With Democrats in power, state workers make gains« Thread Started on Jul 4, 2007, 6:57pm » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------With Democrats in power, state workers make gainsSTEVE LAWStatesman JournalJuly 4, 2007read at source> http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pb ... /1042State workers, teachers and their unions had a banner season this session."They pretty much got everything they wanted," said Jim Green, lobbyist for the Oregon School Boards Association.That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but there's no doubt public employees had a change in fortune once Democrats got full control of the Legislature and governor's office last fall.Republicans had reigned in the House in 1990 -- the same year that voters enacted a pivotal property tax limitation. Since then, public employees have seen real funding for schools, colleges and many state agencies slide, leading to higher class sizes and greater workloads. Real wages for Oregon teachers, professors and state workers didn't keep pace with many of their peers in other states. Lawmakers created two lower-paying tiers for newcomers in the state pension system.Things changed this year.