Spokane7
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December 15, 2010 in City
Deal cuts hours, pay for state workers
Union also agrees to health plan increases
OLYMPIA – Union leaders for state workers have agreed tentatively to cuts in wages and increases in health premiums for the next two years.
Union officials and Gov. Chris Gregoire, in a hastily arranged news conference Tuesday afternoon, announced the tentative agreements, which include furloughs that would bring most wages down by 3 percent. State employees would also pay the cost of any increases in health care in the coming two years, and the state share will be set at its current amount.
The unions cover all state workers under collective bargaining agreements, from office workers in agencies throughout the state to nurses at Eastern State Hospital and corrections officers at Airway Heights.
State managers not covered by union contracts will experience similar cuts, and elected officials will ask the state commission on salaries to lower their pay by like amounts.
“This is real sacrifice by public employees,” Gregoire said, adding she’d fight any legislative attempts to extract more from union and nonunion state workers during the upcoming session as state officials wrestle with an estimated $4.6 billion gap between expected revenues and projected expenses in the state’s general fund.
The agreements would save an estimated $176 million in the general fund over the 2011-’13 budget period, and a total of $269 million for all agencies covered by all state funds.
Under the agreement, which must still be ratified by the unions’ memberships and approved by the Legislature, about 90 percent of all state workers will have their hours, and thus their pay, cut by slightly more than 5 hours a month. The only ones exempt from the cuts would be those workers who earn less than $30,000 a year.
Greg Devereaux of the Washington Federation of State Employees, called it an extremely flexible furlough plan that allows managers and employees to come up with their own solutions to handle the time off without closing their doors or raising overtime by other staff.
Unlike the furloughs required by the Legislature last spring, some agencies won’t be closed on set days while others remain open. Gregoire said she expects all agencies to remain open during regular business hours and staff to figure out ways to accommodate the 5.2 hours of unpaid time off each month for each employee.
The state will continue its current contribution of $850 a month to health insurance, which is currently 85 percent of the cost. State workers currently pay $150 and will pay any increases over the next two years.
Romney/Paul split weighing on county GOP 
drywitt99 on December 15 at 2:33 a.m.
Responsible public employee unions.
I…..for one…..am not surprised in the slightest.
Dazzeetrader11 on December 15 at 3:20 a.m.
The same amount of money goes out the door taxpayers! Union just gets a few more days off. This is a victory? Pensions funded too! It’s all for show! Rid yourselves of Gregoire, Lisa Brown (the unions champion) and Verner and things will get better. Until then.no change.
oneanddone on December 15 at 4:01 a.m.
Before anyone starts congratulating unions on their common sense, let’s see how they vote first. And posters really should READ the article before they just add their usual slanted diatribe. The time off is UNPAID, although it only amounts to 3% less. The bigger cost will likely be the health care increases during the next 2 years and it makes me wonder how serious the state will be in negotiating contracts given they won’t pay the increase.
liarsinnews on December 15 at 5:05 a.m.
At first blush, I think it may be a facade.
Spokane_Citizen on December 15 at 5:57 a.m.
The time off is indeed unpaid.
The most significant accomplishment of these agreements will be to finally start hammering home to the employees the real cost of medical coverage….public employees are very unused to contributing much, if anything, to their medical coverage. Considering that aggregate medical costs move upward on an annual basis of 12% to 20% (which really means those costs double every 4 to 7 years) starting to control this portion of the wage and benefit package is very significant.
Increasing employee contributions via expanded co-pays are also very important. The co-pay itself doesn’t necessarily recover much of the medical costs, but it has the power to change consumer behavior. Employees who don’t pay much of anything to constantly visit multiple health providers have no immediate negative financial impact to constrain their abuse of the system.
And when their employers (primarily government employers) constantly expand their contribution to employee medical coverage to meet the increased costs (without a corresponding increased contribution from the employee) you’ve created a virtual free (to the employee that is) medical smorgasbord to choose from. Altering medical use patterns is critical.
hawken on December 15 at 7:49 a.m.
In the end, if the budget is going to be balanced, as required by law, the Governor and Legislature need to come up with $4.6 billion in cuts of some kind.
Whatever they decide, will be painful and difficult for many.
Nevertheless, they have a responsibility to balance the budget, which everyone understands.
Personally, I’m not concerned so much about how they do it. Just that they do it. And reasonably soon.
lewis8457 on December 15 at 8:10 a.m.
make them pay 50% of their medical benefits. They get 300 a year for new eye glasses when in reality every 2 to 3 years is normal for most of the population.
cut the income of anyone making more then 50 grand a year. Base raises on performance not just time on job. We have a lot of slackers because no one is holding them accountable.
In the private sector we only get raises when our performance warrants it.
Scoutster on December 15 at 8:31 a.m.
Wow, Hawken…Did they take you to the woodshed?
Whatever the cause of the new found civility, I say thank you!
Ninch on December 15 at 8:34 a.m.
