| Press Release |
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| July 28, 2009 |
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Governor announces contract agreement with SEIU & AFSCME
Agreement includes 12- month pay freeze, up to 14 furlough days
(Salem) - Governor Ted Kulongoski today announced a tentative contract settlement with the state’s largest unions that meets the savings targets set during the legislative session for the 2009 – 11 biennium, trimming $32 million from current contract costs. The agreements also meets the Governor’s long-held goal to save jobs and preserve services by asking every state employee to share the burden of challenging budget times.
“This is a much needed and greatly appreciated contribution to the goal of sustaining services for Oregonians,” Governor Kulongoski said. “It represents the spirit of shared sacrifice and mutual effort that will get us through these hard times. I am very proud of our unions and their members for doing their part in this difficult budget environment.”
The settlements with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represent 21,500 state workers, will reduce costs through a combination of pay freezes and unpaid furlough days. If ratified in upcoming membership votes, the new contracts will take effect Sept. 1 and extend until the end of the state’s two-year budget period on June 30, 2011.
The settlements with SEIU and AFSCME are expected to serve as a model for settlements with other state unions and will extend to the state’s 7,400 unrepresented and management employees as well. When applied to all of the state’s executive branch agencies, the savings will total approximately $71.5 million for the 09-11 biennium.
The savings do not include the Oregon University System, which negotiates separately with faculty and classified employees.
In addition to the savings achieved through the negotiations and state employee compensation actions, the state will achieve $39 million in administrative and legal cost reductions identified in part in the legislative budget to reach to the $130 million savings target.
The highlights and associated savings of the tentative settlement follow.
Salary Freeze
- No cost-of-living increases.
- No salary increases for 12 months, from September 1, 2009 through August 31, 2010.
- The 12-month freeze will save $30.7 million when applied to the entire workforce in all of the state’s executive branch agencies.
Furloughs
- An average of 12 unpaid furlough days, ranging from 10 days for the lowest-paid workers to 12 and 14 days for higher-paid workers. The furloughs include 10 statewide closure days for all state offices except 24-hour institutions. The first of these closure days will be Oct. 16, 2009.
- These furlough days will save $40.8 million when applied to the entire workforce in all of the state’s executive branch agencies.
Health Insurance
- The state will pick up the first five percent of any premium increases for health insurance and will ask the Public Employees Benefit Board to pick up from its reserves any increases between five and ten percent.
- The state’s commitment reflects the $32 million budgeted for this purpose by the legislature for all state agencies and the Oregon University System.
Duration of the Contract
- A 22-month contract, from Sept. 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011. The 2007-09 contract has been extended through Aug. 31, 2009 while awaiting ratification by the unions’ memberships.
Contacts:
Anna Richter Taylor, 503-378-6169
Jillian Schoene, 503-378-5040
Rem Nivens, 503-378-6496
Lonn Hoklin (DAS), 503-378-2627
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