"Somebody gave away the store." That's how a Prince George's county councilman, with 34 years of labor expertise, described the cozy pension and benefits agreements worked out by Parris N. Glendening and his aides when they were running the county. Now Governor Glendening and those same aides are running the state of Maryland. Does this mean sweetheart pension and benefits deals?
What happened in Prince George's is a textbook case of how not to handle labor matters. The agreements helped seal the unions' political loyalties to Mr. Glendening's campaign for governor and also helped get the county government through the recession. But these deals have now come back to haunt Mr. Glendening's successor, Wayne K. Curry, who is faced with a $108 million deficit. Nevertheless, Mr. Curry can't fire any union workers because Mr. Glendening gave that right away.
The individual who negotiated that arrangement -- no layoffs in exchange for a rollback of wage increases -- was named yesterday by the governor as secretary of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Frank W. Stegman mollified the unions in Prince George's with a deal that is unprecedented in Maryland. It means the county's new executive, Mr. Curry, has to close a huge budget gap with one hand tied behind his back.
Mr. Stegman was also an architect of Mr. Glendening's shockingly lavish benefits package for veteran nonunion county workers "involuntarily separated" from their jobs. The chief beneficiaries? Mr. Glendening and three of his top aides, including his nominee for state personnel secretary, Michael Knapp -- who devised and enriched the pension program he is now benefiting from. Both Mr. Knapp and Mr. Stegman will be the governor's top advisers on labor and pension matters.
Governor Glendening has already said he will propose "some type of nonstrike collective bargaining" arrangement for state jTC workers. He has endorsed binding arbitration, too. Given the history of Messrs. Knapp and Stegman in Prince George's giveaway plans, their elevation to top state jobs raises serious concerns.
There are major fiscal implications to giving the state's 70,000 workers collective bargaining and binding arbitration rights. This could severely limit management flexibility.
Both Mr. Knapp and Mr. Stegman come to Annapolis under a cloud. Any proposals they make on wages and benefits will be questioned. We urge the Senate Executive Nominations Committee to grill them on their costly past decisions at confirmation hearings later this month. The state of Maryland doesn't need the kind of troubles Mr. Curry has now inherited in Prince George's County.