MAPE leader Gretchen Scharmer retiring after 25 years of state service

After 25 years in state service, Local 1801 President and Region 18 Negotiator Gretchen Scharmer retired at the end of July. Scharmer, an accountant and auditor with the Department of Revenue, joined the Marshall office, and MAPE, in 1998.

“There were four men in the Marshall office and two were very active with MAPE. My first week, one of them, who was the Local President, asked me to be a member and I, of course, said OK. The next week he asked if I’d be the local vice president. He said I would just have to fill in for him at local meetings if he ever could not attend. I thought that sounded pretty easy, so I agreed.”

A few years later, as MAPE members were preparing for a strike, Scharmer found out her union job may not be as easy as she originally thought: as the Local VP she would be the strike captain. “I will never forget the moment the vote to strike came in and I realized I was now in charge of 23 sites to cover for picketing,” Scharmer said. “We had been preparing for the possibility of a strike for three months already, but now it was real.”

“The majority of members were very involved during the strike. They were paid minimum wage if they were on the picket line, but nothing if they did not show up. Membership was ready to act to protect our health care,” Scharmer said.

“A personal fun memory for me during the strike was having my West Highland White Terrier with me on the strike line as my assistant strike captain,” she added.

Scharmer has also served three terms as Local 1801 President. She also was a chief steward for many years, spent three terms on the Board of Directors, two cycles as a Negotiator and was a member on the Revenue Meet and Confer team.

“The Revenue Meet and Confer had been disbanded for a while, but I knew we had members who needed to be represented; their complaints about workplace environment were not being heard,” Scharmer explained. “Working in Revenue, especially collections, is challenging. It’s a lot of time on the phone, talking to a lot of upset people, but their job is critical, or the State would lose a lot of money. A fellow Revenue employee out of Ely and I fought hard to get Meet and Confer reinstated. It took a while, but we eventually succeeded. I chaired for four years and remained a member throughout.”

Her first time as a Regional Negotiator was for the 2009-2010 contract and she said the process was ugly.

“MMB’s opening proposal was to lay off all State employees 40 days per year as a cost-saving measure. Our team fought back hard by showing that our State employees actually bring in money, especially in the Revenue Department, and also provide essential services; so, laying off was not the answer,” Scharmer said. “We ended up avoiding any temporary layoffs and negotiated for cost-of-living increases of 2.5% in year one and 2.5% in year two.”

Gretchen also served as a Regional Negotiator for the 2023-2025 bargaining cycle.

“I am really happy with the hard work our team put in and what we ended up getting for across-the-boards,” Scharmer said. “There were long days, and it was a tough road, but we put together a solid tentative agreement.”

“The union is important and that is why I have been so involved. If you take the time to learn about the benefits of the union, then you realize you should pitch in because it’s a team effort.”

“All of us with MAPE are so grateful to have Gretchen on our team. She has shown exemplary dedication and service to our union and Minnesotans across the state,” MAPE President Megan Dayton said.

Scharmer said she and her husband are looking forward to taking their new RV and traveling to Arizona this coming winter and participating in activities there, especially their quilting club.