The 4000- member state employees association Monday voted by a 94% margin to reject Governor Shaheen’s new contract proposal. State Association president Tim Decker says he’s not surprised the state’s offer proved so unpopular.
Our members don’t want to any givebacks and when it comes to a payriase we don’t want to be shortchanged…for too many contracts we’ve had to give up benefits in order to hang on to our health plan.
Unsurprisingly, those on the other side of the bargaining table see things differently. Sara Willingham is a member of the state negotiation team and manager of state employee relations. Last week she defended the Governor’s offer as a decent one.
It had two across the board raises in it and it had a new salary matrix and state employees were able to hold on to their fully paid health benefits without having to contribute to the premiums. Which was really pretty good.
Talk of “fully-paid benefits” aside, the terms of the contract would in fact, require workers to make out of pocket co-payments for all physician services, hospital stays and prescription drugs. Executive Counselor Peter Spalding says that’s a losing proposition for those on the low end of the state wage scale.
It’s going to cost them more money because the 2% raise will not cover the raise in health care costs the state wants to put on them…. the governor is making a mistake in trying to get the executive council to approve the flawed fact-finders report.
The report Spaulding so dislikes was prepared by mediator Arnold Zack in an effort to resolve the contract’s sticking points. While the state negotiators credit Zack with crafting a compromise they say fairly reflects the reality that state healthcare cose have surged thirty percent this year, critics say it does so in the backs of workers. When one factors in the ongoing school-funding crisis, the executive branch’s posture is perhaps unsurprising. And Sara Willingham admits the state’s looming deficits informed the entire contract process.
We have a certain amount of money that we can spend and the fact finder used that information to prepare a report and the governor supports what’s in that report.
Union negotiator Cheryl Corson is well aware of the state’s financial woes, but says she’s sick and tired of being browbeaten with them.
Enough is enough. We’re not responsible for the state budget; we’re responsible for our own budgets.
Couson has an ally in Executive Counselor Ray Burton. Burton says the reality that some full-time state workers qualify for food stamps is an embarrassment, and he pledged to reject any agreement that he says would further harm the already vulnerable.
A major revision has to be done, and it’s going to cost money but we must keep in mind that it is the 12,000 state employees that makes this government run.
While counselor’s Burton and Spalding are unambiguous in their criticism of the report, their colleagues are a bit more circumspect. None of them, however, suggested that they planned on approving the contract, and District 4’s Tom Coluntuono seemed to speak for the entire group when he suggested simply that it’s time for both sides to get to get back to the negotiating table. While union officials say the sooner the better, The Governor’s office says it will carefully weighing its options.
In the Meantime Counselor Burton is calling for all concerned parties to do what’s necessary to solve not only this problem, but also its root cause.
People in New Hampshire should be aware and particularly the people who can do something about it -- the house and senate and I encourage them to use their best judgment and let’s get on and solve the finance situation we’re in.
The current state contract expires on June 30th. By law New Hampshire state employees lack the right to strike.
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