As you’re no doubt aware, the contract between MGEC and the State of Minnesota expired on the last day of June. While it is always a source of frustration to have a contract expire before a successor labor agreement is in place, this is consistent with the history of bargaining with the State, and is common in the public sector more broadly.
We have a set of mutually agreed upon dates with the State to bargain the next contract, beginning in September and running into December on a roughly two-week cycle. In our ideal scenario we will not require all the dates and can arrive at a tentative agreement that we can submit to the membership with a recommendation to pass. In the worst scenario, these dates may lead to mediation or, potentially, an “interest arbitration” where we seek to persuade an independent arbitrator to impose terms and conditions on both the employer and the union. (More on “interest arbitration” in future newsletters if it becomes apparent that is our direction.)
Those who have been around for a bargaining cycle or two are familiar with the ramifications of “pattern bargaining”; the product of what the state’s largest unions achieve at the bargaining table frames what we can expect in our own contract cycle. Those two unions represent the vast majority of state employees, and the smaller unions should expect a similar outcome. While this slows our negotiations, we benefit from the strength that the larger unions choose to show. The threat of a strike of a huge proportion of state employees can work to our benefit. But, as of this writing, the tentative agreements of MAPE and AFSCME are heading towards a clear ratification of their respective memberships. And the strengths of their tentative agreements are limited to holding the line on a very bad healthcare package plus an across-the-board wage adjustment that falls far short of what inflation has done to our purchasing power. But that doesn’t mean our negotiations are predetermined and we don’t have work to do!
MGEC’s negotiation team is focused on language proposals that are tailored to our membership. As we mentioned in last month’s newsletter, we do not want to reveal our list before the employer reveals their proposals; that gives them an unfair advantage.
Once we are in the negotiation process, we will provide updates on our progress. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.