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PSE, state troopers agree to contracts with state

• Published July 31, 2009

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Two more labor groups ratified contracts with the state recently, agreeing to receive no cost-of-living pay raises and to continue most contract terms from the previous two years.

That leaves just two unions whose members are working without contracts with the state, Gov. Chris Gregoire’s labor negotiator Diane Leigh said today.

A total of 24 contracts were settled early in the month, including major contracts with the Washington Federation of State Employees, which represents 40,000 workers. This was our July 4 roundup story on the agreement.

None of the agreements includes cost-of-living pay increases, in the wake of budget cuts. Workers go on earning at the rates they earned as of June 30, although step pay increases based on longevity are allowed in some positions, according to Leigh, director of the governor’s Labor Relations Office.

The newest contract agreements are with Public School Employee members at Western Washington University and the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association. Both union memberships ratified agreements without cost-of-living pay increases, even though an arbitrator ruled in the troopers’ favor, according to Leigh.

One other set of contract talks is on hold for about 100 lieutenants at the Washington State Patrol, pending a ruling by the Public Employment Relations Commission.

That leaves just the Service Employees International Union 775, which is expected to return to the negotiating table next week with the Labor Relations Office. About 25,000 home care workers are affected.

An issue for SEIU has been the use of funds previously allocated for payment of client hours that lawmakers chose to reduce. The union wants to use that money to blunt the effects on workers of rising health-care insurance costs.