Our State of Nebraska and Department of Education (NDE) contract negotiations teams have been hard at work since September to secure higher wages and better benefits, and we remain committed to reaching an agreement that meets our members’ priorities. Unfortunately, we have not been able to reach tentative agreements on either our State of Nebraska or NDE contracts.
The reason we have not been able to reach a tentative agreement is because the State has not met our priorities regarding wages. Union members have said loudly and firmly that wage increases must account for inflation and insurance increases and contain step increases for satisfactory performance.
The statutory deadline to complete contract negotiations is December 31. We left the bargaining table before the new year with the state offering 2% raises to the minimum salaries and a one salary step increase each year of the state contract. The Department of Education has offered a 1% raise to the base and a step increase each year of the NDE contract. With inflation sitting at 2.7% as of November, these offers don’t meet our goals.
Our negotiations team also proposed higher wages for hundreds of job classifications based on market data to make starting wages competitive to attract and retain employees. The State has only agreed to discuss a handful of our proposed new minimum starting salaries, leaving hundreds without a competitive adjustment. In order to ensure all members see wage increases that outpace inflation and insurance increases, we proposed moving to a higher across the board wage increase instead of a handful of job classifications seeing higher starting wages than others. The state rejected that proposal.
Despite the challenges surrounding wages, we have made progress on some of our priorities including: paid parental leave, catastrophic sick leave, E bargaining unit vacation/sick leave, multilingual premium pay, and higher shift differentials. Should we reach a tentative agreement on these items, we will have made significant progress on our members’ priorities.
Nebraska law allows negotiations to be extended until January 10 if both parties agree to participate in mediation. The State of Nebraska, NDE, and our union have agreed to enter mediation, and a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service joined us for mediation sessions for both contracts to explore paths toward reconciliation on Thursday, January 2. Another mediation session is scheduled for January 8.
Our negotiations teams are committed to reaching the best possible tentative agreement for our members. Union members will have the opportunity to vote to accept or reject a tentative agreement at a ratification meeting in person or online. A ratification meeting schedule will be shared when a tentative agreement is reached. Please exercise your right as a union member to vote during ratification.
If you are not a union member, stand with your coworkers, send a message, and demand a fair and equitable salary increase. Join us today!
