COLUMBIA - More than a dozen groups representing state employees and retirees, teachers and public safety workers have formed a coalition to pressure legislators and the governor on pay, health care and retirement benefit issues.

The Coalition of Public Employees represents more than 375,000 people, said Jan McCarthy, president of the S.C. Education Association. McCarthy spoke about the group's agenda Tuesday in a news conference at the Statehouse.

State workers, retirees, teachers and others have been frustrated as the state shifted more health care costs to workers while trimming benefits. At the same time, workers are going without pay increases to pay for rising costs, McCarthy said. Retirees worried earlier this year that Gov. Mark Sanford and legislators would not approve the annual cost-of-living increases they routinely get.

"This summer, it became apparent that this administration and the majority of the legislature intends to ignore the common needs and the common goals" of 375,000 constituents, McCarthy said. "It is apparent that they won't listen to our concerns because they believe they don't need our support."

That's what brought more than a dozen different employee and retiree groups together to work on pay and benefit priorities when legislators return in January.

The group includes the state education association, rural and retired educators, and the state employees and retirees associations.

State Rep. Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, chairman of the House budget committee, said he understands the pressure for more pay and benefits.

"Would they support the massive tax increase necessary to do that?" he asked.

If legislators don't embrace the agenda, McCarthy said the group will recruit people to run against them in the 2004 elections.

All S.C. lawmakers are up for re-election next year.

Harrell agreed that state employees have legitimate concerns but disagreed with their methods.

"I don't believe threatening to run somebody against members if they don't support them is going to sway members," he said.

Sanford's office is writing a state budget plan now. Sanford spokesman Will Folks would not say whether the developing budget includes proposals for higher pay or better benefits.

Four days after he was elected a year ago, Sanford met with state workers to try to reassure them that he would listen to their concerns. He's still doing that by regularly talking with teachers, Department of Motor Vehicles workers and other state employees, Folks said. "That's where he finds a lot of the pearls of wisdom that he uses every day in his job," Folks said.

But the state is facing at least a $300 million shortfall in the budget year that begins July 1. "Clearly, we are in a box on the budget," Folks said. "A lot of the worthwhile goals for deserving recipients are going to be extremely difficult to see realized."

Sanford has been considering state agency restructuring plans intended to save money - a process that would find savings partly by cutting state jobs.

State Sen. Kay Patterson, D-Columbia, said the budget practices of the past few years have to change.

"We need to cut out this balancing the budget on the backs of state employees," he said.