Negotiators for the State of Iowa presented a contract proposal that differs greatly from the one submitted earlier this month by the largest state employees’ union. Danny Homan, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 61, requested an 8-percent increase in salaries over a two-year period.

Janet Phipps, director of the state Department of Administrative Services, is leading the state’s negotiating team, which is proposing a 2-percent increase in salaries over the next two fiscal years.

The current contract has the state paying for 100-percent of the health insurance provided to state employees represented by AFSCME (pronounced “AFFS-mee”). Phipps is suggesting those employees help cover a portion of their health care costs in the new contract.
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Two years ago, Governor Terry Branstad requested a similar proposal on health insurance — asking state employees to cover 20-percent. Those collective bargaining negotiations ended with an arbitrator rejecting the suggested cuts in state employee health insurance benefits, but also denying employees across-the-board pay raises. Negotiations on the new contract, covering fiscal years 2015-16, will resume in January behind closed doors. AFSCME Iowa Council 61 represents roughly 40,000 state government employees.