CHARLESTON — Public employees and some lawmakers are still hopeful there will be room in the budget for pay raises, despite West Virginia leaders calling for fiscally conservative decisions this session due to the recession.



"Certainly we understand - we have brother and sister members in other states that are facing layoffs and are facing concessions," Ed Hartman, state director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' West Virginia Council 77, said Monday.



"We just want the governor and the legislature to be fair," Hartman said. "Whatever happens should be across the board."



AFSCME members from across West Virginia met with lawmakers and other union officials at the state Capitol on Presidents Day to lobby for pay raises and other issues.



"I'm not ready to roll over today," House Majority Whip Mike Caputo, D-Marion, told AFSCME members. "We're going to do what we can to improve the quality of life for our West Virginians."



Other lawmakers say that while pay raises are a concern, the money just may not be there this year.



"My biggest concern is just keeping West Virginians employed," said Sen. Erik Wells, D-Kanawha. He said job security is why he supports freezing pay.



"If you were to ask anybody, 'Do you want to make sure you have some degree of job security or a pay raise?' Most people in troubling times are going to say, 'Provide a degree of job security,' " Wells said. "There are other states that are cutting their budgets 10 and 12 percent. You start cutting that deep, you're going to have to start looking at cutting people as well, and I want to try to avoid that."



Gov. Joe Manchin has said no base-building salary increases would be included in this year's budget, but that if financial conditions improve enough he may ask to share any additional money with teachers, service personnel and state employees.



"It's going to be very difficult for us to do what we would really like to do for public employees this year," said Sen. Clark Barnes, R-Randolph. "I think we are solidified here in the Senate that we are going to move forward in a very conservative manner, a very prudent manner with the people's money."



Caputo agreed lawmakers must be frugal but said he supports looking further into the pay raise issue.



"At the end of the day if the money's not there, then it's simply not there," he said. "But if it is there, rather than spend it on new projects or whatever, I think it should go to the state employees, fair and simple."

Caputo called it "a sad day" when someone whose job involves helping low-income residents apply for food stamps also is eligible for that benefit.



That's familiar territory for Carrie Kleeh, a veterans' employment representative for Workforce West Virginia's Wheeling office. Kleeh, a single mother of one, is eligible herself for some of the income-based education benefits offered through her work place.



Kleeh earns about $18,800 annually, which is not far from the 2008 federal poverty levels: $14,000 for a family of two and $17,600 for a family of three.



She said she hopes state lawmakers will look at the salaries of certain public employee positions.



"A lot of their positions that come open, they require a four-year degree and then offer them a salary that's equal to about $8 an hour or less," said Kleeh, who has a two-year degree in criminal justice and plans to continue her education.



AFSCME members did not give a figure for the pay raises they are seeking but said public employees got a 3 percent pay raise last year.



Other issues AFSCME members are lobbying for include allowing for collective bargaining and raising the annual increment pay, or longevity pay, from $60 to $100 per year of service.



Collective bargaining allows public employees to negotiate work issues with their employer.



"It would greatly improve communication within state government," said Barbara Spradling, president of AFSCME Local 3248, which covers Boone, Clay, Kanawha and Putnam counties.



A pilot project called Meet & Consult, which is a precursor to collective bargaining, is under way at the state Division of Highways, Department of Administration and regional jails, Hartman said.