Sixteen NAPE/AFSCME union members who work for the Richardson County Roads Department have not seen a pay raise since 2022 because the elected Richardson County Commissioners have refused to agree to a new contract.
A trial at the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations (CIR), to set new wages in accordance with state law, got underway in January with testimony from six NAPE/AFSCME union members. The members testified to their job responsibilities, work assignments, and how duties are assigned at the road department. Our members’ testimony will support the testimony of our expert witness on how jobs and wages should be compared to an array of seven other comparable counties.
After our members’ testimony, the CIR continued the trial to March 16 & 17. Testimony will continue then with our expert witness, followed by an expert witness for the county. The expert witnesses will present their opinions on the appropriate total compensation package based on their comparisons to the counties that the CIR ordered in the comparability array.
The trial is open to the public and will continue on Monday, March 16 at 9am in the CIR Hearing Room at the Nebraska State Office Building (301 Centennial Mall South, 1st Floor, Lincoln). We will hold a rally at noon on Monday, March 16 on Centennial Mall just outside the state office building. All are welcome to attend and support our Richardson County members.
We offered another settlement proposal to the County in February, but the Commissioners declined to meet and discuss our offer. The Richardson County Commissioners voted to increase their own salaries by an additional 4% in January. Since 2022, the Commissioners have raised their own salary from $25,151 to $36,743 per year. That’s a 46% increase.
The position of County Commissioner is a part-time elected position which meets once per week for a few hours. The current starting salary for a full time roads department employee is $38,209.
Give the Richardson County Commissioners a call, and ask them why they deserve a 46% salary increase while their employees deserve 0%.
John Caverzagie – 402-419-9071
Rick Karas – 402-239-8228
Bob Campbell – 402-801-2919