AFSCME Lobbyists Outline WSEU Contracts

Monday, November 29, 2010 - Posted 11/30/2010

To: Interested Legislators
From: Susan McMurray and John Grabel, AFSCME Government Relations
Re: Summary of Key Items in the 2009-2011 State Employee Contracts

We’ve been asked to provide some information about the tentative agreement reached between the state Office of Employment Relations (OSER) and the Wisconsin State Employees Union (WSEU-AFSCME Council 24).

On Wednesday, November 24, 2010, the State and AFSCME Council 24 reached a tentative agreement (TA) on contracts for 2009-2011, after months of difficult negotiations.

The contracts between the State and workers cover five state bargaining units represented by AFSCME: professional social services (PSS), blue collar (BC), administrative support (AS), technical (Tech) and Security and Public Safety (SPS).

Here are some key points to keep in mind:

• These contracts contain zero pay increases and no market adjustments.
• The contracts have a 6.9% employee share health care premium increase.
• The contracts require an increase in the employee pension contribution (between .2% - .8%).
  State employees had 16 furlough days in 2009-2011 biennium, which was a 3.25% pay reduction. This contract underscores the furlough arrangement.
• These contracts cover the period of the last budget (July 2009 - June 2011), not the budget to be created by Governor-elect Walker and the next legislature.
• The incoming governor will have the opportunity to negotiate contracts for the period coinciding with the budget he will propose.
• These contracts are accounted for in the current budget passed by this legislature and governor.

OSER representatives soon will brief legislative leaders on the proposed contracts, providing leaders with information from the employer perspective.

Thank you for your attention and consideration. Feel free to contact Susan at 608-279-9697 or John at 608-279-9093 for more information.