Public Workers
by Diana McFarland, Gianmarco Katz, Griffin Beronio
What’s the problem?
Municipal governments often face obstacles in hiring and retaining talent — an issue now exacerbated by COVID-era resignations and the Baby Boomer retirement wave. Similarly, public schools are also struggling to fill critical positions, with qualified candidates for non-teaching vacancies, such as transportation or custodial, in short supply. If local leaders are to ensure high-quality governments and education systems, interventions are needed to address the disparities between public and private workforces. These would include data-driven hiring and retention plans, diverse talent pools, reimagined job titles and roles, and improved job quality. Furthermore, local governments should work to build a reputation as an employer of choice and coordinate with unions and professional organizations to create career pipelines.
What are People Currently Doing?
To attract qualified candidates, local governments must triangulate between regional labor market trends, hiring needs, and their own unique value propositions. It is important to identify wages and benefits offered by competitors, issues around the cost of living, and local resources (like high-quality school districts and other public goods) that can be leveraged to attract talent. Moreover, hiring must be coordinated with skill gaps in the current workforce and with future workforce goals. The Massachusetts Human Resources Department published this hiring strategy guide with recommendations for analyzing hiring trends, developing attractive job postings, and best practices for reviewing resumes and interviewing. For school districts, the most effective policies to attract and retain educators include Grow Your Own programs, increasing their compensation, investing in professional development, improved working conditions, and improving district and school management practices.
But effective recruitment is just one piece of the puzzle. Keeping talented workers in essential positions is equally important. Compensation remains a critical piece of any employee retention strategy and can be strategically designed to maximize retention. Spokane County developed a sign-on bonus policy for harder-to-fill positions that provides 50% of the bonus after a new hire’s first full year on the job. Similarly, this bill from the Virginia state legislature improved recruitment by ensuring five percent annual salary raises for government workers. Further, municipalities should work to raise the local minimum wage to a living wage. Washington D.C. raised its minimum wage to $17.50 per hour with annual cost-of-living adjustments. Michigan’s Department of Education suggests compensation strategies that are direct, indirect, and also focused on the school culture and working conditions.
Local municipalities can also set themselves apart from private sector employers by offering personalized incentives, opportunities, and greater workplace flexibility. Hybrid and virtual work arrangements, which improve work-life balance and overall job satisfaction, are particularly appealing to younger candidates and can create cost efficiencies. Benefits should be tailored to diverse needs amongst the workforce, as not all employees prioritize the same perks. Offering a range of options, such as childcare stipends, public transportation subsidies, or retail vouchers, and actively seeking worker input on benefit preferences can enhance job satisfaction and retention. For example, Human Resources Director Magazine published strategies for retaining employees that don’t involve increasing wages, including extending paid time off and expanding professional learning opportunities for current workers. The Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington also recommended frequent surveys to gauge employee satisfaction, highlighting the City of Issaquah’s public employee engagement task force.
Wisconsin’s Department of Instruction Workforce Analysis found that retention of current educators would significantly address the shortages schools are experiencing. In South Carolina, a Teacher Retention and Recruitment Taskforce developed targeted recommendations school districts and states could implement to address the growing teacher shortage. Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy advocates for fair wages and improved job quality to support the teachers and communities vision for equitable schools in LA. School districts across the nation also rely on over 2 million school support staff such as bus drivers, food service workers, custodians, and clerical service workers. Opportunities for promotion, quality professional development, and job security can entice these workers to stay in their districts. When employee retention efforts fall short, some districts attempt to outsource these services, only to spend more on lower quality of services. Instead of privatizing public sector jobs, districts should insource to regain control and provide quality services, while making better use of public funds.
Taking it to the Next Level
Partnerships with local public sector unions can help local governments hire and retain workers. Unions like the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) partnered with local governments nationwide during the COVID crisis to secure masks and other protective equipment, and improve worker safety. After the pandemic, AFSCME then stepped up to help local governments recruit new workers. Collective bargaining rights like these can strengthen public schools alongside the communities that surround them. In Fairfax, VA union educators and support staff reached an agreement to ensure region-leading employee compensation via salary and step increases, additional educator planning time, and continuation of an eight-hour teacher contract for special education teachers.
While some local governments might be reluctant to partner with these organizations, public approval of unions is the highest it has been since the 1970s and unionization rates remain highest in the public sector. This report from the Center for American Progress outlines policies Local governments can implement to support public unions and their workers in light of Janus v. AFSCME, the Supreme Court precedent that weakened the ability for public workers to form unions.
Some of the most effective partnerships that local governments and unions can enter into are training partnerships. Public sector labor-management training partnerships are independent organizations created and controlled by unions and employers together to design and manage workforce training and apprenticeship. These programs enhance the delivery of public services, improve productivity, and address skill gaps in the workforce. The San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP) is a workforce development organization that connects job seekers and businesses with career training, job placement, and workforce support services. The Urban Institute offers guidance for identifying and leveraging different sources of funding models and public-private partnerships to sustain and enhance workforce programs (see ProGov21’s Regional Coordination and Job Quality roadmaps for more resources).
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