Following the passage of Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill, Madison officials have once again taken steps to halt the bill’s implementation in the city by extending contracts with one of the community’s largest unions.
Representatives from AFSCME Local 60 approached Mayor Dave Cieslewicz last week with proposals for new contracts that would help the city avoid major service cuts and layoffs, a statement from the mayor’s office said.
Cieslewicz said ratifying new city union contracts would mitigate the impact of Walker’s biennial state budget and it was a helpful move for both the city and the unions.
According to the statement, the unions agreed to reduce pay increases from 3 percent to 2 percent beginning at the end of 2011. Unions also agreed to a 50 percent contribution to retirement benefits beginning in January 2012 instead of January 2013.
“AFSCME approached me to see if the city would accept another year on its contract in exchange for some increases in their contributions to their pension fund and to health insurance costs, so we negotiated and came up with an agreement that is good for the union and taxpayers,” Cieslewicz said. “It’s an example of collective bargaining at its best.”
If the City Council ratifies the agreement at a special meeting later this week, Cieslewicz said the union’s contract would remain in effect for as long as is legally permissible, extending through the end of March 2014.
Cieslewicz said he is expecting nearly unanimous support from the City Council because its members are concerned about the 2012 budget and the contract extension would save the city millions of dollars in health insurance pensions throughout the next three years.
With the negotiated contract extension, Cieslewicz said it is more likely the city can get through the 2012 budget without layoffs and seriously reducing services.
“This is a win-win situation for taxpayers and unions – there is really no reason not to do this,” Cieslewicz said. “I want to emphasize again that we came to this agreement through negotiation with our unions, so I think it really is an example of how well collective bargaining can work in the interest of both taxpayers and public employees.”
AFSCME Local 60 Staff Representative Jennifer McCulley said in a statement the union was glad Cieslewicz was willing to work with the organization and other unions throughout the city.
Cieslewicz said all of the major unions outside of the police and fire department unions have already extended their contracts with the city, including AFSCME, Teamsters and Local 236. He said he is also willing to negotiate with the police and fire department unions, but there was not immediate pressure because they are not in jeopardy under Walker’s repair bill.
“We came to the mayor with changes for our contracts because we know that it is important to work together and negotiate to address the budget challenges we’re facing,” McCulley said. “We’re glad the mayor is willing to do that and that our union and others have ratified the new contracts.”
