State/Local AK: Anchorage mayor vetoes AO-37 repeal KTVA CBS 11 News 4:04 PM ∙August 11, 2014 The fate of the municipality’s controversial labor law could be decided by voters in November after Mayor Dan Sullivan vetoed the Anchorage Assembly’s recent repeal of the law Monday. In addition to denying Anchorage Ordinance 37′s repeal, Sullivan also vetoed AO-80, which the Assembly approved in a 7-4 vote last week following months of discussion. The amended law gave unions much of what they had been asking for, including municipal employees’ right to strike and collective bargaining power. Related APM: Mayor Vetoes Labor Compromise AR: Coaxing Fire and Police Staffs in Arizona to Cut Own Pensions KEN BELSON ∙ New York Times ∙ AUG. 11, 2014 Bryan Jeffries, the chief of Arizona’s firefighters’ association, has been arguing to anyone who will listen that his members — and the state’s police officers, too — should volunteer to cut their own pension benefits. ... Cutting pensions for firefighters and police officers would help save their woefully underfunded retirement plan and bail out towns and cities that are struggling to keep up with their mandated contributions, he says. .... Sal DiCiccio, a Phoenix councilman who favors giving new city employees 401(k) plans, published a list of the 50 highest pensions for retired city public employees. Delaware Gov. Markell Signs Legislation Enhancing Public-Sector Retiree Benefits Lorraine McCarthy ∙ BNA Government Employee Relations Report ∙ Aug. 6 Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D) has signed two bills that enhance benefits for retired public employees. Some 23,800 retired Delaware public employees with an effective date of retirement prior to July 1, 2013, will receive a 1 percent increase in their pension benefits beginning in January 2015, as a result of a measure (S.B. 261) signed by Markell July 21. ... A second measure (H.B. 213) signed by the governor July 30 will subsidize medical coverage for retired police officers and firefighters beginning July 1, 2015. DC: Muriel Bowser wins key labor group’s nod in D.C. mayor race Mike DeBonis ∙ Washington Post ∙ August 11 at 7:25 PM ... Monday’s event was a show of solidarity that included leaders of several unions that backed Gray in the primary. They included Andre Lee of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, who said his union was committed to Bowser despite its earlier support for Gray. GA: Augusta set to bring outsourced human resources services back in-house In other action Susan McCord ∙ Chronicle ∙ Aug 4, 2014 9:13 PM Four years after city leaders pushed to outsource the government’s health and welfare benefits administration to global outsourcing firm Automatic Data Processing, the service might be headed back in-house. According to Human Resources Director Tanika Bryant, despite ADP’s contract to handle most benefits-related calls from current and retired employees, the two city benefits representatives are still swamped with calls. It would be cheaper to replace the benefits administration portion of ADP’s contract with three additional city staffers, she said. HI: 9 Reasons Neil Abercrombie Lost the Hawaii Governor’s Race LOREN MORENO AND ROBBIE DINGEMAN ∙ Honolulu Magazine ∙ 2014.08.11 06:50 PM Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s re-election attempt ran into trouble well before a state senator who was little-known outside of the state Capitol decided to challenge him in the Hawaii Democratic Primary. Abercrombie started to founder shortly after taking office. .... Simultaneously, the governor quickly butted heads with the labor unions who were his core supporters. Abercrombie inherited former Gov. Linda Lingle’s budget woes. But the politician once known as a strong progressive friend of labor, became the enemy as he unilaterally imposed contracts, pushed for cuts in benefits and asked unions to accept pay cuts. KS: SEC charges Kansas for not telling investors of pension problem LISA LAMBERT ∙ Reuters ∙ Mon Aug 11, 2014 3:25pm The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday it has charged Kansas with fraud for not properly disclosing funding problems with its public pension when it held bond offerings in 2009 and 2010. It marks the third time the federal regulator has taken action against a state for violating municipal bond disclosure rules. Kansas Teachers Union Challenges Anti-Tenure Law JOHN HANNA ∙ AP ∙ 08/11/2014 1:11 pm The largest teachers union in Kansas filed a lawsuit Monday against a new state law that ended guaranteed tenure for public school teachers, arguing that legislators violated the state constitution by folding the new policy into a larger education funding measure. LA: Layoffs of La. state workers taper off during current budget year after 6 years of dismissals ASSOCIATED PRESS ∙ August 11, 2014 - 5:10 pm After six years of state worker layoffs, no rank-and-file state employees have been targeted for pink slips this budget year. Thats according to the Department of Civil Service, which issued its latest monthly report on layoffs Monday. LA: State website will match employers and job seekers ASSOCIATED PRESS ∙ AUGUST 11, 2014 | 10:46 AM Louisiana is about to launch a new program that with match employers and skilled workers. On Aug. 18, state officials will make a free, online, matchmaking employment service available for the first time to both employers and job seekers who want only their top options. The Advocate reports (bit.ly/1B8rUMM ) the Louisiana Job Connection, commissioned by the state Department of Economic Development, is intended to match the skills and experience of job applicants to the expressed needs of employers. MA: Unions unite around attorney general candidate Warren Tolman, but split in the governors race Masslive ∙ August 11, 2014 .... Jim Durkin, director of legislation and political action for the public employee union AFSCME, said his union chose Coakley because she made a commitment not to change public retirees pensions retroactively. She also worked with the union to stop the closure of Taunton State Hospital. Although, Durkin added, There are three good Democrats in this race. MI: Union says Detroit bankruptcy disrupting contract negotiations Reuters ∙ Mon Aug 11, 2014 8:08pm Detroits largest union said on Monday that the citys historic bankruptcy proceedings have given the management of the water and sewer department opportunities to disrupt bargaining units and strip union members of job protections. