In response to the Governor’s proposal to cut the state budget by $500 million and the preemptive layoffs of union members by some state agencies, our contract negotiations team sent a proposal to the Governor’s Chief Negotiator to encourage employees over age 55 to retire, in exchange for a greater payout of earned sick leave if they retire by January 31, 2026.
In early December, the Governor’s chief negotiator informed our union that our proposal was rejected. No explanation was provided other than the state was not willing to engage on this topic at this time.
Under our current contract, union members who are age 55 or over (or otherwise eligible to retire under state law and NPERS guidelines) receive a one-time cash payout of 25% of their accrued earned sick leave up to a maximum of 480 hours. To incentivize members to retire, in an effort to prevent layoffs, we proposed doubling the payout and cap for those that elect to retire before January 31, 2026.
Our negotiations team communicated to the Governor’s chief negotiator that we are ready and willing to negotiate over any retirement incentive proposal such as cash bonuses, insurance incentives, greater payout of sick leave, and any other creative solutions to provide state employees with more employment security and avoid disrupting state services with layoffs at any time.
We want to offer proactive solutions to protect public services. We will continue to offer solutions that benefit both the State of Nebraska and NAPE/AFSCME members.