Union helped set hour limits and overtime pay

The automatic step raises (for state workers) you mentioned (Feb. 13 Gazette editorial, “Some tough love is in order”) was because when the union first came into being, our bosses were giving out raises not on merit but on who brown-nosed the most. At that time, our cost of living was going up 6 to 8 percent a year and we were getting no raise. Had it not been for that mistake, there probably wouldn't be a union yet.

On the health insurance issue, the reason employees got paid single and family (under some plans) was that we were paid less than our private-sector counterparts and this sort of made up for it.

The figures for cost of the new contract are not quite right. The only ones that have to receive a raise are the union employees covered by the contract.

When I started with the Department of Transportation in 1966, I made $285 a month with no limit to the number of hours we worked and no overtime pay. No overtime was policy until we organized and formed a union in 1974 when Gov. Bob Ray was in office.

I retired from DOT after 41 years and 42 days with the state; 99 percent of employees were doing the best they could for the state.

Larry Haynes

Manchester