Teachers, fire fighters and other government workers, many of them retirees, finally got their chance to tell a special government commission Wednesday how they believe the first $45 million of retroactive government pay should be divvied up among them.
Following a similar event on St. John Tuesday, the two-hour meeting Wednesday at the Charlotte Amalie High School was the second in a series of three public forums designed to help the Retroactive Wage Commission come up with a formula to distribute the first portion of a total of nearly $300 million the V.I. government owes in back wages.
A third forum will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. at the UVI Great Hall on St. Croix.
The members of the V.I. Division of Personnel’s Retroactive Wage Commission, legislated into existence in 2007 but staffed with appointees just last month, faces the daunting task of trying to square up with more than 10,000 current and former government employees who were promised wage increases that were only partially—or never—paid between 1989 and 2002.
A majority group, nearly 4,500, are owed between $10,000 and $50,000
After nearly 25 years in arrears, the 28th Legislature allocated a first payment of $45 million by borrowing from the government’s Insurance Guaranty Fund and securing it with a letter of credit.
Now the commission has asked for stakeholders’ input on how to distribute it. “Cash!” was the first suggestion Wednesday from a woman in the crowd.
Many of those who spoke Wednesday suggested that the commission find a way to pay as many people as possible on the first round and leave the balance for future payments, for which the Legislature has yet to find a funding source.
Some suggested a $2,000 or $4,000 maximum payment on the first round that would take care of many who are owed less, while giving everyone something.
“It would be a drop in the bucket for some of us who are owed so much,” said retired teacher Evon Freeman. “But at this point, something is better than nothing.”
Acknowledging the audience’s support for the proposal, Wage Commission members Angel Dawson and Wayne Biggs–who serve as Finance and Licensing commissioners, respectively–said they endorsed some version of that plan.
Others in the crowd asked that the families of deceased workers who are owed wages get theirs paid first, or that anyone over the age of 85 or living under the official line of poverty deserve to be taken care of first. One woman even suggested a higher initial portion of the first $45 million go to teachers because they “squealed” the loudest for retroactive wages in the first place.
Audience member Arthur Howell received many nods when he said that everyone get 15 percent of what was owed on the first round, matching the 15 percent that $45 million takes from the total.
Not so fast, others said.
A possible glitch in the allotment was that employees would have to have paid a higher amount into the Government Employees Retirement System (GERS) if they had been making the wages they were promised. And the government would have had to pay a larger share for each wage earner as well.
Sen. Carlton Dowe, the original sponsor of the bill that resulted in the $45 million now up for grabs, stood before an incredulous crowd to say he wasn’t sure if the government’s portion of the annuity would come out of that $45 million. He would check into it, he said.
If so, that would cut the slice of the pie down by almost $6.5 million, commission members conceded.
“This issue will have to be addressed,” Personnel Director Kenneth Hermon said. “It will not go away.”
Even with that amount taken to pay the government portion, the $5 million will still be a boon for the territory, members said.
“No one here is going to be inclined to stick it in a mattress,” said Dawson. “People are going to pay bills. People are going to spend money,” he said. “And it’s going to stimulate the economy.”
Over the next few weeks, employees and retirees can go to the Department of Personnel website, to a special page dedicated to the Retroactive Wage Commission, to find out if they are eligible under the program.
The commission members said that they will review the suggestions made during the three forums this week and then decide on a formula, which will then be presented to Gov. John deJongh Jr. for approval.
At that time employees will receive a notice in the mail saying how much they are owed and how much they will receive from the first allotment. There will be opportunities for appealing initial decisions, Hermon said.
“This obligation has been a long time overdue,” Hermon said. “I know you’ve been waiting 10, 15, even 20 years."
“Give us a few more months,” he said. “That’s all we ask.”
