Layoffs, overtime and artificial intelligence all discussed at latest contract bargaining session

MAPE’s Negotiations Committee members met for two days this week in their latest bargaining meeting with Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB). Topics included artificial intelligence, overtime for exempt and non-exempt employees, layoffs and others. 

Management had been trying to institute “emergency layoffs” that were simply furloughs or eliminating seniority from the layoff process. “We fought off MMB’s bumping proposals, which helped us to make massive progress on getting MMB to drop their really damaging layoff language from the contract. At least now our members will be treated fairly if there are more layoffs,” Negotiations Co-Chair Sean McIntyre said. 

“Getting rid of all of that layoff language will be so meaningful to our members,” Negotiations Co-Chair Carolyn Murphy added.  

Murphy pointed out there was a “healthy small group discussion about artificial intelligence. MMB was understanding that the workspace is changing at an exponential rate, receptive to our members’ concerns, and understood the transparency and data privacy issues we brought up.” 

MMB also dropped the medical language it had proposed regarding how employees could utilize medical leave. Under their proposal, employees would be limited to one year of non-FMLA medical leave per illness. So, if an employee went on leave for cancer therapy, and the cancer returned years later, they might not be able to take medical leave a second time.  

The bargaining teams also had productive discussions around workloads and overtime for exempt and non-exempt employees.  

Negotiators shared compelling stories with MMB about inequities in overtime pay for non-exempt members fighting forest fires in the Department of Natural Resources, correctional facilities and other departments.   

Region 4 Negotiator Alex Bajwa said his department at the Department of Revenue have been down 6-7 attorneys for several years and he and other tax attorneys at the Department of Revenue are expected to work extra hours and not be paid for them. “They’re depending on their exempt employees for cheap work – you don’t have to pay anyone after 80 hours. This means you’re going to lose people. We’re not looking for more ways to be paid time-and-a-half – most of my colleagues and I left higher paying jobs to work for the State. What we want is to disincentivize the State from overworking us for free. I think MMB understood our underlying concerns about workload issues,” Bajwa said. 

The bargaining team remains deeply concerned about management’s drastic health care cuts revealed at last week’s SEGIP negotiations opener. “It was shocking and astonishing to learn that management wants us to correct their budgetary mismanagement. These suggested cost share prices are going to hit hard and, if enacted, we will feel these deep impacts for years,” Murphy said. 

Here is the full summary of the SEGIP proposal.

Health care proposals will be initially negotiated in coalition with our other unions, but MAPE negotiators expect to be fighting these until the very last day of bargaining.  

The best way to make sure we can fight off their cutbacks is to contact your legislators to demand fully funded agencies and join your Contract Action Team so we can be prepared to fight as a union to protect our benefits.