MAPE Government Relations Committee 2009…

           MAPE Government Relations Committee
          2009 Legislative Core Priorities and Positions


2009 MAPE GRC Legislative Core Priorities:
       MAPE opposes any efforts to reduce or downsize state government to
       establish or balance the state's budget.
       MAPE opposes any efforts to eliminate or reduce our current retirement
       and pension benefits.
       MAPE supports equitable compensation and fair treatment of all state
       employees.
       MAPE supports the right of all workers to earn adequate wages, organize
       labor unions and bargain collectively.
       MAPE supports significant efforts to fix our health care system, including,
       but not limited to, the creation of a single payer, universal health care
       system.
       MAPE opposes privatization, outsourcing or contracting of state services
       when bargaining unit employees could be utilized in the performance of
       those services.




2009 MAPE GRC Legislative Positions:

     MAPE supports equitable compensation and benefits, and fair treatment of all state
     employees.
       o We support legislation that would adjust pay rates based on current research and
           available data. Currently many compensation levels are not based the state's own
           pay equity system (also known as Hay system).
                                                   1
                                             MAPE-GRC
                             2009 Legislative Core Priorities and Positions
   o We support domestic partnership benefits for all workers.
   o We support the preservation and strengthening of the Public Employees Labor
     Relations Act (PELRA), which allows for the collective bargaining process for all
     public employees.
   o We oppose the use of professional employees in unclassified service. We support
     efforts to eliminate the use of permanent unclassified positions in the general
     professional bargaining unit.
   o We support legislation designed to protect state employees as they are going
     about their official duties.
   o We support the expansion of bargaining rights to cover classification issues.
     According to current law, classification decisions are not allowable subjects for
     collective bargaining. We support legislation that would bring equity and fairness
     to the state employees unfairly designated as unclassified.
   o We support a more balanced affirmative action program that would emphasize
     increased recruitment efforts, greater attention to retaining minority employees
     and the elimination of barriers to diversifying our workforce. Leave and
     insurance benefits should be offered for domestic partners of state employees as a
     matter of equity and non-discrimination.
   o We will actively lobby the Legislature to ensure that negotiated wage and benefits
     are adequately funded. Moreover, we support measures requiring the utilization of
     fair and transparent accounting principles.
   o We oppose the use of drug and medical testing that would violate current statutes,
     labor's contractual rights or an employee's basic civil rights.
   o We support efforts to protect "whistleblowers." We support provisions allowing
     employees to report mismanagement and waste directly to the Legislature and
     measures requiring agencies to disclose reasons for employee investigations and
     further protections against false accusations.
   o We support the repeal of the federal Hatch Act as it pertains to state employees
     being prohibited from running for partisan political office.

MAPE supports the right of all workers to earn adequate wages, organize labor
unions and bargain collectively.
   o We support the right of all public employees, including those who work in the
       Minnesota Legislature, constitutional offices and the judicial system, to organize
       and bargain collectively.
   o We oppose any efforts to limit or reduce worker's right to organize unions,
       bargain collectively, attain adequate compensation and access dislocated worker
       or workers compensation benefits.
   o We oppose proposals to decrease workers' compensation benefits to injured
       workers.
   o We oppose legislation that removes funds from dislocated worker programs and
       will pursue proposals to allow job service state employees to pursue grant
       proposals to administer dislocated worker programs.
   o We believe labor unions should have the same right as other political contributors
       to participate in the political process through the use of payroll deductions.
   o We support other public employees and labor unions. We will assist and/or
       support other public employees and labor unions on legislative issues when those
       issues are not in conflict with the issues and priorities of MAPE members.
                                           2
                                         MAPE-GRC
                         2009 Legislative Core Priorities and Positions
   o We support an increase in the minimum wage. We support the enactment of
     legislation at both the state and federal levels to increase the minimum wage.
   o We support legislation that would automatically ratify our collective bargaining
     agreement if the Legislature fails to act prior to adjournment.

MAPE will work to protect our current retirement and pension benefits.
  o We support: a formula increase, health insurance for retirees, "rule of 90" for all
    state employees, a buyback of military service and maternity leave time,
    retirement benefits equal to at least 70% of gross salary, and maintaining the
    highest fiduciary standards in management of pension funds.
  o We support retiring members to apply the dollar value of unused sick leave to pay
    premiums to continue medical insurance coverage, contribute to deferred
    compensation plan; purchase up to one year of service credit; receive
    sick/severance pay in the current or calendar year following retirement and 100%
    of accumulated sick leave be used for these options.
  o We believe that those employees leaving state service who receive a refund of
    retirement deductions also receive interest in an amount to equitably compensate
    for not having use of their retirement deductions during their state employment.
  o We support matching, proportional pension plan contribution rate increases. In
    other words, we believe that if the employee contribution rate is increased, the
    employer contribution rate should increase at the same amount.
  o We support the continuation of our "defined benefit" pension plan. We oppose
    any attempt to switch to a "defined contribution" plan.
  o We believe employees should be allowed to continue working for the state part-
    time without a reduction in retirement benefits.
  o We opposes the use of state pension funds for any purpose beyond pensions,
    under-funding of retirement plans, and any change in retirement law that reduces
    retirement benefits.

MAPE supports significant efforts to fix our health care system, including, but not
limited to, the creation of a universal health care system.
   o We support the development of a single-payer health care system.
   o We believe the state should keep health insurance costs down for employees and
       their dependents without decreasing benefits.
   o We support long term care insurance premiums being paid with pre-tax dollars.
   o We support the use of a secure electronic health records system to increase care
       quality, reduce costs and increase efficiency.
   o We oppose the creation of health care savings accounts within SEGIP that will
       pass increases in insurance costs on to other employees in the program.

MAPE opposes privatization, outsourcing or contracting of state services when
bargaining unit employees could be utilized in the performance of those services.




                                               3
                                         MAPE-GRC
                         2009 Legislative Core Priorities and Positions