Union members packed a hearing room at the Capitol and booed as the Legislative Subcommittee on Employee Relations voted down the pacts on a 6-4 party-line vote. The contracts, which has been reached over several months of bargaining with Governor Mark Dayton’s administration, cover workers represented by AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and MAPE, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees.
Republicans said they want state employees to pay considerably more for health benefits, and they questioned whether a 2 percent pay raise is too generous. They adopted a resolution urging the Dayton administration to go back and renegotiate an agreement that ties salary increases to performance and requires employees pay 10 percent of their health insurance premium.
Gov. Dayton defended the collective bargaining agreement, calling it “reasonable” and in line with those negotiated by Gov. Pawlenty. His letter to Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, and Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, accused Republicans of “trying to drive a wedge between public and private-sector employees.”
The subcommittee’s decision isn’t the last word on the contracts, as they could still be approved by the full Legislature in January. AFSCME and MAPE said the lawmakers’ action reinforces their determination to mobilize members to vote in the November elections.
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Union members packed a hearing room at the Capitol and booed as the Legislative Subcommittee on Employee Relations voted down the pacts on a 6-4 party-line vote. The contracts, which has been reached over several months of bargaining with Governor Mark Dayton’s administration, cover workers represented by AFSCME, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and MAPE, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees.
Republicans said they want state employees to pay considerably more for health benefits, and they questioned whether a 2 percent pay raise is too generous. They adopted a resolution urging the Dayton administration to go back and renegotiate an agreement that ties salary increases to performance and requires employees pay 10 percent of their health insurance premium.
Gov. Dayton defended the collective bargaining agreement, calling it “reasonable” and in line with those negotiated by Gov. Pawlenty. His letter to Sen. Mike Parry, R-Waseca, and Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, accused Republicans of “trying to drive a wedge between public and private-sector employees.”
The subcommittee’s decision isn’t the last word on the contracts, as they could still be approved by the full Legislature in January. AFSCME and MAPE said the lawmakers’ action reinforces their determination to mobilize members to vote in the November elections.