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Michigan Council 25 filed a motion late Monday to clarify or lift an automatic court stay on litigation against Detroit during the bankruptcy process. The states employment commission, which settles labor disputes, has decided against holding hearings regarding the city until after the bankruptcy process is concluded. But AFSCME is pressing for the commission to hear two complaints that it filed against the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department sooner than that. The union contends that the stay applies only to those seeking monetary judgments. MI: Medicaid shift could save Michigan prisons $19M KAREN BOUFFARD ∙ DETROIT NEWS ∙ AUGUST 11, 2014 The Michigan Department of Corrections expects to save at least $19 million on health care next year by enrolling inmates and parolees in the state’s expanded Medicaid health care program. Corrections officials and experts argue that providing uninsured ex-cons with treatment for the mental illness, substance abuse and chronic health conditions that otherwise can lead them to commit crimes again could reap future savings in the state’s $2 billion-a-year corrections budget. MI: Editorial: Reconsider plan to privatize parking The Detroit News ∙ August 10, 2014 City Council voted like old Detroit last week when it denied Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s request to collect proposals for bids on the city’s parking system. The move bows to unions and impedes progress as Detroit tries to emerge from bankruptcy. Michigan Court Ruling Could Cost $1.1B, Budget Officials Warn CAITLIN DEVITT ∙ Bond Buyer ∙ AUG 11, 2014 2:41pm Michigan officials are asking the states high court to reconsider a recent decision that could cost the state more than $1 billion in the current fiscal year. The Michigan Supreme Court in July ruled 4-3 in favor of IBM in a dispute over corporate taxes. The case, IBM vs. Department of Treasury, turned on how out-of-state corporations that do business in Michigan are allowed to calculate their taxes. The courts decision overturned earlier rulings by the court of claims and the Michigan Court of Appeals, both of which ruled in favor of the state. It means IBM will be in line for a $6 million refund for 2008, rather than the $1.3 million calculated by the state. The state could be forced to pay up to $1.1 billion in total for other companies — up to 134 have filed claims — that could benefit from the ruling, budget officials said. MN: Firefighters offer to whittle away residential inspections backlog. Inspections Dept. says no. Pioneer Press ∙ 11 August, 2014 When it comes to inspecting residential rental property in St. Paul and making sure it’s safe and habitable, the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI) is facing a major backlog. The numbers of rental properties in the city are clearly growing, and DSI is not. “The backlogs are too high. Huge. Almost insurmountable,” said Tom Ferrara, a DSI inspector and president of AFSCME Local 1842, the city’s technical union. The question being debated by the city’s labor unions now is whether firefighters should be called in to help. MN: Hubbard says he had nothing to do with pulling anti-Mills ad Rachel E. Stassen-Berger ∙ Star Tribune ∙ August 11, 2014 - 3:58 PM Republican donor Stanley Hubbard said he and his family were uninvolved with his television stations decision to pull an anti-Stewart Mills ad. I heard someone accused the Hubbards of being behind that decision. We had nothing to do with it, Hubbard told the Star Tribune. Two Hubbard stations were the only ones to cede to the Mills campaign request that stations stop airing the television ad from the Democratic House Majority PAC and the AFSCME union. Other stations are still airing the spot. MN: Correctional officers face a referendum to straighten out a technical correction BRAD PHENOW ∙ faribault ∙ 11:14 pm, Mon Aug 11, 2014 Eligible correctional officers will vote in December on whether to retain their coverage under Social Security, something the Public Employees Retirement Association is calling a “technical correction.” In 1931, the Minnesota Legislature created the Public Employees Retirement Association after recognizing the need for a retirement program for county and local government employees. In 1999, state legislation established a new plan for correctional officers. Those who were enrolled in the original plan, PERA Coordinated, then became members of the new PERA Correctional Plan. Under the correctional plan, members participate in both PERA and Social Security. It was assumed that new correctional officers would be covered. However, individuals who were not members of the original coordinated plan were not automatically eligible to be covered by Social Security. NC: North Carolina Becomes the Latest Casualty of the Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act Decision Ari Berman ∙ The Nation ∙ August 9, 2014 - 11:57 AM ET On Tuesday, August 6, the country celebrated the forty-ninth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, the most impactful civil rights law ever passed by Congress. Three days later, a federal judge in North Carolina denied a preliminary injunction to block key provisions of the state’s new voting law, widely described as the most onerous in the country. North Carolina’s new voting restrictions will now be in effect for the 2014 midterms and beyond, pending a full trial in July 2015, a month before the fiftieth anniversary of the VRA. … NJ: Half N.J. voters say public pensions too high, divided on fix Bob Ingle, Asbury Park Press, August 11, 2014 Asked how to make up the pension shortfall: Almost half New Jersey voters say public worker pensions are too hight. But they are divided on how to fix the pensions problem. A Quinnipiac University poll released today shows 47 percent of voters think public pensions are too high, 9 precent think they fare too low. But only 12 percent want a tax hike to make up for the shortfall in pension funds. NJ: Sweeney Ditches Christie Alliance With Pension Vow Broken Elise Young and Terrence Dopp ∙ Bloomberg ∙ Aug 12, 2014 Setting out to cut public pensions and health benefits in his first term, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie found an ally in Senate President Steve Sweeney, a career ironworker whose earlier stab at such changes led unionized workers to protest dressed like hot dogs. .... . The state’s highest-ranking Democratic lawmaker says the pension fund would be stable if Christie hadn’t broken his promise this year to make $2.48 billion in extra payments in fiscal 2014 and 2015. The governor reneged to balance the budget after income-tax collections fell short of his targets. NJ: Christie Nixes NJ Privatization Standards Bill (abstract) Joshua Alston ∙ Law360 ∙ August 11, 2014, 4:53 PM New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has vetoed a bill to install standards for service and workforce levels for privatized state contracts, saying the legislation is ideology-driven opposition to his privatization efforts and would create needless red tape. In a message released Friday, Christie issued an absolute veto of S-770, a bill aimed at blocking private state contracts unless the state is assured privatization would achieve considerable cost savings without resulting in reductions in the quality of service or the workforce levels the state maintains. NY: Union discord over court officer pay CANDICE RUUD ∙ newsday ∙ August 12, 2014 A proposed six-year contract providing modest pay hikes for state court employees has been approved, but its raising concerns on Long Island and in New York City, where the cost of living is higher. More than 1,500 Suffolk and Nassau workers, ranging from courthouse officers to court reporters, clerks and interpreters, have been without a contract for three years. The Civil Service Employees Association, representing 5,700 court employees, overwhelmingly ratified the proposed contract in June - over objections from union leaders in Nassau, Suffolk and the city. Those officials, who are still negotiating with the state, say the proposal by the Office of Court Administration demands too many givebacks and doesnt keep pace with the areas rising cost of living. NY: County agreement with CSEA trades wage increase for some benefit relief Buffalo News ∙ August 12, 2014 Although the new contract with Civil Service Employees Association Local 815 may not reap huge savings for Erie County for years, it does make important changes to the costly benefits that have been squeezing the life out of local governments. The latest agreement follows the pattern in contracts with other county unions. Reaching an agreement with the county’s largest bargaining unit seven years after the old one expired is an accomplishment for County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. NY: Queens Library carrying out expensive probe of leaks about director Thomas Galantes salary, spending JOHN MARZULLI ∙ NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ∙ August 11, 2014, 11:20 PM The Queens Library has retained a high-priced ex-judge to probe leaks about the salary and spending of library boss Thomas Galante, which led to several stories in The News. The Queens Library is spending big bucks to investigate leaks of confidential information about board meetings to the Daily News. Lawyers for six former trustees suing to get their positions back after they were kicked out by Mayor de Blasio and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz revealed in court papers the library has retained a high-powered former federal judge to probe leaks that led to a series of stories in The News about library director Thomas Galantes $392,000 salary and his free-spending ways. NY: School crossing guards protected by legislation Bill Parry ∙ Times Ledger ∙ August 12, 2014 A pair of lawmakers from the borough are hoping their bill, signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo Monday, will fix the shortage of school crossing guards. .... Santos Crespo, president of Local 372 of AFSCME said the new law tells the crossing guards — low-wage, part-time workers, mostly women — that they afforded the same protection as police officers. OH: Hillsboro school employees get 2 percent raise Times Gazette ∙ August 11. 