‘Pay is the top priority.’ Talking state employees with SEANC lobbyist Suzanne Beasley
Start your week in #ncpol #ncga with our latest Under the Dome politics podcast. Dawn Vaughan here, your News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host.
For the week of Aug. 14, 2023, I talked with Suzanne Beasley, the government relations director for the State Employees Association of North Carolina. If you spend any time in the legislature, you’ve probably met Beasley, who lobbies on behalf of state employees. She’s been through delayed budgets before, which means a delay in raises for tens of thousands of state employees. But it’s not just about the wait on raises, according to Beasley, it’s about what the amount will be.
SEANC is lobbying for a 10% raise over two years as well as a $5,000 one-time bonus to retain employees.
“Money is the bottom line. Money is the issue when we are trying to hire people, as well as trying to keep people,” she said.
Beasley said with eroding benefits for state employees, “pay is the top priority.”
The Office of State Budget and Management, which is part of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration, recently announced that the state has increased revenue because of the high vacancy rate among state employees. The statewide vacancy rate is nearly 25%.
“The last thing the state of North Carolina can afford to do is lose employees right now,” Beasley said. As a lobbyist, she talks about the “relationship building” she does with lawmakers to advance SEANC goals.
The budget probably won’t be passed until sometime in September, in the best case scenario. House Speaker Tim Moore, a Kings Mountain Republican, told reporters this past week there is “zero” chance it’ll pass by Sept. 1.
Beasley has worked as a SEANC lobbyist for about 20 years, so she knows her way around the Legislative Building and Legislative Office Building. We talk about the “SEANC table” near the House chamber, the legislative library in the LOB and the lack of available chairs.
Headliner of the Week
As I ask every guest who spends a lot of time in the Legislative Building, not just lawmakers, Beasley shares her favorite food to get in the cafeteria, too. Cafeteria workers get a shout out, as they are state employees.
Stay tuned to the end for our picks for Headliner of the Week. Beasley’s is about the devastation in Hawaii, and I highlight a new town in North Carolina I visited, along with my first visit to the Fort Fisher Aquarium.
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