More transparency called for in state employee contract negotiations

As end-of-session negotiations continued behind closed doors Friday, lawmakers on the House Floor debated whether state union contract negotiations should be made more public.

Requiring advance notice of state union negotiation sessions was one of several controversial policy provisions in HF3585, which passed by a 69-61 vote. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa), was the first of three bills ratifying contracts with state employee unions to pass the House Friday. There is no Senate companion.

Policy provisions in the bill would:

• require advance notice of public contract negotiating sessions. Opponents believe this would unnecessarily hamstring the negotiating process.
• prohibit unions from spending dues collected for political purposes. Instead, unions would need to set up a separate political fund for contributions made specifically to that account, and money could not be transferred between the two.
• require a majority vote by the Subcommittee on Employer Relations to approve interim approval of collective bargaining agreements. The current rules allow for approval on a tie vote.

Several DFL lawmakers spoke strongly against the provisions, calling them “despicable” and “an affront” to the state’s workers, and accusing Drazkowski of trying to introduce “Wisconsin-style politics” into the legislation.

Rep. Leon Lillie (DFL-North St. Paul) offered several unsuccessful amendments to try and remove them from HF3585.

“I just wish we could pass a clean bill,” Lillie said.

Lillie’s proposal would include all state union contracts in a single bill with no policy provisions, which he said would be similar to what the Senate is doing. Instead, the House passed three separate bills to ratify negotiated contracts.

In addition to the policy provisions, HF3585 would ratify contracts that had been negotiated with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees; the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees; the Middle Management Association; and the Minnesota Nurses Association. The managerial compensation plan would also be ratified.

The other two labor bills, which contained no such controversial provisions, easily passed the House.

Passed by a 124-7 vote, HF3255, sponsored by Rep. Jim Knoblach (R-St. Cloud), would ratify contracts with the Minnesota State University Administrative and Service Faculty, the Inter Faculty Organization, the Minnesota State College Faculty, and the State Residential Schools Education Association. The Office of Higher Education unclassified personnel compensation plan and the MnSCU personnel plan for administrators would also be ratified. The bill has no Senate companion.

HF3584, passed by a 129-0 vote, would ratify contracts with the Minnesota Law Enforcement Association and units 8 and 225 of the American Federal of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The bill has no Senate companion. Sponsor Rep. Tony Cornish (R-Vernon Center) said the contracts provide a wage increase of about 2.5 percent for law enforcement and other personnel.  

“The people in these units are essential employees and cannot strike,” he said.

Lillie again unsuccessfully offered an amendment to add provisions ratifying the contracts in the other two labor bills to create a single “clean” bill to send to the Senate.

“Wouldn’t it be easier if all these contracts were together in one good package?” he asked.

Cornish said he agreed, but he had been given a job to do and wouldn’t have the votes to do otherwise.