Civil servants living across Utah should be compensated at minimum a living wage. That wage varies on household size, averaging at $38.04 hourly, or a $79,123.00 annual salary to meet basic needs in the Beehive state.
A living wage does not budget for entertainment, vacation, savings or long-term financial investments. That would be a thriving wage. I think most of us would agree that civil servants deserve to retire in comfort, own a home, and have time off with their loved ones. Yet too many available jobs with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) don’t meet the living or thriving wage threshold. River patrollers, survey aids, natural resource specialists, park rangers, wildland firefighters and more go without the means to make ends meet while this administration incites job instability and demoralization.
At a recent Senate hearing, the nominee for BLM director, Steve Pearce, made no commitment to protect jobs for our trusted civil servants at the Bureau of Land Management and refused to disavow his long-held position that public lands should be privatized.
As one who’s made millions from real estate and the oil and gas sector, Pearce cannot understand the urgency of thriving compensation for civil servants at the BLM. Pearce would axe the Public Lands Rule, which can activate an unmatched restoration economy via its Restoration and Mitigation Lease program. This innovative program is meant to create opportunities for making a dignified living by restoring our public lands. The restoration industry supports 33 jobs per $1 million invested, compared to only 5.2 jobs per $1 million invested in oil and gas. We deserve a BLM director who is for working people, not a multimillionaire ready to sell off public lands to the highest bidder.
Olivia E. Juarez, Salt Lake City
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