City of Madison, employees union strike deal

The city of Madison could save $2 million under a proposed contract with its largest union, a deal made possible after a court ruling this month put portions of the state?s collective bargaining law on hold.

An agreement with AFSCME Local 60, which represents about 1,100 workers, is set to go before the union and the City Council this week.

The deal, which would run from March 2014 to March 2015, would let the city reduce wages or health benefits by up to 3 percent. That amounts to about $2 million, Mayor Paul Soglin said Saturday.

The contract would prevent further cuts and preserve union rights the state law would take away, such as grievance arbitration, AFSCME Local 60 staff representative Jennifer McCulley said.

?What we got out of it was the security of having everything in place for one more year,? McCulley said.

Soglin said the agreement would let the city maintain service levels while extending the life of the union. ?A strong union is a valuable asset in a public workplace,? he said.

The city and the union discussed the measure Friday. McCulley said the union will vote on it Tuesday. A special City Council meeting to consider the proposal is tentatively set for Thursday, Soglin said.

The city on Monday plans to talk with other unions about similar deals, the mayor said.

The Dane County Board on Thursday approved agreements to keep most of its unions alive through 2015. The deals could save $5 million in 2015 through furloughs and voluntary leaves.

The negotiations were enabled by a Sept. 14 ruling by Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas that found parts of Act 10 unconstitutional. The 2011 law, championed by Gov. Scott Walker and his legislative allies, virtually eliminated collective bargaining rights for most public employees.

State Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Tuesday asked Colas to delay enforcement of his ruling until an appeal can be heard. But a decision is likely to take weeks, giving governments and unions time to negotiate new contracts if they choose.

In March 2011, when another court order temporarily stalled the law, AFSCME Local 60 and the city reached a three-year deal through March 2014. It called for 2 percent wage hikes on the last pay periods of 2011 and 2012 and a 3 percent increase on the last pay period of 2013.

In exchange, union members agreed to pay 6 percent of health insurance premiums starting in January 2013 and another 6 percent at the beginning of 2014, and contribute half of the cost of their pensions starting in January 2012.

That contract and the new one also say the city will work with the union to avoid layoffs.

Source: http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/city-of-madison-employees-union-strike-deal/article_8b6bcd8c-052f-11e2-868b-0019bb2963f4.html

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