ACEC California Statement on PECG Ad Campaign: Public Union Rhetoric Misleading and Deceptive

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The American Council of Engineering Companies – California (ACEC California) today issued a statement in response to an ad campaign funded by the Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG).

“In today’s difficult economy of layoffs and furlough notices, it is incomprehensible to us that PECG is spending tens of thousands in taxpayer-generated dollars to create and run a series of ads attacking contracted out services and spreading misinformation about state pensions.”

“In today’s difficult economy of layoffs and furlough notices, it is incomprehensible to us that PECG is spending tens of thousands in taxpayer-generated dollars to create and run a series of ads attacking contracted out services and spreading misinformation about state pensions.

This is a time when all Californians should work diligently to help put the state back on an even keel by practicing fiscal responsibility. Instead, PECG chooses expensive means and misinformation to sway public opinion into believing that state employed engineers are a cheaper option than private companies and that restricting contracted out services will save the state money.

The fact is that a 2007 report by the former head of the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office showed the comparable cost of in house (state-employed) engineers ranged from $173,434 to $209,212 while the average cost of an outside (privately-employed) engineer was $193,000. [Read the entire report: www.celsoc.org/userdocuments/File/LECG_Rpt_2007.pdf]

While seemingly close in salary costs, when you consider the extra liability per state worker in pension and health care benefits – sometimes more than a million dollars – short-term contracts are a much cheaper option for the state and can actually help reduce costs.

PECG’s misleading ad campaign states that pension benefits are only $2000 per state worker per month. In fact, a PECG member employed by Caltrans with a term of employment of 22.7 years (the average) would have to earn less than $60,000 in the final year of employment to receive a pension of $2,000 a month. Since PECG claims that a Caltrans engineer costs over $100,000 in salary, the pension benefit for PECG members is more than $4,000.

Furthermore, less than 10 percent of transportation engineering and design work conducted by the state is contracted out to private engineering companies. Ninety percent is handled by state employees. In light of this dramatically one-sided statistic, it is disingenuous of the union representing state workers to suggest that cost savings of any kind can be made by further restricting contracts. If anything, the opposite is true.”