RALEIGH -- The State Employees Association of North Carolina today called on all legislators to vote for the compromise budget.

“By including the Senate’s pay provisions, the compromise budget prioritizes pay raises for state employees for the first time in decades,” said SEANC Executive Director Robert Broome. “Our members spoke out in record numbers during this process supporting the Senate’s plan. We ask that all legislators do the same by voting yes on the budget compromise.”

Most state employees will receive a 5% increase over two years, as well as five bonus days of leave, in the plan. That amounts to the largest two-year increase in a decade.

Neither the House nor the Senate included anything for retirees in their initial proposals for the upcoming year. Action by SEANC members was credited with bringing the issue of retiree pay back to the table, eventually resulting in a 1% bonus over the next two years.