*UPDATE* - Sigh. Just, sigh. This post was wicked interesting uncle Transit Works spokesman Jason Heck just phoned to let me know he wasn’t sure what happened with the PDC reports, but that they actually raised $1,200, not $175. That information is indeed on the PDC filings, though each contributor is listed individually and not part of their “funds raised at low-cost fundraiser” filing, which included just the $175.
So there you go, Transit Works actually raked in a healthy $1,200 at the event.
The pro-tax increase group supporting Whatcom Transportation Authority raised just $175$1,200 at their campaign kickoff on Wednesday, Feb. 3, according to their most recent state Public Disclosure Commission reports.
Those who went to the event and commented on this blog said the event was well-attended. But it looks like so little was raised, in such small amounts, that they weren’t required to name those who contributed.
The group, however, has so far outraised their opposition by a hefty amount, with $22,311.12 in the bank so far.
Much of the cash comes from transit union workers in Whatcom County as part of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 843 and the Olympia-based state organization the Amalgamated Transit Union Legislative Council. Two other locals in Spokane and Olympia have also contributed. Combined, the organizations have given $12,500 of the campaign’s total contributions.
Meanwhile, conservative activist and former KGMI talkshow host Brett Bonner’s People for Progressive Transit have not filed any information yet on campaign contributions. I also e-mailed Bonner last week to see if a Web site was forthcoming for the organization but I haven’t heard back.
February 8th, 2010 at 5:05 PM
Bonner’s busy being lots of one person organizations and causes.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:20 PM
The WTA tax increase is a classic case of government workers being paid significantly higher than private industry, and then funding their unions, who in turn fund the political debate to raise more taxes, so that the government workers can then ask for more money, fueling a chain reaction that feeds itself.
This is the nightmare that is pushing government spending and subsequent tax increases, like this WTA tax increase Most government spending is 60-70% wages and benefits.
In the case of WTA, over 70% of WTA operating costs are just simply wages and benefits. Most of WTA’s stated need is to pay something other than wages, but this is a ploy, as if they cut wages, they wouldn’t need a tax increase in the first place. Would they?
Rather than just state my opinion that government workers are paid more than their priate counter-parts today. I am going to prove this with the WTA.
I am going to use facts. I am going to round numbers, but this will not change the outcome of the analysis.
I am going to answer tow questions, using publicly available numbers. If some one would like to add more fact, especially those which are not available to the public, I reserve the right to amend and extend my remarks. Fair enough. Here we go.
According to the 2010 WTA Budget posted on their website there are 180 people listed in the WTA Operations division, 80% are bus/van drivers Here are their wages and benefits.
Wages $ 9,078,511
Benefits $ 4,425,305
Total $13.503.816
Divided by 180 people equals $75,021 average annual wages and benefits. Now this is not quite accurate, because there are a few dispatcher and supervisors wages include, but remember it will take a lot of wage differential for their 20% of wages to change the other 80% of wages. I am going to make an assumption that the average bus driver makes approximately $70,000 in wages and benefits a year. I would get the exact number but their website doesn’t give us enough information to calculate this number precisely.
First of all, it is worth noting that WTA bus drivers benefits are about 49% of their wages. The private sector is about 30%, maybe a hair less. This means that WTA us drivers enjoy benefits that are 50% higher than the “average” private sector job. The US government Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) computes for the whole nation, so you can check their site to verify.
Now what would these bus drivers make in the private sector?
I went to the Worksource sith and they had the following median wage for a school bus driver. $16.17 and hour. So for a standard 2000 hour year this computes to $32,340 plus the average private benefit package of 30% and we have a school bus driver making $42,042 a year.
This means that WTA driver makes 67% more than a school bus driver.
Although this is approximate, with what I had to work with, it represents a pretty accurate picture.
Now I am certain that some one will jump up and down and say that this is unfair, but keep this in mind also, the work environment, stress level, and job security is pretty good in government, compared to the private sector, and that is worth something, maybe something significant.
In addition, being a school bus driver is not a cake walk having to deal with full buses of kids and their parents. These drivers are shouldering considerable responsibility.
I am happy to be corrected, but simply stating that you don’t agree doesn’t cut it. Prove that my numbers are wrong by providing more accurate numbers.
The question that I am willing to ask fairly, is what would a WTA bus driver get paid in the private sector doing the same job?
Adjusting WTA drivers to school bus wages would save WTA approximately $4,000,000 annually.
We could hire more police, or hire more bus drivers, because there is only so much tax money available and every high wage reduces the total number of people that can be employed.
Last, remember that when you raise taxes, you are lowering someone else’s wages, and we need to be fair to those folks too.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:42 PM
Your argument is still flawed, because you are still comparing wages to wages AND compensation, and wondering why they are unequal. A 30% ballpark of private benefits comes from where? What’s the scale, what do we have to reference it to, and based upon what statistics? WTA has 48%. I can cite my old job as a grocery store clerk that shows that private job benefits can reach nearly the same as wages in certain situations. And do I really need to remind you that school buses are not privately run, and thus doesn’t make any case at all about private vs. public pay scales?
