State of Iowa, unions begin closed-door collective bargaining talks

DES MOINES - Talks between state and union negotiators aimed at hammering out new two-year labor contracts covering state employees have moved behind closed doors.

In the last open session Tuesday before private discussions begin in January, state officials offered a 1 percent across-the-board pay raise for each of the next two fiscal years Monday to members of the Iowa United Professionals bargaining unit, who earlier this month requested higher compensation levels under a new contract that would take effect next July 1.

'We tried to give a fair proposal to IUP for them to consider and we'll see what happens in negotiations, said Janet Phipps, director of the state Department of Administrative Services, who is leading the state negotiating team.

The state also requested that 'step” pay increases for eligible workers be 2 percent annually, rather than the current 4.5 percent, and that all state workers pay 20 percent of their health insurance premiums under the new two-year collective bargaining cycle - a change state negotiators also sought two years ago that was rejected in an arbitrator's binding ruling.

IUP officials, who represent about 2,500 public employees in scientific, social, and professional areas, previously asked that the state boost base pay by 4 percent in each of the next two fiscal years while maintaining the status quo in benefits and most other contract areas.

Negotiators for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 61, the largest bargaining unit, proposed that their nearly 19,000 state employee members receive 2 percent pay increases every six months beginning July 1, 2015, for the next two fiscal years - a graduated pay schedule that would equate to a 3 percent yearly increase but would bump up their wage bases by 4 percent for each fiscal year.

Members of State Police Officers Council (SPOC) requested a 4 percent across-the-board wage increase for each of the next two fiscal years for the bargaining unit's 590 members.

They also asked that one-time bonus pay totaling 2 percent they received under the current contract be rolled into their salary base before the new proposed raise is applied to their yearly pay.

The state made the same counter offer of a 1 percent across-the-board yearly pay increase and a requirement that state employees pay a share of their health insurance costs with a monetary offset for participating in a wellness program to AFSCME and SPOC negotiators.