With no agreement yet reached in negotiations over a new labor contract with state workers that needs to be completed by the end of December, the Nebraska Association of Public Employees took its case to the public Thursday, arguing that workers should receive wage increases that at least account for the 7% inflation rate over the past 12 months.
"A 2% or 3% raise is not going to cut it," Justin Hubly, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees, said during a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda.
Several dozen state employees participated in the event scheduled during their noon lunch break.
"We want the public to know what's going on," Hubly said.
"We take care of our neighbors and we can't do that right now."
Vacancies in public service jobs impact "everything you do," he said, resulting in more than 200 job openings at the Department of Transportation along with worker shortages in other positions that include health and human services, perhaps even causing "a child to be in danger."
Negotiations have been ongoing on a new two-year contract with Gov. Pete Ricketts' administration as well as "Gov.-elect Jim Pillen's team," Hubly said. Current negotiations began in September.
"There are no lines in the sand," he said, but "progress has been slow."
Public sector jobs need to be competitive, Hubly said, and starting wages need to be "in line with the private sector."
Chris Morton, a marketing and communications specialist in the Department of Health and Human Services in Lincoln, said "wages need to meet inflation (and) one job should be enough" to meet needs.
"The state is critically short-staffed at many agencies, including the Department of Transportation, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Health and Human Services," Melissa Haynes of Fremont, president of the union, said in a news release preceding the event.
"Offering competitive wages, paid parental leave, access to remote work opportunities and placing reasonable limits on mandatory overtime are just some of the ways the state can strengthen our workforce to make certain vital services continue without interruption," Hubly said.
Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue, a member of the Legislature's Business and Labor Committee and the 2022 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, joined state employees at the news conference.
NAPE union representatives Lisa Steiner (left) and Ashlie Thompson hold signs during a rally in September at Centennial Mall in Lincoln. The union has negotiated its highest salary increases in more than 35 years. The contracts await ratification.