?It?s simply wrong to make me choose between feeding my children and providing health care for them.?
With that stark statement, AFSCME member Kim Mueller explained why she joined thousands of other state employees in rejecting the State of Minnesota?s contract offer. On Monday, the two largest state employee unions, AFSCME and MAPE, announced members had overwhelming voted down the proposal.
The vote means the unions can call a strike after a 10-day notice, but both organizations said a walkout was not imminent and they hoped to go back to the bargaining table.
The state had offered to freeze wages for two years and impose increases in health care costs that the unions said would amount to thousands of dollars per family. Workers attending the contract vote announcement wore bright green t-shirts and buttons that read, ?Simply Wrong.?
Mueller, like many other union members, used the ?pain calculator? on AFSCME?s website to determine her increased health care costs. Her payments will go up about $400 a month -- $4,800 a year ? an amount that the single mother of four children said she simply can?t afford.
?I can live in my car but I have to think about my children,? said Mueller, who is a 911 dispatcher for the Minnesota State Patrol, where she earns about $38,000 a year.
Mueller is not unique, AFSCME Council 6 Executive Director Peter Benner and MAPE Executive Director Jim Monroe said at the news conference announcing the strike vote. High health care costs were the main reason that 80 percent of AFSCME members and 66 percent of MAPE members voted against the contract, they said.
?After careful consideration, the majority of our membership felt it was simply wrong for the state to drastically increase out-of-pocket health care costs for state employees and their families on the one hand, while freezing our wages on the other,? Benner said.
Monroe said the state failed to recognize the sacrifices public employees have made over the years to retain decent benefits.
?For over 30 years of collective bargaining in Minnesota, state employees have consistently moderated their wage proposals in order to protect health care coverage,? he said. ?By reneging on its long-standing commitment to affordable health care, the state would drive away the skilled professional workers we need.?
Council 6 represents 19,000 state workers in a variety of jobs, including clerical, health care, transportation and maintenance. MAPE represents 10,600 state employees in the professional classes.
The unit of AFSCME representing 1,700 corrections employees voted 98 percent to reject the proposal. Because they are essential employees, they are barred from striking. Benner said he would immediately file to take their contract to arbitration.
In the meantime, the unions are hopeful that negotiations can provide some movement that would prevent a strike. Benner and Monroe said the contract rejection authorizes the unions? executive boards and bargaining committees to call a strike if they determine it?s necessary, without going back to the membership for another vote.
?We are prepared to strike if we need to,? Benner said. ?Our first goal is to see if we can get the state back to the table to discuss this.?
For more information
View video clips from the news conference:
Kim Mueller talking about the effect of health care costs on her family
Peter Benner and Jim Monroe discussing the issues
Visit the AFSCME Council 6 website and the MAPE website.
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| AFSCME Council 6 Executive Director Peter Benner and MAPE Executive Director Jim Monroe stood in front of the microphones to respond to reporters' questions about the state contract. Kim Mueller (front row, second from left) explained how the health care costs will hurt her family. Dozens of grim-faced workers (below) held up signs during the news conference. |
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?It?s simply wrong to make me choose between feeding my children and providing health care for them.?
With that stark statement, AFSCME member Kim Mueller explained why she joined thousands of other state employees in rejecting the State of Minnesota?s contract offer. On Monday, the two largest state employee unions, AFSCME and MAPE, announced members had overwhelming voted down the proposal.
The vote means the unions can call a strike after a 10-day notice, but both organizations said a walkout was not imminent and they hoped to go back to the bargaining table.
The state had offered to freeze wages for two years and impose increases in health care costs that the unions said would amount to thousands of dollars per family. Workers attending the contract vote announcement wore bright green t-shirts and buttons that read, ?Simply Wrong.?
Mueller, like many other union members, used the ?pain calculator? on AFSCME?s website to determine her increased health care costs. Her payments will go up about $400 a month — $4,800 a year ? an amount that the single mother of four children said she simply can?t afford.
?I can live in my car but I have to think about my children,? said Mueller, who is a 911 dispatcher for the Minnesota State Patrol, where she earns about $38,000 a year.
Mueller is not unique, AFSCME Council 6 Executive Director Peter Benner and MAPE Executive Director Jim Monroe said at the news conference announcing the strike vote. High health care costs were the main reason that 80 percent of AFSCME members and 66 percent of MAPE members voted against the contract, they said.
?After careful consideration, the majority of our membership felt it was simply wrong for the state to drastically increase out-of-pocket health care costs for state employees and their families on the one hand, while freezing our wages on the other,? Benner said.
Monroe said the state failed to recognize the sacrifices public employees have made over the years to retain decent benefits.
?For over 30 years of collective bargaining in Minnesota, state employees have consistently moderated their wage proposals in order to protect health care coverage,? he said. ?By reneging on its long-standing commitment to affordable health care, the state would drive away the skilled professional workers we need.?
Council 6 represents 19,000 state workers in a variety of jobs, including clerical, health care, transportation and maintenance. MAPE represents 10,600 state employees in the professional classes.
The unit of AFSCME representing 1,700 corrections employees voted 98 percent to reject the proposal. Because they are essential employees, they are barred from striking. Benner said he would immediately file to take their contract to arbitration.
In the meantime, the unions are hopeful that negotiations can provide some movement that would prevent a strike. Benner and Monroe said the contract rejection authorizes the unions? executive boards and bargaining committees to call a strike if they determine it?s necessary, without going back to the membership for another vote.
?We are prepared to strike if we need to,? Benner said. ?Our first goal is to see if we can get the state back to the table to discuss this.?
For more information
View video clips from the news conference:
Kim Mueller talking about the effect of health care costs on her family
Peter Benner and Jim Monroe discussing the issues
Visit the AFSCME Council 6 website and the MAPE website.
|
| AFSCME Council 6 Executive Director Peter Benner and MAPE Executive Director Jim Monroe stood in front of the microphones to respond to reporters’ questions about the state contract. Kim Mueller (front row, second from left) explained how the health care costs will hurt her family. Dozens of grim-faced workers (below) held up signs during the news conference. |
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