House votes to ratify labor agreements, compensation plans

The House on Thursday voted to ratify labor agreements and compensation plans already in place with six groups of public employees.

Negotiated last year and put in place on an interim basis by the Legislative Coordinating Commission’s Subcommittee on Employee Relations, HF488/SF280* would give final approval to roughly $80 million in additional compensation for thousands of public employees during the current biennium, and around $125 million in added pay during the 2016-17 biennium.

Sponsored by Rep. Jim Knoblach (R-St. Cloud) and Sen. James Metzen (DFL-South St. Paul), the bill was passed by the House 116-15 and now goes to the governor. The Senate ratified the agreements 50-13 on May 11.

The following public employee groups are covered by the agreement:

• executive branch employees;
• Minnesota State University Administrative and Service Faculty;
• Minnesota State Colleges and University faculty;
• Minnesota Nurses Association;
• Inter Faculty Organization; and,
• Minnesota Law Enforcement Association

Those employees are already being paid at the levels agreed to in the compensation plans being ratified, Knoblach said; the agreements were not reached in time last year to be ratified by the Legislature.