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Contract Update: OSER Request to Give Back Wage Increase

July 15, 2009

As many of you know, the economic and state fiscal crisis has produced reaction in Wisconsin government including a request for public employees to give back the 2% wage increases slated for the current and coming fiscal years. Non-union workers have had this wage decrease unilaterally imposed upon them; because of the nature of union representation, this cannot be done to unionized workers and instead must proceed through negotiation. Union representation means negotiating between management and workers as equals. After an initial announcement from the Governor that state employee unions would be asked to give back the wage increases negotiated in their contracts, unions including the TAA have formally been solicited by the Office of State Employment Relations (OSER) to do so.

While our contract is still not ratified by the state legislature - though we expect that to be completed soon - this request must be considered by our union. Ultimately, because we are a democratic body, a decision of this weight and associated with our collective bargaining agreement (the contract) must be decided upon by our rank-and-file membership. In the coming week or so, we will need you to participate in this decision.

Here is how things will work: Our Executive Board has received from OSER the request and we will consider it, gathering information beyond what we have already done on the topic. After deliberation, the Executive Board will put together a recommendation to forward to all rank-and-file members for consideration, with options of either rejecting the request to give back our duly-negotiated wage increase or accepting with conditions. Because this request means a re-opening of our contract, other provisions are subject to negotiation. If the request is to be accepted, other improvements will have to be bargained in trade. However, giving back wages now is a de facto paycut now as well as an erosion of our base pay rate for all future contracts. From here, our rank-and-file membership will decide upon a course of action, either through an email vote or in an Emergency General Membership Meeting to take place either over the summer or immediately upon the return of the academic year.

This is a critical topic for our union and for all of us in so many ways. Your participation in this decision, a right of membership in a democratic body and a democratic union, is vital. So stay tuned for further information and a call to action. With any questions at this point, please contact Co-Presidents Peter Rickman and Katie Lindstrom.

posted by Webmaster

 

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