Taking just wages, the average for an FTE in the operations department at WTA is $24.25 per hour ($9078511 wages / 180 FTE’s / (40 hours*52 weeks). New employees will be significantly lower; senior employees will be just as much higher. How does that compare with private bus companies around here?
February 8th, 2010 at 9:08 PM
Bob,
So then what could a WTA driver expect to make in the private sector, compared to what they make a WTA??
It is easy to be a critic.
You do the comparison, and I’ll critic your work.
Here is a simple fact from the BLS.
2008 Average Federal employees wages and compensation $ 119,982
2008 Average private sector wages and compensation $59,909
Greyhound starts at $35,000 and goes to $50,000 and I am sure of two things, their benefit package is no where near 49% of wages, and they never sleep in their own bed.
If you want Bob, why don;t you come up with the starting wages at WTA, and the staring wages at a private bus company. Add in the benefits to come up with a whole compensation package.
If your facts are accurate, I’ll be the first to applaud.
I await your analysis.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:22 PM
Yeah Bob, let’s see ow you can juggle those apples and oranges and torture statistics before your head explodes. I await your analysis too.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:20 AM
Average income for Washington State employees - Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/oes/2008/may/oes_WA.htm
Bus Drivers, School: $33,360 average $16.00 per hour
Bus Drivers, transit: $41,810 average $20.00 per hour
State average for all occupations: $46,430 or $17.32 per hour
February 9th, 2010 at 9:47 AM
Elisabeth, this basically mirrors the data I utilized. For once we can at least agree on these facts.
Unfortunately most school and Transit drivers are government employees. I used their wages because I could not find a reliable source for Private Bus drivers.
If you can find one, that would be helpful.
I suspect that private bus drivers, while probably not quite as good working conditions or employment security, make similar wages. It’s the benefits at 48% of wages that is the major difference.
Thanks
February 9th, 2010 at 12:04 PM
Doug,
Are you opposed to employer paid benefits?
February 9th, 2010 at 12:08 PM
Doug,
Are you opposed to employer paid benefits?
Charter bus and other private bus drivers: $29,200 per year or $14.04 per hour. That’s national, not regional.
February 9th, 2010 at 12:59 PM
I’m simply saying your argument has holes, and you’re asking me to fill them for you? It’s your assertion that there’s a private/public pay discrepancy at the local level; why should I have to do your work for you? I moved to Spokane over the summer, so if I could find this out from Bellingham area bus companies all the way over here in a day or two when you actually live there and have spent weeks asserting the same argument without the least bit of local investigation (aside from concentrating on WTA), you should be ashamed of yourself. Do you really want me to do that?
Here’s what you do:
1) Call, go in, or email Airporter Shuttle (1-866-235-5247 or amy@airporter.com for specifics about jobs.)
Inform them that you are researching local bus operating expenses in order to compare them to WTA’s expenses to determine whether you want to support a sales tax hike or not. Ask what their bus driver wages start at, and what they go up to. Ask if they can give out information about what their benefits packages cost last year. They probably won’t give that out, in which case *you have to stop* using WTA’s benefits in a comparison to keep it fair. If you are going to make assumptions like, “I suspect that private bus drivers, while probably not quite as good working conditions or employment security,” then you’ll have to figure out a line of questioning in order to obtain quantifiable responses. Perhaps what the employee turnover rate is, and whether more people quit or get fired?
2) Contact at least 1 more bus company (WSDOT provides a directory of sorts here: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/choices/bus.cfm) and ask the same questions. 2 more (3 total) would provide a better average, and the closer to Bellingham and the area’s cost of living, the better. If you can’t get information about what they pay in benefits, then you cannot compare that variable due to lack of information.
3) If you really want to be thorough, compare WTA to the two other nearby transit systems (Island transit and SKAT) to see if WTA is high, even amongst public transit companies. I know WTA pays about 10% more than STA here in Spokane (driver wages peak at $22.50), but the cost of living is dramatically lower here, even within the same state.
Or do I have to make your points more informed for you?
February 9th, 2010 at 1:47 PM
Elisabeth, no I am not opposed to employer paid benefits. I support them, but to state the obvious, when comparing compensation today we do have to consider the cost of these bennies as part of the total compensation
Comparing total compensation, including bennies, is the only apples to apple comparison relevent, especially with the disparity between private bennies versus public bennies, that is recognized by most knowledgable observers.
February 9th, 2010 at 8:41 PM
Here is a nice article that explains the public versus private pay gap.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/11/AR2006081101566.html
February 10th, 2010 at 3:37 PM
Incidentally, Doug, you might like to read the reply I posted about that article in the other thread. Here’s the link:
http://blogs.bellinghamherald.com/politics/state/state-senate-committee-approves-suspending-two-thirds-tax-increase-majority/#comment-22172