Paying increased health insurance costs will be very significant in cost savings… and I appreciate the furloughs not all being on the same days causing offices to be closed. Also remember yesterday Gregoire announced consolidation of departments and more board cuts. Every cut in expenses helps.
But I foresee Washington State coming back sooner than predicted because the rest of the world is rebounding back and Washington State is a major exporter of technology and agriculture to this global economic rebound.
Dazzeetrader11 on December 15 at 9:18 a.m.
Allow the unions to pay for their own pensions out of their salaries, No 30% on top as a benefit package. Reduce the contribution for their health insurance and then cut 10% off their salaries.
This plan as it’s defined in the article doesn’t do much. A few MORE days off…peanuts saved. Looks like the “victory” isn’t much. Just like the rich ” who did so well the past 20 years so you should cut everything and give your money to taxes for our social programs” or so the liberals whine……time for someone to sing that same tune to the unions,. We’ll see how liberal the unions are when the shoe’s on their foot.
MrNatural on December 15 at 9:50 a.m.
Man!
Where do some of you folks get these delusions about unions and state employees??? I think you like to imagine circumstances just to validate your vitriol. Most of you are speculating on top of rumor and innuendo and actually don’t know squat for truth. Furthermore I’m appalled by the contempt you eagerly express for these people, neighbors, and fellow citizens especially during the holidays…
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to the workers of Washington State…and thank you for your concessions and the work you do.
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on December 15 at 11:21 a.m.
Vision insurance typically pays for whatever-it-agrees-to-pay-for only if you use it. If you don’t get new glasses that year, they don’t just give you $300 and say “have fun.”
From the 7th paragraph: “The only ones exempt from the cuts would be those workers who earn less than $30,000 a year.” In other words, everyone earning $30k or more is getting a cut.
From the last paragraph: “The state will continue its current contribution of $850 a month to health insurance, which is currently 85 percent of the cost. State workers currently pay $150 and will pay any increases over the next two years.”
Two thoughts. 1) Wow, that’s expensive. The state should shop around for a cheaper policy with crappier coverage. Then again maybe that’s not out of line for family coverage. 2) costs will definitely go up. Those who feel that government / union workers are overpaid can feel satisfaction about that if they like.
philipgregory on December 15 at 11:47 a.m.
Working for Washington state government use to be a real privelege.
Now, you’r a scapegoat for a wasteful governor and legislature as they blow tax payer dollars on ego-boosting projects and anything that they think will get them re-elected.
And, when their wastefulness catches up with them the first ones they betray are their own employees.
Washington state is just about the worst state in this country to live and work in.
philipgregory on December 15 at 11:50 a.m.
Yes, Washington state employees don’t pay much in health premiums, but that’s because on this side of the mountains they have the poorest choices of health insurance imagineable;
Group Health or the state’s own Uniform. These are the worst health plans there are.
Theanticscontinue on December 15 at 12:48 p.m.
I worked for the state in the nineties and saw first hand that the waste and abuse was much more than strictly with certain legislative members bringing projects to their own district. Honestly, I saved money on my projects just as we were asked to do when in public forum but was chastised for that very savings by the region manager. “Our job is not to save money, It’s to spend it”. Couldn’t take it any longer, and despite the good pay and security left employment with the State. Right, wrong, who knows. I know I am not one of the “pigs at the trough” anymore and have no regrets for leaving. State departments and agencies have trouble defining the difference between “want and need” which I believe exacerbates the waste. We used to buy “stuff we needed” because we could and we had to spend that budget. When I say we, I mean the office I worked in. In the private sector, it’s only bought when it can be afforded regardless of “need”.
takeitall on December 17 at 4:49 p.m.
I find is amazing that so many of you can sit there and say state workers deserve a cut in pay. it isn’t just 3 percent. I am a state worker and after this in implemented and the health care increase I will be making about 10 percent less than this time last year. we have already been cut. and yes furloughs are days off unpaid, but it also is a day that we should be working, that the people of Washington to be able to get help. I hope that all of you realize that when there are less state workers there will be that less going into taxes that much less being bought. it does affect those in the private sector, just not in the direct way that it does the workers. I hope you realize there are over 35,000 state workers that is over 35,000 people who won’t be buying that new car they were going to buy or that house or that pair of shoes, or going out to dinner.
as for the laying off of state workers, that is one less person providing a service that the people of Washington need and one more person in the unemployment line. eventually you as a tax payer will pay that person up to 600 a week to look for a job.
As for those who have said that state workers don’t pay enough for insurance and our premiums are too low. you are right we could afford to up the ante on this. but don’t say we deserve it, you do not know me, you do not know my co-workers and you don’t know what we have sacrificed. You have no clue what I deserve.
Not all state workers are lazy (some maybe but not all) not all state workers are overpaid and you could be a great worker, a hard worker and you will not get a performance raise like in the private sector.
I say lets stop all road repairs and let all wildfires run their course and see how long it takes for all of you to start crying in your cheerios because your house is gone or the road is dangerous to drive on!