There has been movement on the contract since March, and none is expected until after the election….Sept. 23, 2004

 

3/26/04 Weekly Summary

BARGAINING. The Blue Collar and Administrative Support teams met internally without the state this week.  They worked on preparing proposals and some class issues.  The Technical team met with the employer for several hours but was unable to reach any conclusion.  We will continue to meet with Teams and Team Chairs and keep the process moving.  If you want to discuss specific issues and positions that your team has been considering, please contact them as follows: E-mail or bargaining hotline (please keep in mind that it may take a couple of days if the team members are not in Madison).  They will respond as quickly as they can.  Contact information remains as follows:  bargaining team members at their worksites, or direct questions through the bargaining hotline at 800-836-4024, or to the e-mail addresses below. 

Bargaining Team Contact Information  - e-mail:  Administrative Support Unit - asuteam@wseu-24.org; Blue Collar - bcteam@wseu-24.org; Law Enforcement - leteam@wseu-24.org; Professional Social Services Unit - pssteam@wseu-24.org; Security & Public Safety Unit - spsteam@wseu-24.org; Technical Team - techteam@wseu-24.org. Toll-free bargaining hotline at 800-836-4024 (leave message).

 

NOTE: the following is taken from the Local 171 February news letter and checked for accuracy with a member of our Technical Bargaining Teem.

Negotiation Resume; Health Care Premiums on the Table

 

In mid-January contact negotiations resumed after almost two months after reaching agreements with a number of other unions, the Doyle administration came in with a new offer for us. Of everything on the table, health care premiums will probably be hardest to get them to barge on, now that these premiums will be started for thousands of other employees at the end of January.

 

The monthly premiums they offered were in the 1st year (November2003 to October2004): $18 for single and $45 for family in the 1^st tier. For the 2^nd year (beginning November 2004): $22 for single and $55 for family in the 1^st tier.

 

There was very little change in the main part of their economic offer. They would take away the length of service pay­ments and give us 1%. This would really be only 0.24% for blue collar, 0.32% for technical, 0.49% for law enforcement, and 0.76% for security and public safety, after taking into account the value of the length of service payment they are taking away. People earning under $13.00/hour would receive an additional 25 cents per hour as long as that didn’t move their wage over $13.00/how. People earning over $13.00/hour would receive an additional ten cents per hour over the life of this contact, depending on whether they got the25 cents per hour or 10 cents per hour.

 

Finally, the offer includes a lump sum payment of $250, prorated for pan-time employees. None of this would take effect until the end of June. If you add all of this together, people in the 1^st tier of the family health insurance plan would be losing between $150-$650

 

 

 

 

To try to get us to go along with that, moat bargaining teams have also been offered mere classification money. In blue collar they agreed to pay the equivalent of half of a pay range for those classifications affected by the compression from last contact This, however, would not change the pay range any of those classifications. They also moved up to 30 cents per hour for Maintenance Mechanics, Facility Repair Workers, Biotron Operators and HVAC Specialists. Although this is close, it is still a long way from what we were asking for

 

All of the bargaining units except for security and public — seemed ready to accept this if the Doyle administration would drop the idea of our paying the last few months of health care premiums retroactive. This might get us to the point where most of us would break even

 

We should not accept anything if any of us are going to lose on the deal. If the teams are not convinced of this, and the Doyle administration agrees to the non­-retroactive health premiums, a contact ratification vote may be coming up soon.

 

We still all need to get involved in putting up a fight if we are going to have any chance of getting a better deal.