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Capitol View®
Tom Scheck

Pawlenty proposes state workers take unpaid leave

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MPR's Tim Pugmire reports that the Pawlenty Administration is requesting that state employees take 48 days of unpaid leave over the next two years. In a letter to its members, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees Executive Director Jim Monroe wrote that:

"The governor's proposal went after MAPE members with a laundry list of take backs that they have done for the past three contracts -- changes to grievances, holiday pay, expense allowances, severance eilgibility as well as layoffs and recalls. As important as all of these areas are to fairness in the workplace, they were all just a mere prelude to the bomb the governor's team dropped - Governor Pawlenty wants to force a furlough onto MAPE members for up to 8 weeks and 8 days for our contract. That's right, the governor wants to be able to have the ability with no rhyme or reason, to give management the right to arbitrarily decide who gets furloughed and how long they are furloughed, which can be used in a way to undermine every union protection we have."

Meanwhile, AFSCME officials declined comment but posted this information on their website:

Governor Pawlenty wants to force state employees to take up to 24 days of unpaid leave each year. Who can pay their bills after the loss of one-month's pay?! Worse yet, he'd give managers the right to arbitrarily decide who gets furloughed, when they get furloughed, and for how long. That's an invitation for the boss to play favorites. It's also an attempt to balance the budget on the backs of AFSCME state employees, who earn $37,000 on average.

Gov. Pawlenty's lead negotiator has declined comment because of an agreed media blackout during negotiations.