Employees to get 3% raise

By Diane Graff of the Daily Times staff
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 12:39 PM CDT

JUNEAU - About every employee in Dodge County will receive a 3 percent across-the-board wage increase, following county board action Tuesday night.

Supervisors approved 2007 wage agreements between the Dodge County Human Resources Committee and the six American Federation of State, County and Municipality Employees AFL-CIO unions and the Dodge County Federation of Nurses.

The agreement is for a 3 percent across-the-board wage increase retroactive to Feb. 15.

But several supervisors opposed the across-the-board increase.

Supervisor Eugene Wurtz of Mayville asked what the actual pay increase, not a percentage increase, will be for employees.

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Supervisor Robert Ballweg of Beaver Dam, a member of the county's human resources committee, noted the wage increase costs will amount to $597,000. The cost is $91,000 more than the 2 percent increase included in the 2007 budget, he said.

Ballweg, who did not sign the resolution, also voted against the wage agreement for all unions.

“I am not comfortable with the process,” Ballweg said.

“Where the system stinks, I believe, is on the pay increase not based on performance or merit,” Supervisor Jeff Schmitt of Beaver Dam said. “The automatic 3 percent just doesn't cut it,” he said.

Supervisor Glenn Stousland of Beaver Dam also opposed the wage structure. The employee at the lower end of the pay schedule gets a 25 cent raise, while the employee at the upper level gets a 91 cent per hour raise, increasing the wage difference, he pointed out.

Human Resources Director Joseph Rains explained the mediation and arbitration process to the supervisors. If an agreement is not reached between the county and the union groups, final offers are submitted to a mediator who selects a final offer.

The wage agreements for the union groups were all approved on 28-6 votes, with Supervisor Paul Marose abstaining. Voting against the wage increases were supervisors Ballweg, Schmitt, Stousland, Wurtz, Randy Grebel of Juneau and Clem Hoelzel of Waupun.

Rains noted the union agreements were reached after a mediation session between Dodge County and the Dodge County Sheriff's Department Sworn Employees. During the mediation session, both sides were encouraged to modify their offers in order to reach a reasonable voluntary agreement and avoid interest arbitration.

The offer that resulted from that mediation session was subsequently extended to the other five AFSCME unions and the Dodge County Federation of Nurses.

Dodge County and its seven labor unions are currently operating under three year agreements that are in effect from 2005 to 2007. The 2005-07 agreements, which were approved by the board of supervisors in the fall of 2005, set wages for the years 2005 and 2006 and provided for a re-opening of the contracts to negotiate wages for 2007.

At that time, union employees received a 3 percent across-the-board increase retroactive to Jan. 1, 2005, and a 3 percent wage increase for 2006. According to the contract language, contracts can be reopened in 2007 to negotiate wages only.

Contract negotiations for the 2008, and possibly 2009 and 2010 contracts will begin in about three months, Supervisors Ray Seaholm of Horicon, chairman of the human resources and labor negotiations committee pointed out.

There are approximately 689 employees of Dodge County who are represented by the seven union locals. The six AFSCME unions include highway, professional employees, sheriff's department sworn, sheriff's department nonsworn, technical and support employees and health facilities employees. About nine employees are represented by the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

In their initial proposals, Dodge County management proposed a 1 percent wage increase while the AFSCME unions proposed a 4 percent increase.

The board also approved a 3 percent wage increase for all management and non-represented employees of the county. The 3 percent wage increase is identical to union wage package.

The proposed non-union scale of pay will range from $9.79 an hour for a person in labor grade one, step one, up to $43.68 an hour for an employee at labor grade 23, step 11.