Hundreds of NAPE/AFSCME union members braved 100 degree temperatures in September to celebrate Labor Day and kickoff 2026 contract negotiations in Lincoln. Members of our contract negotiations teams and Volunteer Member Organizers passed out 300+ free negotiations t-shirts.
After work, dozens of members, family, friends, and supporters gathered on Centennial Mall outside the Nebraska State Capitol to hear from members of our negotiations team about our contract negotiations priorities.
NAPE/AFSCME President Melissa Schmid (DHHS, Fremont) spoke about the importance of wages keeping up with the cost of inflation, while recognizing years of experience and satisfactory work performance.
“Nobody goes into public service because they want to be rich – we do it because we care about our fellow Nebraskans,” Melissa said. “We know that in order to maintain a strong workforce, State of Nebraska employees must be properly paid for the work they do to serve their fellow Nebraskans.”
NAPE/AFSCME Vice President Brandon Brown (Revenue, Lincoln) discussed the importance of protecting our insurance coverage while controlling costs. “Over the last two years, our health insurance premiums have gone up by nearly 25%,” Brandon said. “Health insurance increases simply take away from our salaries, and that’s why controlling health care costs is so important.”
Negotiations team member Madeline Kettler (Veterans’ Affairs, Lincoln) talked about our ideas to make state government more efficient, like a higher payout of earned sick leave to encourage retirement, paid parental leave to help recruit a new generation of state employees, and remote work assignments where feasible.
“Annual turnover of frontline state employees is nearly 20% each year – meaning 1 out of 5 employees leave state government each year,” said Madeline. “That is not efficient. We know we can make state government more efficient, but simply cutting costs won’t get the job done.”
State employees can visit with members of the negotiations team and get a free negotiations t-shirt at worksite visits and union meetings throughout October and November. The deadline to complete contract negotiations is December 31.