Culver unsure on reopening state worker talks

Gov. Chet Culver sidestepped questions today whether he will seek to reopen contract talks to negotiate new pay agreements with unionized state workers, but said everyone will have to share in the pain of a 10 percent across-the-board state budget cut.

The Democratic governor said he has had productive talks with state employee union leaders about possible ways to streamline state government and find efficiencies, but he did not indicate whether the discussions have focused on ways to avoid large-scale layoffs or furloughs.

“We have signed contracts that we will honor and talk about, perhaps,” he told reporters following the taping of Iowa Public Television's “Iowa Press” show. “So it's premature to know if we're going to change those agreements.”

The governor said that hundreds of state employees will lost their jobs or see their hours reduced as agencies work to find $600 million in savings to comply with a 10 percent across-the-board cut that will also leave a $150 million cushion by next June 30 heading into possibly an even tougher budgeting cycle. Some estimates have indicated total state employee layoffs could top 1,000 by the time all the cuts are implemented.

“I think that we have to have very serious conversations about how we're going to arrive at 10 percent across the board savings. I think everything needs to be on the table,” Culver said while discussing the possibility of reopening collective bargaining talks during the IPT taping.

“I think it's very important to be respectful of the labor management process. I'm going to sit down and we're going to have a very candid conversation about what we can do – labor and management working together – to minimize the effect that this is going to have on hard-working state employees,” he added. “We're going to have to put all hands on deck.”

Culver did say that he did not believe anyone working in government at any level should expect to see their pay increase given the scarcity of resources hard hit by declining tax collections. He ruled out raising taxes or sapping the state's cash reserve to address ongoing budget shortfalls.

Most state employee unions agreed to a pay freeze this year, but some received “step” increases. The fiscal 2011 agreement calls for unionized state employees to receive modest pay hikes on July 1, 2010, and again on Jan. 1, 2011.

“I think all of us, whether you're at the local level, the state level, we have to share in this sacrifice,” Culver said. “It's going to be painful, it's going to be tough.”