SEANC members visited the legislature on Tuesday to ask lawmakers to vote against House Bill 549, which strips State Human Resources Act protections from employees at the State Auditor's Office.

The group discussed the importance of SHRA protections for state employees and why a staff of political appointees is wrong for taxpayers, especially at the State Auditor's Office. They also lobbied for better employee pay and respect for retirees, who haven't had a cost-of-living adjustment in nearly a decade.

The House passed the bill, allowing it to survive the crossover deadline, though several representatives expressed concerns. Rep. Tim Longest of Wake County offered an amendment that would have addressed SEANC's grievances with the bill, but it was voted down.

This is just the beginning of assaults on your rights. Today it is the State Auditor's Office, tomorrow it could be your workplace. Other agencies will likely want similar action. We will be back to the days when it was possible for you to have to do political work for your agency head to be safe in your job. Merit won't matter.

North Carolina should hire, retain, and promote the best state employees, not the best-connected.

Also this week, House Speaker Destin Hall announced that next week would be light while appropriations chairs work through their portions of the state budget proposal, which he hopes to announce around May 19. Now is an excellent time for you to reach out to your representative. You can click the button below to tell them to respect state employees and retirees in their budget proposal.

This week's edition of the SEANC View Podcast discusses House Bill 549 and our members' visit to the legislature. You can listen to the podcast by clicking one of the services below. If you have questions or comments, email us at podcast@seanc.org.