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Contract talks between state of Iowa, public employees: Your view
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The Iowa state capitol in Des Moines.
Gov. Terry Branstad’s negotiators are asking the state’s largest employees’ union to take a wage freeze for the next two years, pay a greater share of their health insurance costs and make major concessions that the union’s leader called “appalling,” politically motivated and a “slap in the face” to rank-and-file members that will not be accepted.
The state’s proposal seeks to freeze wages across the board for two years, freeze step increases for qualifying workers for two years, and require all state employees to pay 20 percent of their health insurance premiums along with higher deductibles, higher maximum out-of-pocket expenses, higher dental insurance premiums and higher co-payments for prescription medications.
Two weeks ago, AFSCME negotiators made an initial offer that requested a 1 percent across-the-board pay increase in the contract’s first year and 2 percent in the following year for the roughly 20,000 workers it represents. The union also asked to maintain annual 4.5 percent step increases for employees who qualify based on their date of hire. The AFSCME proposal did not include any changes to its health-care coverage.
State Department of Management officials calculated that AFSCME’s initial offer would cost the state $122 million more in fiscal year 2014 and $159 million more in fiscal year 2015 if the union proposal was accepted and applied to all state employees – including noncontract, management and confidential classifications.
However, AFSCME Council 61 president Danny Homan blasted that report as inaccurate and misleading because the cost of providing the AFSCME request solely to the union’s employees would be significantly less. He also said the calculation included health insurance and retirement costs that state negotiators could not explain because they said the information came from the Department of Management, not them.
Which side do you support in contract negotiations? How do you think the contract negotiations will be resolved?
I’m siding with my pocketbook. If the union folks are worth soooo much and are sooooo underpaid, then they can go out and get jobs in the private sector. They won’t cause they can’t get the same benefits they currently sponge up.
Nice John! If it’s so great wheres the lines to apply for these “sponged” up benefits. Have you applied yet? Somethings got to keep them in the position after they get the hatchet every chance Braindead gets… Being on call 24/7 with no on call pay or no double time on holidays… Oh it is glorious from the outside looking in!!! From the inside looking out, moral sucks in here!!! Yes my eyes are open for a private sector job!
On call 24/7 with no compensation? You should see about starting a union. Unions fixed all that stuff 50 years ago.
” Being on call 24/7 with no on call pay or no double time on holidays”
Other than the road crew for plowing or the Highway patrol who else in the state gov’t works on holidays?
“From the inside looking out, moral sucks in here!”
Right, but you’re just holding on for your dedicated co-workers? Gimme a break.
John, you’re kidding me, right?
“Okay, inmates, we’re all heading home for Thanksgiving dinner, you all play nice until tomorrow and don’t go anywhere, okay?”
Or are you saying you’re ready to volunteer to hang out in the prisons on Christmas to save the state from having to pay those thieving union members a living wage?
Abernathy
In answer to your question:
first responders like police, firefighters, medical personnel
also hospital staff and building maintenance, prison staff
or did you think all this stuff was done by the private sector?
Obviously not AFSCME! With the No Strike policy, how strong are they/we?
Cheyene,
The “No Strike” is not policy. It’s law. Public sector unions in Iowa traded the right to strike for binding arbitration. Which is both more effective and less costly. State cannot violate a negotiated contract without getting sued. And it’s a lawsuit the State will lose. The State cannot refuse to negotiate a contract because if the State tries, a judge will negotiate one for them
I’ll let the normal management/union negotiations proceed as normal and respect the outcome. Unions are needed for public employees just like they are needed by private employees. Without unions we would have a very small middle class.
“Without unions we would have a very small middle class.”
Nice DNC talking points. Hate to break it to you, but the middle class is alive and well without the help of unions. It’s in a persons best interest to maximize their pay through a different job or additional training.
Here’s what the fatcats at the union that brought down Hostess are raking in. http://tinyurl.com/awpse7p Like they care about the union employee, well I guess they do until the $$$ aren’t coming in and then the workers can get stuffed.
Rich for unions to bargin equitably each party must have ‘skin in the game’ Since our elected officials are using the skin of tax payers, the ‘management is negotiating with my money.
