State Revenue Systems: Options for the Current Fiscal Crisis
The cumulative state budget shortfall for 2010 is estimated to be more than $166 billion. States will not be able to cut their way out of a shortfall of this magnitude. There are no easy choices to solve this crisis. To be a part of crafting a solution that does not place the burden of balancing public budgets squarely on public employees, AFT Public Employees, together with the AFT research department, have created a resource guide for locals, state federations and coalition partners. State Revenue Systems: Options for the Current Fiscal Crisis provides an explanation of current revenue structures state-by-state and suggests alternatives to improve revenue stability and progressivity. The guide is available online here. For a printed copy, please e-mail Karen Schiffhauer at kschiffh@aft.org.  

AFT Public Employees 2009 Compensation Survey
While the average salary of state employees rose a modest 2.6 percent in 2009 to $47,077, the “buying power” of state employees has not increased since 2002. These are among the findings of the 2009 AFT Public Employees Compensation Survey of 45 state employee job titles in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The survey, now in its 10th year of publication, is the only national survey that tracks the salaries of state government employees.

Mending Healthcare
Our system needs reform, and it needs it now. In the past decade, healthcare premiums for employer plans have risen six to eight times faster than wages. To bring down costs, employers have increased workers' premiums, co-payments, co-insurance and deductibles.

Retirement: A career-long plan
Profiles the defined-benefit pensions of three public employee retirees and the threat to the future of public sector defined-benefit retirement plans. (Public Employee Advocate, April/May 2009)