6/5/2003

PS&T contract team meets with state June 11

PEF’s bargaining team will meet with representatives from the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations on Wednesday, June 11, and hope to receive an in-depth presentation by GOER on the economic forecast. The Union has provided the state with specific contract language proposals in more than a dozen Articles, but the state has yet to respond. The contract team is also urging the state to reply in a timely manner.

Meanwhile, PEF’s negotiators are keeping a close watch on contracts being negotiated with other public sector and quasi public sector employers. Most recently (June 3, 2003) New Jersey settled a contract with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) who represent 34,000 state employees. It includes a pay freeze for 2003, 2.9 percent pay raise on July 1, 2004, and a 2 percent increase on July 1, 2005. There would be two pay hikes in 2006 — a 2 percent raise on Jan. 1 and another of 2.25 percent on July 1. The final pay raise of 2.35 percent would be given on July 1, 2007.

The Union and the State agreed to increase the amount workers contribute to the state pension system from 3 percent to 5 percent.
In the health insurance area, the contract calls for increases in the amounts of medical co-pays for state workers. The yearly deductible would rise from $100 to $250; office visits would go from $5 to $10; generic drug prescriptions would increase from $1 to $3; and brand name drugs would cost $10, up from $5. The agreement increases the number of workers who receive health benefits by newly covering intermittent employees who accumulate more than 750 hours of work.

In another example, last week negotiators for New York City’s detectives union reached a tentative contract agreement with the City, raising their pay and benefits by 11.5 percent over two and a half years. In the meantime, CSEA members in Montgomery County ratified a one year deal with a 2.5% raise for 2003. For a list of raises and other relevant information click on
http://www.pef.org/pst2003/wage_settlements.htm

From another vantage point
"...State Contract Negotiators are about as talkative as Harpo Marx."
-CSEA's "THE BUZZ"

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