Proposed prison-worker wage increases that the state seeks to negotiate for the next two-year budget were made public Friday by the state employees union.
Mike Marvin, executive director for the Nebraska Association of Public Employees/AFSCME, said he would not comment on them or on the union's non-economic proposal also posted on the Nebraska Association of Public Employees/ASFCME Local 61 website.
The state set these increases as a starting point for negotiations: Corrections officers, 3.7 percent; corporals, 5.4 percent; sergeants, 11.8 percent; case workers, 3.7 percent; case managers, 3.7 percent; mental health professionals-I, 2.4 percent; mental health professionals-II, 3.9 percent; registered nurses, 3.7 percent; food service specialists, 4.1 percent.
The negotiated rates would go into effect July 1, 2017.
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Pay has been an ongoing complaint by Corrections workers as the state has battled to retain employees. Corrections Director Scott Frakes told a legislative committee this week the department is "treading water" on staffing. At any given time, the prisons have 180 to 200 vacant positions.
Hiring hasn't been as much of a problem as keeping workers, he said. After the state invests thousands of dollars in their training, a significant number leave for county corrections jobs or jobs out of state, which pay more. Some prisons lose up to a third of their staffs every year.
A staffing analysis by the department shows about 138 additional employees should be added beyond the positions already allocated.
The minimum hourly rate proposed for corrections officers would be $16.458 an hour, compared with the $15.80 an hour now paid. The maximum hourly rate would be $22.173 an hour.
Caseworker hourly rates would be $18.535-$25.373; corporals, $17.986-$24.230; sergeants, $21.087-$27.209.
The proposal was delivered to the union a month ahead of schedule.
“This proposal includes raises that are up to four and a half times the raises in the last contract for our most critical Corrections personnel," said Gov. Pete Ricketts. "It is a significant investment in our Corrections workforce, and a serious step towards addressing staffing and retention.â€
Omaha Sen. Bob Krist, who serves on the Department of Correctional Services Special Investigative Committee, said the Ricketts administration has gone above and beyond on this wage proposal.
"You would never see this from past administrations, putting a percentage, or putting a plan, out there first," Krist said.
And the proposed percentage increases are a good starting point, he said.
"This is a great first step to make sure that there is an emphasis on retention, there is an emphasis on paying people fair wages," he said.
He has been amazed, he said, that the state of Nebraska has gotten away with paying Corrections workers the wages it has.
"I think it's long overdue that the administration in Nebraska executive branch has taken the attitude that we should pay people a fair working wage," he said, "and make sure that they're capable of continuing or progressing within that wage structure."