Negotiations continue with talks on telework, AI and health care

The Negotiations Team met for the fifth time with Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) last Friday. Small groups discussed telework and artificial intelligence (AI), and MMB presented health care proposals including Earned Sick and Safe Time.   

“In a small group, we discussed the importance of flexibility and benefits of telework to our members and the State. We shared stories of families scrambling for summer programs for their children and employees facing layoff notices due to federal fallout, while agencies are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to revamp previously downsized offices by the June 1 deadline. What the State is doing simply does not make fiduciary sense,” Negotiations Co-Chair Carolyn Murphy said. 

“Our members also reiterated MAPE President Megan Dayton’s demand for the policy to be delayed until after the summer to give us a fair chance to negotiate the telework policy at the bargaining table instead of unilaterally,” she added.  

MAPE, AFSCME and other unions opened health care bargaining last month with the State Employee Group Insurance Program (SEGIP). “We have had several bargaining sessions with management about health care and they’re still holding to punishing concessions on cost-sharing and increasing our premiums more than 200% by Jan. 1. While we are having success in negotiating positive changes for foster children and dependents, we do not expect to truly address these big-money issues until the end of June,” Negotiations Co-Chair Sean McIntyre said.

Negotiators are currently in health care meetings and the Team will next be exchanging contract proposals on May 22. Watch for another all-member negotiations update late tomorrow afternoon or early evening.

MAPE will be hosting another Negotiations and Health Care Town Hall at 12 p.m. on May 28. The town hall will stream live on YouTube. We are collecting questions ahead of time, so please submit your questions using this form by May 23. Negotiators will address the most asked questions at the end of the event.