As we learned with private enterpises (GM?), (Hostess) if pay and benefits become top heavy the company is no longer profitable and fails. That same fail safe does not apply to govt employees.
Oh Rich…that’s so 1950s….
All the Gov. has to do is follow the Mayor of Chicago’s lead.
http://oururbantimes.com/news/fired-library-custodians-added-list-chicagos-unemployed-city-workers
conservative billionaires are trying to finish off the unions therefore i support the unions. As soon as the billionaires get us all picking manure with the chickens they will have completed the trip back to the 1880s.
Our previous governor, a democrat, between the time he lost his bid for re-election and when he left office, agreed to ALL of the union’s demands at contract negotiating time with NO bargaining on behalf of the taxpayers what-so-ever. In my opinion, this was done out of spite because of losing his bid for re-election and he should have been tarred, feathered and run out of Iowa for doing it. Also, because of this, it’s quite obvious the union employees have ALREADY been receiving more than they should. I hope governor Branstad holds firm in his convictions. State employees shouldn’t be immune from tough times at the taxpayer’s expense and should have to tighten their belts just like the rest of us.
Sorry Jim but Culver was under no obligation to continue bargaining just to make you happy. In fact, state law llimits the amount of time that can be spent squabbling over a contract. The process is called binding arbitration
As for Branstad’s convictions, what convictions are you talkiing about? That public sector employees be paid as poorly and treated as badly as private sector?
Just a reminder, public sector workers pay taxes too
All republican governors are trying to mess over the state workers that belong to unions. Walker did it, now braindead is trying it. If Braindead was really worried about the tax payers, he would for go double dipping a state paycheck while getting state pension money, which he does take just because he can.
whether be public or private the union workers get blamed for being greedy while there is really nothing greedier then upper management also whether public or private.
It is like hostess, there were some calling the union workers greedy for not taking pay cuts while the high management people just went to court to make sure they get bonuses on top of their pay until the plants are no longer.
there’s another way to pay for all ythe services we need from the state without hurting the people that actually do it. All elected state positions salaries based on the median wage of the state or the area they represent, whichever is the lesser, all healthcare ins. for elected positions eliminated, also no pensions or travel and housing allowances for them either. No one is forcing these people into these postions, they are volunteers. Also to keep them honest any elected official accepting gratuities or those offering them be considered criminal acts with mandatory prison time. If they don’t like it they can stay in the private sector. I don’t knw the actual numbers but I’ld be willing to bet these few things would save the state more wasted money then anything they’ll try and take from the union.
Of course this won’t happen since unlike the union workers our elected positions negotiate thier wages and benefits among themselves and guess who wins every time, they do.
I thought we liked democracy in this country? What is more democratic than unions? They vote for what they want. Do you vote on policy at your corporations? Corporations are run like a tyranney and you freedom loving people love your dictators. pity the blind souls.
Any union that lets itself get pushed around by a dimestore martinet like Branstad doesn’t deserve to continue in existence.
Amazing isn’t it, how conservatives have so demonized the government that they can easily justify hating everyone who works for government—doesn’t matter state local county federal–demonize the millitary, the national guard, police, firefighters, teachers, the clerks who process their water bills. Doesn’t matter. They work for the government. They must be horrible.
But it doesn’t stop there. People who work full time low wage jobs and depend on food stamps, subsidized school lunch, and food pantries or they don’t eat, who are disabled and depend on SSD and Medicaid, who are old and live on SS, who live in assisted housing because the cost of housing exceeds their income. These people are all horrible. Let them die. Who cares.
Well as it turns out, the people who’ve been demonized as the 47%, as leeches and parasites and people who don’t matter do care. And that’s why they turned out to vote in massive numbers and stood in line to vote for hours–in some places even after the election was called, they still stood in massive numbers to vote.
At what point are conservatives going to get it that the rest of us are fed up with angry people who have nothing to offer except their anger.
Watch what happens between now and January 1. The Tea Party and everything connected with it is done.
Now should you ever end up at UIHC seriously ill or seriously injured, thank the people who saved your life. They all work for the government