge engineer, Denis Mulligan of
Pleasant Hill, to the Golden Gate Bridge District, where he
makes more money and has only one bridge to look after.
Many
local agencies, from the Contra Costa Transportation Authority
to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, have lured
Caltrans engineers onto their payrolls.
"There's
a major brain drain at Caltrans," said Bob McCleary, director of
the Contra Costa Transportation Authority. "Some of Caltrans'
best and brightest have left for significantly more money and
often for less responsibility."
Sui
Tan's story mirrors those told by many former Caltrans'
engineers.
He left
his job in District 4 for a Bay Area regional agency post and a
25 percent pay hike.
The
Fremont resident enjoyed his Caltrans job, but "the state salary
didn't keep up with the cost of living, especially in the Bay
Area," Tan said, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
"made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
Davis
has not indicated if he will sign the bill.
He may
have concerns about offering engineers a raise during the budget
crisis or fear the implications of negotiating salaries in the
Legislature instead of at the collective bargaining table.
But the
bill has strong support among a diverse group that includes
labor, contractors, private engineers and local government
agencies.
Most
striking is the support from the engineering union's arch-enemy,
a statewide association of private engineers that has fought
bitterly with the union over access to lucrative state work.
The
engineers' flight has "depleted the upper ranks of state
agencies ... of highly qualified and experienced personnel,"
wrote Keith Dunn of the Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors
of California. He sent a letter to Davis urging him to sign the
bill.
A
coalition of counties, including Alameda and Contra Costa, that
collect sale taxes for highway and transit projects worry about
the effect of a protracted pay gap on millions of dollars in
local projects. The coalition sent a letter of support for this
bill to the governor, too.
The
counties rely on state engineers to review and approve key
voter-adopted improvements such as widening Highway 4 in East
Contra Costa County and carpool lanes on the Sunol Grade.
"Caltrans is constantly losing middle- and upper-level managers
and engineers, and it's a problem for us," said Christine Monsen,
who directs Alameda County's $1 billion transportation spending
program. "We need Caltrans to help us deliver projects to the
residents of our county."
While
the raises would come from transportation funds, largely federal
and state gas taxes, and reduce the cash available for new
projects, proponents call the plan a wise investment.
Experienced engineers solve problems, avert significant delays
and save millions of dollars on complex projects, said McCleary
of Contra Costa's transportation agency.
"An
engineer's salary may sound relatively high to people out there
paying taxes, but the value you can get out of a top-quality
project manager in terms of getting the job done as quickly as
possible is considerable," he said. "If we don't find a way to
keep top quality people at Caltrans, projects will cost more and
take longer."