2014 6:56PM Two percent raises for all Hillsboro City Schools employees with the exception of two were approved during a special board of education meeting Monday afternoon. The raises are for the 2014-15 school year, which also began Monday, and are for the union that represents the teachers – the Hillsboro Education Association – and members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents the non-certified staff. OK: City Hall jobs plan OK’d on condition Development office creation tied to approval of reorganization D.E. Smoot ∙ Phoenix ∙ August 11, 2014 City workers and residents turned out Monday in support and opposition to a plan to create an economic development department and up to seven — mostly administrative — new jobs. ... Dustin Williams, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2465, described councilors’ eventual votes of approval as “disgusting.” He said administrators have offered employees “peanuts” during contract negotiations while planning to add new administrators whose salaries alone could cost up to $500,000 annually. “The problem is our workers are not even getting paid what they are worth,” he said, noting a reclassification and compensation study has yet to be implemented fully. OR: Weighmaster union: We alerted county to dangers Grady Waxenfelter killed in February; suspect Dirck White remains on the loose Tim Becker ∙ KOIN 6 News ∙ August 11, 2014, 5:53 pm Union officials raised safety concerns with Clackamas County for years prior to the on-the-job murder of weighmaster Grady Waxenfelter in February. Waxenfelter was shot and killed in the area of Southeast Amisigger Road and Highway 224. Witness Elias Duhrkoop told KOIN 6 News a man who was on a ride-along with the Waxenfelter described to him the swift and terrible moments that unfolded. It began when the weighmaster approached an O’Malley Brothers truck pulling a trailer of firewood. .... The suspect, Dirck Morgan White, remains at large. Union concerns “It’s the first time I’ve ever gotten a call in the middle of the day that one of our members was murdered on the job for doing his job,” said Ken Allen, the AFSCME executive director. Related Portland Tribune: Weighmaster death stirs issues PA: Gov. Tom Corbett defends meeting with campaign aides in state office By Ed Mahon York Daily Record 08/11/2014 02:10:45 PM EDT Gov. Tom Corbett on Monday defended having top campaign aides attend meetings with state-paid workers in the governors office, and he compared the practice to getting advice on a major transportation spending package that passed in November 2013. … The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported last week that Corbett met with top campaign advisers in the governors office multiple times since taking office in January 2011. Corbett said when the campaign officials attended the meetings in the governors office they werent planning the campaign. ... PR: Unions have amendments to Law 66 Union leaders said that their claims are not economic, but labor rights. (Link to English translation) Stephanie Gomez Alvarez, El Vocero ∙ August 11, 2014 The Broad Front Union of Public Corporations today introduced amendments to Law 66 of the Draft Fiscal Sustainability in an attempt to change economic provisions raised in the law. The amendments are to Articles 10, 17 and 28, relating to shipments, the right of seniority and contracting out the work of employees and labor, respectively claims. We hope that the opening is to hear claims that are fair and are providing real alternatives, said the president of the Brotherhood of Clerks, Trade and Branches Anexas, Astrid Rosario. He also claimed that the teeth of the new law, and sit in the Ports Authority since August 1 cover medical plan was changed arbitrarily. Union leaders said that their claims are not economic, but labor rights. These amendments go against clauses that have no benefits for corporation WA: Editorial: Open state negotiations with unions to public view Seattle Times ∙ August 11, 2014 at 4:16 PM STATE Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, has one of the easiest committee assignments in Olympia. For 10 years he has served on the Joint Select Committee on Employment Relations, the panel of legislators that is supposed to advise the governor in negotiations with public employee unions. Every couple of years, members get a memo saying a deal has been reached. Never has the committee met, Honeyford says. “Actually, I’d forgotten about it.” Business as usual, in other words. Washington is negotiating behind closed doors with unions representing some 50,000 state employees, and the process is as dim as ever. .... Labor officials suggest public attention would make agreement more difficult, yet 11 other states including Texas, Florida and Oregon open their negotiations to the public in whole or in part. Taxpayers deserve to know if the state is driving a hard bargain. WI: Pay raise OKd for Wisconsin prison guards after union issue resolved Patrick Marley ∙ Journal Sentinel ∙ Aug. 12, 2014 Correctional officers who initially were denied a 1% pay raise this summer are now getting the pay hike with back pay. Most state workers received 1% raises on June 29, but many officers did not receive it because they were in a dispute with the state over whether their union would be recognized. If the officers won the fight over their union status, they would have been eligible to try to negotiate a higher raise. Because of that possibility, the Office of State Employment Relations declined to provide the 1% raise for the time being. Last month, the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission declared that the officers union had not received enough votes to be recognized by the state.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 17:53:48 +0000
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