Utah Public Employees Association attorney Phil Dyer told more than 100 workers at a lunchtime meeting Wednesday in Salt Lake City not to give up their civil service protection until state managers force them to.

"If you're in merit status, stay in it until you're told you have to make a choice," Dyer said.

Huntsman plans to consolidate more than 1,000 Information Technology workers in a new Department of Technology Services. As outlined in legislation passed earlier this year, workers have a choice: Take a small pay raise now in exchange for jobs without civil service protections in the new division. Or, IT workers can forgo the pay bump now and keep their protected jobs, but face the prospect of having their position redefined anyway.

Starting in October, IT employees are scheduled to work "on loan" in the new department. Eventually, their jobs will be redefined. Workers fear job cuts are the next step. In January, Huntsman's transition team recommended privatizing some IT functions and paring down the division's budget.

At Wednesday's meeting, sponsored by UPEA, Dyer told workers their merit status is a constitutionally protected "property right" that state leaders cannot take away without due process. He said Huntsman's plan is unprecedented. Former Gov. Mike Leavitt redefined several policy-making positions, but only after extensive negotiation with the workers. Huntsman's reform plan is much more abrupt and affects many more people.

"This just simply hasn't been done," Dyer said.

With State Human Resource managers sitting in the back of the room, the workers' questions revealed a sense of helplessness and frustration with the lack of information from new Chief Information Office Stephen Fletcher and the governor's office. "Are we a test program?" one asked. "Basically, the employees are being coerced," another said. One wondered about suing the state. "But things get bogged down in the courts. This could be decided in our favor five years down the road," he said. "By that time, I could be gone."

Human Resources manager John Matthews acknowledged workers' fears. But he said his office doesn't have answers for them. "People are a little apprehensive and worried," Matthews said. "I don't blame them."

The governor's office did not respond Wednesday to messages requesting comment on the consolidation. UPEA Director Audry Wood said the union plans to meet with state bosses to discuss the workers' concerns. In the meantime, she urged workers to get political. "The day you hire on as a state employee is the day you become political," she said. "Legislators determine your benefits and your job description. And this is the most public employee-unfriendly Legislature that I've seen."

Many workers feel caught in limbo. "We're right back where we started," said Linda Morgan, a technology specialist.