Teachers, state government workers, firefighters, police officers and retirees will join forces today to try to stem the tide of rising health care premiums and declining take-home pay.

Hoping to strengthen their message by combining their efforts, representatives of 11 groups will gather at the State House this morning to establish the S.C. Coalition of Public Employees, or COPE, an organization aimed at promoting their common agenda.

“State employees on all levels have seen for the past few years the employee cost of health care going up,” said Jan McCarthy, president of the S.C. Education Association, the state's largest teachers' advocacy organization. “And we’ve not had any pay raises to compensate for that.”

McCarthy said in an interview that the groups came together after realizing earlier this year they share many goals.

The groups include the S.C. Education Association, the S.C. State Employees Association, the S.C. Retired State Employees Association, and various other groups representing firefighters, police officers and educators. They represent the interests of as many as 375,000 public employees and retirees, McCarthy said.

In a news release about today’s announcement, McCarthy said the General Assembly “has increasingly neglected its obligations to public employees.

“On Tuesday, we’ll discuss how we intend to address that neglect by the Legislature,” she said.

State Rep. Bobby Harrell said the state’s tax revenues have been down for several years, and “the General Assembly has not been willing to raise taxes to generate more revenue.”

Harrell, R-Charleston, is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

State employees have not received general pay raises for the last two years, according to the S.C. Budget and Control Board.

In the meantime, the cost of state employees’ health insurance is scheduled to increase by 27 percent on Jan. 1 — the fourth consecutive year employees will have to pay higher premiums.

“You start increasing the deductibles, increasing the co-pays, those are extremely devastating,” said Broadus Jamerson, executive director of the S.C. State Employees Association.

The average teacher salary for the current school year is projected to be $40,786, or $385 above the average salary for the Southeastern U.S., according to the S.C. Department of Education.

The General Assembly last year provided a 0.66 percent increase in the base salary for teachers. But state law requires local districts to give step increases as teachers gain experience.

Reach Stroud at (803) 771-8375 or sstroud@thestate.com.

IF YOU GO

• What: Press conference by a new organization created to represent public employees

• When: 10 a.m. today

• Where: first floor lobby of the State House