This morning, the Legislative Subcommittee on Employee Relations rejected the latest state employee contract.
The contract would
- give state employee san average 9% pay raise
- keep the percentage of health care premiums paid by state employees at exactly zero. That’s compared to over 20% in the private sector, and 9% even among government employees in surrounding states.
- The average state employee already earns 23% more than the average private sector Minnesotan.
- If passed, it’ll add $174 million to the amount to be absorbed into the various agency budgets – or taken away from the amount to be paid back to the schools from the budgetary “School Shift”.
That’s what the Dayton Administration is fighting for; to steal from the state’s school children to pay the Minnesota Association of State Employees.
Remember: the purpose of a public education is to provide quality jobs for union members. Dayton knows this, I don’t know why conservatives can’t cede this point.
GOP in MN should use this as a campaign talking point; DFL and governor want to spend 174 million for public sector raises despite still owing the schools 2.4 billion in the budget shift. Combined with the veto of the bill to pay back part of the shift this session, I think that is a winning argument.
I am a state employee, My pay would have gone up 2% not 9%.
My health co-pays and out of pocket will go up 20%. And I voted for contracts in the past that limited raises to less than the average increase in the private sector in order to preserve better health benefits for my family.
I do not get paid 23% more than individuals in the private sector. I know I have been offered positions that paid substantially more. I didn’t accept the positions because I believe that I contribute to a society that works a little bit better for all of us because of what I do each day.
And I now expect be flamed.
I don’t have it in me anymore to get worked up over things like this after Zellers and company handed Ziggy Wolf a cool billion after getting his marching orders from the NFL commisioner. Color me still sickened.
“I do not get paid 23% more than individuals in the private sector. I know I have been offered positions that paid substantially more. I didn’t accept the positions because I believe that I contribute to a society that works a little bit better for all of us because of what I do each day.”
Poppycock!!