The Reynolds administration had made its initial contract proposal to the union which represents some 20,000 state employees.
The state is offering a one percent across the board increase in pay for each of the next two years to workers covered by the AFSCME Council 61 contract.
The union asked for a three percent increase for each of the next two years in its initial proposal. They union also asked the state to return to contract language that was in place prior to the new collective bargaining law which restricts the issues covered by the bargaining process.
Union president Danny Homan issued this statement in response to the administration offer:
“On Monday, Governor Reynolds praised state employees, calling them ‘the boots on the ground,’ and ‘the ones who are carrying out the mission every single day.’ Why, then, does her administration take a total of four minutes to present a contract proposal void of all dignity and respect for the same employees she claims to appreciate? A 1% pay increase and a refusal to discuss any permissive subjects of bargaining sure doesn’t sound like ‘gratefulness’ to me. We came to the bargaining table in good faith, not even proposing to discuss the items deemed prohibited by the gutted collective bargaining law. We’re not here to play games; we’re here to ask for a fair contract – one that doesn’t make a mockery of state employment. Instead, the workers who keep our communities safe and deal with our state’s most vulnerable, violent, and at-risk citizens are given a slap in the face. The hardworking employees who keep this state running deserve better, and we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure they get it.”