Fact: Public Employees in Wisconsin Are Under Compensated
A hallmark of good government, at least at the local level, where we always balance our annual budget, is a solid reliance on data, on facts. The Wisconsin media firestorm over the past several days has focused on the Governor’s proposal to eliminate public employee collective bargaining and reduce compensation because public employees are paid more than workers in the private sector. While this storyline makes for great political theater, it is not supported by the data.
A detailed analysis of Wisconsin compensation data from the US Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics provides an accurate comparison of public and private sector compensation in Wisconsin.The report “Are Wisconsin Public Employees Over-Compensated?” was prepared by Labor and Employment Relations professor Jeffrey Keefe of Rutgers University for the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) policy research think tank. Keefe’s analysis controlled for education, experience, hours of work, organizational size, gender, race, ethnicity, experience, citizenship and disability. The study used data collected primarily from the National Compensation Survey, and in accordance with standard survey practice, focused on year-round, full-time public and private-sector employees.
Major findings include:
- On an annual basis, full-time state and local government employees and school employees in Wisconsin are under-compensated by 8.2% when compared to otherwise similar private sector workers. When comparisons are made for differences in annual hours worked, Wisconsin public employees are under-compensated by 4.8%.
- Wisconsin public sector employees are more highly educated than private sector workers, with 59% of public workers holding at least a college degree compared to 30% of private workers.
- Wisconsin state and local government and school districts pay college-educated workers on average 25% less than do private employers.
- The roughly 1% of Wisconsin public sector employees without high school diplomas tend to earn more than their peers in the private sector because the public sector sets a floor on earnings.
- Public unions in Wisconsin, contrary to the Governor’s claims, are not a source of excessive compensation.
As we all look to do what is in the best long term interests of Wisconsin families and businesses, there will be legitimate differences of opinion about the appropriate role of state and local government It is vital, however, that our political discourse be based on data, and not hyperbole. The well-funded private marketing campaign to portray public employees in Wisconsin as over-paid is an intentional distortion of the facts and undercuts the sense of fairness and trustworthiness essential for our democracy.