WPEA Agrees to 1.6/1.7 Percent Pay Raises

[Greg]

First state worker contract: 1.6, 1.7 percent - Adam Wilson Blog - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington

[From the Adam Wilson blog at The Olympian]

The Washington Public Employees Association has reached an agreement with Gov. Chris Gregoire's bargaining team for a 1.6 percent general pay raise in 2009, followed by 1.7 percent in 2010. Union members must approve the deal.

The union closed bargaining on the contract primary election night, Aug. 19, said Diane Leigh, Gregoire's lead negotiator.

It's news to me. I didn't hear from the WPEA about it (no news on their Web site, either), and hadn’t been able to connect with Leigh until today. The largest general government union, the Washington Federation of State Employees, is still at the bargaining table, but if past experience is any indication, all pay raises will follow a very similar scale.

This contract also includes the salary survey adjustment; meaning workers more than 25 percent behind their peers in other sectors will be caught up.

Several groups are in arbitration, in which a third party will decide what's fair. That includes two groups of state-paid contractors represented by the Service Employees International Union.

[Greg]

Two years ago, on the first vote Washington DOC prison employees voted down a contract that included a 15.2 percent raise for Correctional Officers.

If 1.6/1.7 is the best that the State has to offer us this year, I predict that things will get ugly and nasty in a hurry.

[Greg]

Anybody interested in discussing this topic please go to the thread in the newly created "Washington DOC Employees" section of the forum at the link below:

WPEA Agrees to 1.6/1.7 Percent Pay Raises