MADISON, Wis. 2/17/03-- A vote on the state employee contracts could come Thursday. State workers are upset 15 contracts covering 31,000 employees have been held up in the state Legislature.

Republicans there are concerned the state can't afford the pay raises. The contracts call for raises between 1 percent and 2.5 percent. It would cost about $70 million in the budget. Lawmakers have scheduled a Thursday afternoon meeting, but a vote is not guaranteed.

State teaching assistants staged a "work-in" under the dome, protesting the delay in their raises Wednesday. The TAs are one of the 15 union groups waiting for lawmakers to act.

The contract for the TAs was negotiated almost a year ago by the McCallum administration, but some key Republican lawmakers haven't signed off because they believe the state can't afford the raises.

"We're in the middle of a political game," said Mike Quieto, president of Local 3220 union, teaching assistants association. "The budget problem appears to be a red herring. Obviously the state is in financial woes, but taking it out on the backs of state workers will not in fact solve anything."

Last week, hundreds of union workers called in sick at Wisconsin
correctional facilities, apparently in protest of unsettled union contracts.

Prisons and juvenile facilities all over Wisconsin were left to start the day scrambling to cover for guards and other workers who called in sick. Staffing was so low that inmate movement was restricted during first shift, but corrections officials said it was not an official "lockdown." The state fired off letters to AFSCME and WEAC in reaction to the apparent job action.

Employment relations secretary Karen Timberlake told union leaders that members of their unions have organized and/or engaged in strike activity. The state advised managers who may experience union job actions to ask for medical verification for the sick day, and the state has threatened disciplinary action against workers who participate in job actions.

Two Unions File Lawsuits

Two unions representing state workers filed lawsuits last Thursday asking a judge to force a legislative committee to approve new contracts with the state.

Lawsuits filed in Dane County Circuit Court by the Wisconsin State Employees Union and the Wisconsin Federation of Teachers allege the Joint Committee on Employment Relations has a legal duty to hold a hearing and approve the contracts because the deals have been ratified.

"Our people are very frustrated," said Bob Beglinger, WFT president. The union represents some state workers, as well as public school teachers in some districts. "They (state workers) negotiated in good faith. We're left with very few options and we're forced to litigate."

WSEU's lawsuit said the budget ending June 30 includes money for the contracts. Doyle said Thursday he has built enough money into his budget for the two-year period beginning July 1 to cover the contracts.

Both lawsuits argue JOCER is stalling because lawmakers want to amend the current state budget to deprive employees of already agreed-upon compensation. The lawsuits ask a judge to stop them from doing that.