State employee unions blasted Governor Tim Pawlenty as a bad employer after reluctantly recommending acceptance of his offer to restore half of the pay, vacation and compensation time that workers lost during the state government shutdown last summer.
All affected members of AFSCME and MAPE will vote to accept or reject the recommended offer later this month, the unions announced Friday. Ballots will be counted Feb. 6.
"Half is better than nothing for our average member who lives paycheck to paycheck on $35,000 a year," said Eliot Seide, executive director of AFSCME Council 5. "It means about $300 to help cover winter heating bills."
"Morale and personal savings were hit hard during the shutdown," said Jim Monroe, executive director of MAPE, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees. "All affected employees should be fully compensated for the time they were kept from doing their work for the citizens of Minnesota."
Agreement to accept half payment requires that state employee unions refrain from going to the Legislature for the other half. "Governor Pawlenty refuses to make his employees whole and we know that the votes aren't there to override his veto," explained Seide.
Nearly 9,300 state employees were locked out of work through no fault of their own for eight days last July because Pawlenty and lawmakers failed to reach a budget agreement.
"If Governor Pawlenty was a fair employer, workers who used their accrued vacation and comp-time balance to get paid would have their time fully restored," Monroe said. "Those who were not paid during the lockout because they had insufficient vacation would also have their pay fully restored."
The estimated cost of making affected workers whole is $10.1 million. This amount was already budgeted by departments and comes at no extra cost to taxpayers.
The employer and unions agreed to address shutdown reparations separately from contract negotiations. They met with a facilitator ? Lance Teachworth ? several times.
There are 38 states with provisions to keep government open if their legislature fails to pass a new budget. Minnesota must address this larger issue, the union leaders said.
"Never again should political gridlock be permitted to shut down any portion of state government," said Monroe. "We need a law to keep public services open when politicians fail to reach a budget. Taxpayers and state employees deserve this protection."
Share
State employee unions blasted Governor Tim Pawlenty as a bad employer after reluctantly recommending acceptance of his offer to restore half of the pay, vacation and compensation time that workers lost during the state government shutdown last summer.
All affected members of AFSCME and MAPE will vote to accept or reject the recommended offer later this month, the unions announced Friday. Ballots will be counted Feb. 6.
“Half is better than nothing for our average member who lives paycheck to paycheck on $35,000 a year,” said Eliot Seide, executive director of AFSCME Council 5. “It means about $300 to help cover winter heating bills.”
“Morale and personal savings were hit hard during the shutdown,” said Jim Monroe, executive director of MAPE, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees. “All affected employees should be fully compensated for the time they were kept from doing their work for the citizens of Minnesota.”
Agreement to accept half payment requires that state employee unions refrain from going to the Legislature for the other half. “Governor Pawlenty refuses to make his employees whole and we know that the votes aren’t there to override his veto,” explained Seide.
Nearly 9,300 state employees were locked out of work through no fault of their own for eight days last July because Pawlenty and lawmakers failed to reach a budget agreement.
“If Governor Pawlenty was a fair employer, workers who used their accrued vacation and comp-time balance to get paid would have their time fully restored,” Monroe said. “Those who were not paid during the lockout because they had insufficient vacation would also have their pay fully restored.”
The estimated cost of making affected workers whole is $10.1 million. This amount was already budgeted by departments and comes at no extra cost to taxpayers.
The employer and unions agreed to address shutdown reparations separately from contract negotiations. They met with a facilitator ? Lance Teachworth ? several times.
There are 38 states with provisions to keep government open if their legislature fails to pass a new budget. Minnesota must address this larger issue, the union leaders said.
“Never again should political gridlock be permitted to shut down any portion of state government,” said Monroe. “We need a law to keep public services open when politicians fail to reach a budget. Taxpayers and state employees deserve this protection.”