Last year during the 2013 Legislative Session, the Kansas Legislature introduced a bill that would have completely eliminated the Civil Service system for state employees. Without Civil Service protections, state employees could be fired for political reasons…or for no reason at all. KOSE successfully fought against this change, but the threat has not gone away.
On April 6, the Kansas legislature voted to eliminate due process for teachers. Teachers’ due process rights are very similar to state employees’ Civil Service rights, as they protect teachers from being fired for political reasons…or for no reason at all.
Most disturbing is the way this provision was passed—literally in the dark of night, in a secretive process that may have violated the Legislature’s own rules and state open meetings laws. These same tactics were used in the Kansas Senate’s unsuccessful attempt to eliminate public employee longevity pay.
As public employees and as citizens, you deserve to know when the Legislature is proposing to cut your pay or employment protections, and you deserve the opportunity to make your opinion heard about those proposed cuts. As public employees and as citizens, you need to remind your elected officials that they work FOR YOU, that you are evaluating their work and you will use your vote in November as their performance appraisal.
Join us as we work to make public employee voices heard!
KOSE is partnering with other organizations to rally and march to the capitol on Saturday, May 17. We will all stand together as workers to demonstrate we are paying attention…and that come fall, we will not vote for legislators who do not use their votes to support us.