A deal Gov. Culver shouldn’t have made

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Outgoing Iowa Gov. Chet Culver's administration struck a swift deal Friday with the largest union representing state workers. We think the governor made a mistake.

Certainly, Culver is still the governor until governor-elect Terry Branstad takes over on Jan. 14. Culver has the power and authority to ink a deal with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME. But given that the two-year union contract will span half of Branstad's term, we believe Culver should have refrained from using that power on his way out the door.

Branstad handily defeated Culver on Nov. 2, and one big reason is that voters bought into Branstad's pledge to clean up state finances while reducing the cost and scope of government. Budget reform was a major plank in Branstad's election campaign, and a key reason why he won our endorsement.

With that in mind, Branstad should have been given a chance to shape the collective bargaining agreement, which represents a significant chunk of state spending. During the campaign, Branstad expressed hopes for making money-saving changes in state health benefits and automatic “step” pay increases for promotions.

Now, thanks to Culver's action, Branstad won't get that chance. The current governor has made the next governor's job tougher. Culver refused to do what Branstad did in allowing incoming Gov. Tom Vilsack to finish the bargaining process in 1999.

Now, Branstad's options for finding personnel savings are more limited, and more likely to include layoffs.

We understand that Culver wants to reward the union for making concessions during tough budget times, including furloughs and deferred compensation. We also agree that the AFSCME offer accepted by the administration is relatively modest, with 2 percent increase in base wages on July 1, 2011, and a 1 percent increase on Jan. 1, 2012, in the first year of the agreement, and a 2 percent increase on July 1, 2012, and a 1 percent on Jan. 1, 2013, in the second year. The proposal doesn't change the 4.5 percent step increases.

Still, contracts are about more than pay raises. Culver is accepting the status quo in other areas of the agreement despite an election in which voters soundly rejected Iowa's current course.

Branstad shouldn't have to operate under constraints created by his predecessor. That's not what Iowans voted for on Nov. 2.