The president of a Mississippi state employees union warns of dire consequences if Republican Phil Bryant is elected governor and the GOP takes control of the state House of Representatives.
Democrats currently control the House while Republicans have the Senate and the governor’s office under term-limited Haley Barbour.
Bryant, the current lieutenant governor, will go up against Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree, a Democrat, on Nov. 8.
Brenda Scott, president of the Mississippi Alliance of State Employees, said Wednesday that the Democratic majority in the House is in the Tea Party’s scopes.
“The governor’s office and the Senate have been your worst nightmare. They have supported every bad thing Gov. Barbour ever dreamed of,” she told the Greenwood Voters League.
Scott was there to discuss proposed changes to the Public Employees Retirement System. She said it’s one of the best in the country. It has $20 billion in its fund and made a 25 percent return during the fiscal year ending June 30, she said.
There’s no urgency, therefore, to change things, she said.
Scott said Barbour will do damage to state workers, though, through a commission he appointed and said he’s holding off its decision until after the Nov. 8 election because of that.
“The governor appointed a 12-member commission made up of business people. I’m not racist, but they’re all white males,” said Scott, who is black.
She said there’s a difference in private and public sector workers.
“Public sector workers provide services. The private sector workers are driven by the profits of the boss man,” Scott said.
State employees have long received perks because their wages are so low, she said.
“You’ve got a private sector saying their tax dollars are doing this and they’re paying a bunch of state employees perks and they’re doing that, but that’s because your boss in the private sector is more interested in his profit margin than paying you a living wage and providing you any benefits,” she said.
• Contact Charlie Smith at csmith@gwcommonwealth.com.
