Our Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) negotiations team kicked off negotiations in October and is focused on the negotiations priorities that their fellow union members set in August. These priorities include salary increases that account for inflation, insurance increases, and rewards members with satisfactory or better performance evaluations.
NDE members also prioritized remote work assignments and additional leave benefits similar to state code and non-code agency members.
Tanner Byrd (IT Infrastructure Support Analyst, Lincoln), Katherine Knutzen (Vocational Rehabilitation, Columbus), Rebecca Schademann (Program Specialist III, Lincoln), and Jeremy Winfrey (IT Infrastructure Support Analyst, Lincoln) serve on our NDE negotiations team.
“This is my first year on the team so I’m learning as I go along. The biggest thing I’ve taken away so far is that to have a strong contract, you need strong proposals,” said Katherine Knutzen. “I’m excited to see what changes we can make to the contract to not only attract and retain employees for the NDE but also so we can show our members what a difference it makes to have a strong union that helps facilitate new ideas.”
Jeremy Winfrey said his goal is to see meaningful wage increases for his fellow NDE employees.
“I’m intrigued by the overall process and excited about working toward the overall betterment of working conditions for all NDE employees,” he said. “This is our chance to speak up and be heard. Our voices can help produce change.”
It’s still early in the negotiations process, and the team will be back at the bargaining table in November to continue fighting for the best possible contract. If you’re not yet a union member, click here to join today!