Nebraska union representing thousands of employees rejects governor’s request for pay freeze

Union rejects governor’s request for pay freeze

LINCOLN, Neb. — A union representing about 11,000 Nebraska state workers rejected Gov. Dave Heineman’s request that they forgo pay raises next fiscal year, a move Heineman hinted could lead to layoffs.

“I’m very disappointed in the union’s decision,” Heineman said in an e-mail to reporters. “This was a good-faith attempt to save jobs and do what was best for all state employees and Nebraska taxpayers.”

Heineman asked the union last month for members to give up 2.5 percent raises set to begin July 1. Union officials said then there was a good chance they’d agree if certain conditions were met.

But union director Julie Dake Abel said Friday that Heineman’s administration made no guarantees there’d be no or limited layoffs and didn’t respond to questions about how many jobs might be saved if they agreed to the freeze.

“We had no guarantee of job security,” Dake Abel said.

Bill Wood, director of employee relations for the state and it’s chief negotiator, said it told the union 262 jobs might be saved, and he didn’t think the union had formally asked for a guarantee that a certain number would be spared.

Wood added that a guarantee wouldn’t be possible because the state won’t know until after an economic forecasting board meets in a few weeks how much the state’s budget hole has grown.

Union members also were unhappy that there was no guarantee that managers not covered by the union contract would have their pay frozen, Dake Gabel said.

“He needs to look to be the leader and sacrifice, not just ask the lowest-paid people,” Dake Gabel said of the governor. In previous years, managers haven’t give up as much as union employees, she added.

Wood said the governor offered to freeze nonunion employees’ wages if union members agreed to his request. Heineman sent the union a letter last month saying 2,900 lower and middle managers not covered by union contracts would have their pay frozen if the union agreed to a pay freeze.

It’s too early to say whether those managers will have their pay frozen despite the union’s rejection of Heineman’s request, Wood said.

Combined, freezing the wages of those managers and union workers would save the state $10 million next fiscal year.

About 230 directors and managers that report directly to Heineman will not get raises next year.

The union’s rejection of Heineman’s request could force lawmakers make more budget cuts should state revenue projections drop again when they are released later this month. Also, fiscal analysts say state government may have to close a $640 million budget gap projected for the next two-year budget cycle that begins in July 2011.

All of that is on the heels of an emergency legislative session held in November where lawmakers and Heineman slashed $334 million from the current, two-year state budget to stay out of the red.

Last month in reports to lawmakers, state agencies pointed to more than 200 jobs, from janitors to top-level administrators, that could eliminated or left vacant because of budget cuts made by the Legislature.

Because those jobs include both union and nonunion employees, it’s unclear how many, if any, of them could be spared if the union agreed to a pay freeze.

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On the Net:

Employee union: napeafscme.org/