NAPE/AFSCME members at the Nebraska Department of Education have ratified a new labor contract containing a new step salary schedule and record salary increases. The contract was ratified unanimously by union members with 43% voter turnout.
The new contract will take effect on July 1 2023 and run through June 30, 2025. A step salary schedule is created with 20 steps. Each step is 2% higher than the previous step. On July 3, 2023, NAPE/AFSCME members will be placed on the salary schedule by increasing their current salary by 7%. After that increase is applied, salaries will increase again by rounding the employee’s salary to the next highest step. That will become the employee’s initial step placement.
On July 1, 2024, minimum salaries will increase by 3%, and employees with satisfactory or better performance evaluation in calendar year 2023 will advance an additional salary step. In total, this equates to an additional 5%+ salary increase. In total, all NAPE/AFSCME members at the Department of Education will see their salaries increase 12-14% over the biennium.
Other substantive contract changes include allowing the use of sick leave for any FMLA qualifying condition (including paternity leave), maintaining step placement after a promotion or demotion, and the expansion of bereavement leave to include aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. Additional changes can be reviewed in the information above. Once signed, the final contract will be posted on our contracts page here.
If you are not a NAPE/AFSCME member, please join us today and stand with us as we continue to negotiate for better wages and working conditions.