On Thursday, April 4th, MGEC hosted a webinar on ethics as a free benefit for its full members. Facilitated by Hamline Distinguished Law Professor David Schultz, the theme of the presentation centered on how the process of normalizing unethical behaviors can happen through an authoritarian permission structure. Professor Schlutz recounted the Milgram experiments of the early 1960s, which showed that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary unethical things if the conditions are right (or wrong!). While Milgram demonstrated that ordinary people would be willing to shock test subjects if ... Read More >>
Newsletters
Keep your Position Description Updated!
Your Position Description (PD) is the basis of all things relating to your compensation: job audits, reallocations, or agency-initiated compensation studies all use the PD as the first step in determining whether how your paid reflects what you actually do. These assessments can be initiated by you via the MGEC contract (such as in a Job Audit or Reallocation), or they can be initiated by your agency (MDH’s agency-wide compensation study as mentioned in last month’s member update). We want you to be paid fairly for what you do! It is very important to review and update your PD as needed. ... Read More >>
Retirement – what are some things I should know?
Nearing retirement? Congratulations! You’ve worked a long time to reach this day. Before it happens, there are many things to attend to. Communicate with MSRS about your pension benefits. Only they can answer detailed questions pertaining to your benefits. Attending one of their retirement presentations will also provide you with many good ideas. Here are some that I find interesting. Retirees should have at least 10 things to do a week. Cost of health insurance for 65: $95,000 to $165,000 If alive at age 65, 50% chance of living to age 90; 25% chance of living to age 98. ... Read More >>
We Need Your Help!
The public employee bargaining unit representatives on the Joint Labor Management Committee on Health Insurance are interested in your feedback about the current vision benefits offered by the State/SEGIP. The State’s current Vision insurance plan is administered by Blue Cross Vison Plan partnered with Davis Vision. Vision insurance is optional coverage that a state employee may select during Open Enrollment for which an employee pays 100% of the premium. The Blue Cross Vision Plan is designed to supplement the state’s medical plan. The medical plan covers eye exams, and the optional ... Read More >>
MGEC Dues Increase
The MGEC Board has approved a dues increase for full members. Starting with the March 13 pay period, dues will be $16.54. We don’t increase dues without great consideration. Current MGEC full member dues are $15.68 per pay period. They have been that amount since 2020. The dues increase is equal to the wage increase MGEC employees received in their most recent contract. The first increase of $0.86 (5.5% to $16.54) will take place no earlier than the March 13, 2024, pay period. A second increase of $0.74 (4.5% to $17.28) will take place no earlier than the July 3, 2024, pay ... Read More >>
Reminder: MGEC Professional Ethics Seminar – Registration is Open!
MGEC will be offering an online professional ethics class on April 4, from Noon to 2 pm taught by David Schultz, Distinguished University Professor of Political Science and Legal Studies at Hamline University. He will be presenting on Why Good Engineers do Bad Things. Course description - Why do good engineers and organizations act unethically? Why do people who apparently know right from wrong nonetheless act unethically? The session will begin with a discussion of the classic Stanley Milgram punishment experiments, seeking to understand how they help explain unethical behavior. The class ... Read More >>